Review: Annihilator, "Feast"

There may be no more underrated musician in thrash than Annihilator guitarist/founder/bandleader Jeff Waters.

Of course, Waters himself may hold some of the blame for that. The band’s debut album Alice in Hell is one of the finest examples of the genre that you’ll find, and the follow-up Never, Neverland, featuring Omen vocalist Coburn Pharr, is almost as good. After that, though, things become spotty for the band.

There’s some great music to be found in the rest of their catalog, but a revolving door of musicians and some occasionally bad ideas — like the programmed electronic drums on 1997′s Remains — diluted the power of those first couple of records and allowed Annihilator to slip out of the minds of many fans outside their native Canada.

Saturday Shuffle: Skid Row, Danko Jones, White Wizzard, Luna Mortis, Hellbound Glory

Some old-fashioned hard rocking, a little bit of extreme, and some nontraditional traditional country this week ...

Skid Row, “Sweet Little Sister.” From the album Skid Row (1989). Skid Row’s debut album was a little more in line with the 1980s glam rock scene than their later, heavier albums, but there are still some great songs on it, and this is one of them. Energetic, catchy, fun, everything that was good about 1980s rock. This is one 1980s band that I would love to see back together.