Review: Annihilator, "Annihilator"

I’ve been an Annihilator fan since I heard the first strains of album opening instrumental “Crystal Ann” from their 1989 debut Alice in Hell. By the time the second track, “Alison Hell,” was over, I was devoted. The band’s been through some ups and downs over the years, but they always seem to bounce back strong at some point.

Don’t read too much into the eponymous title of this record. This is certainly not a reinvention or re-imagining of the band. If you’ve followed Annihilator over the years, nothing on this record is going to surprise you. Guitarist, founder and primary driving force Jeff Waters does pretty much what he’s always done – high energy thrash with a tight barrage of fast riffs, wailing leads and the occasional grooving breakdown to interrupt the pure fury.

Review: Annihilator, "Metal"

The name of this album pretty much says all it needs to say, right?

I still remember the first time I heard Annihilator. I was a senior in high school when a friend of mine popped "Alice in Hell" into the tape deck of my truck. When the soft, classical strains of "Crystal Ann" came out of my speakers, I was impressed. When the schizophrenic riffing of "Alison Hell" started, I was sold. It was some of the craziest stuff I'd ever heard, manic time and melody changes, but it all seemed to work. By the end of the day, I owned the album and I still consider it one of the greatest (and most underrated) thrash records of all time.

The band followed with "Never, Neverland," which was still a solid record despite being slightly less aggressive and having a new vocalist. Things began to unravel with the third record, "Set the World on Fire," which featured yet a third vocalist (who was not particularly appealing) and the band's least aggressive songs. Some were practically radio-friendly.

Since then, Waters and the revolving door of musicians have been hit and miss, but certainly he's hit more than he's missed. With this record, he goes for the Santana approach, bringing in guest stars from some of the biggest metal acts out there today. Including Jeff Loomis from Nevermore, Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom, Anders Bjorler from The Haunted, Michael Amott and Angela Gossow of Arch Enemy, Jesper Stormblad of In Flames, Corey Beaulieu from Trivium, Willie Adler from Lamb of God.

To me, it's kind of strange that Waters brings in guest guitarists when he's one of the best out there. But after hearing the album, I think he probably should have stuck with guitarists. Make no mistake. This is an Annihilator record. Waters wrote all of the songs, and none of the guest musicians really make an impact on the sound. The guest singers on the other hand have a big impact.

In the early going of the record, the vocals are just not aggressive enough for an Annihilator album. As much as I like Nevermore, Loomis just doesn't do it for me on "Clown Parade," and Danko Jones is almost enough to ruin a good tune on "Couple Suicide." Then there's the kind of cheesy "Army of One," with its name-dropping and a chorus I just can't bring myself to sing along with: "We are an army of one." Ummm... OK.

But from the fourth track on, this record is pure Annihilator. It starts with "Downright Dominate," featuring Laiho. Dave Padden, who has provided vocals for the past few Annihilator records, moves back to a more aggressive sound and we start to get those snarled choruses I expect from the band. Waters himself takes a turn on vocals for "Operation Annihilation," which recalls the band's early work, and there are also some nods here and there that fans will appreciate, particularly little snippets reminiscent of "The Fun Palace" from "Never, Neverland" and "Criteria for a Black Widow" from the record of the same name. Waters is still one of the greatest technical thrash guitarists to ever strap up, and he proves it again with these riffs.

While it gets off to a rough start, over the second half, "Metal" transforms into a serious contender for my end of the year Top 10 list. It's the second killer album from Waters in a row. Maybe he's finally getting back on track. Now, how about getting this thing released in the U.S. so we don't have to shell out for the import?

Get "Metal."

Read my review of Annihilator's "10 Years in Hell" DVD.

Review: Annihilator, "Ten Years in Hell"

Sometimes it amazes me how the music industry has kept itself alive this long. Think about it for a minute. Think about all the great bands you know that have been left to languish in obscurity, and then think about all the crap that gets pushed on listeners by the record companies. I pondered this often while watching Annihilator's latest DVD, a retrospective of the band's early years from "Alice in Hell" through the reunion of three-fourths of that band for "Criteria for a Black Widow."

As I watched Jeff Waters shred his ass off for a couple of hours, I kept wondering why didn't this band ever reach the status of, say, a Metallica, Megadeth or Slayer? It certainly wasn't for lack of talent or, at least in the early going, originality. Maybe they arrived on the scene too late. Maybe it's because Waters is Canadian, not exactly a metal hotbed. Maybe they just weren't promoted right. Whatever the reason, it's a shame.

That's not to say that everything Waters has recorded has been gold. He's done his share of crap, and there's a testament to it here with the video for the ballad "Only Be Lonely." But there's no way you can sit there and watch him play and not be impressed.

The more interesting disc of this DVD, to me, is the first one. It follows the band from the release party of "Alice in Hell" through various TV appearances, live bootlegs and official videos. It takes you through the whole saga, with Waters changing personnel more often than Spinal Tap changed drummers. In fact, it's funny to listen to the early interviews from around the time of "Alice" and "Never, Neverland," where Waters is talking about how it's been basically a one-man show up to that point, and he's excited about getting other band members involved in the next album. Now, 15-plus years later, we know it's always been just him doing his thing. So much for those plans.

The TV interview clips provide a great deal of comic relief on this DVD, as we see time and again interviewers who have no clue who this band is trying to discuss their music. The absolute funniest moment comes from a Canadian morning show where the interviewer is completely clueless and obviously can't even understand why anyone would listen to the music. He asks some classic questions like "Why do you have to play so loud?" and, in introducing the video for "Alison Hell," "Why do your song titles have to be so mean and nasty? Why not 'Alice in Wonderland?'" Though Waters handles it professionally, you can see in his eyes that he'd like to choke the guy.

The video focuses mainly on the first two albums, "King of the Kill" and the 1999/2000 reunion with "Alice" vocalist Randy Rampage and drummer Ray Hartman. Precious little time is spent on "Set the World on Fire" and almost no time on the first disc is given to "Remains" or "Refresh the Demon." I suppose that's fitting since they're probably the weakest three albums. "Set the World on Fire," with its more commercial sound, was a great waste of the talents of both Waters and drummer Mike Mangini, in my opinion, and the other two were OK, but not really up to par with the rest of the Annihilator catalog.

The disc also contains seven official videos for "Alison Hell," "Stonewall," "Set the World on Fire," "King of the Kill," "21," "Only Be Lonely" and "Syn.Kill 1." I would have liked to see more high-quality live footage, as well. The bootleg stuff is cool, but it really doesn't do the music justice. But I suppose there's only so much space on a disc.

The second disc features interviews with Waters and various other past members of the band, offering an in-depth retrospective from Waters' early years through the Annihilator demos, the official recordings and the future.

Of course, at this point, there are six more years of band history that aren't discussed on this DVD, but it's still a must-have for fans of Annihilator and technical thrash in general.

Get "Ten Years in Hell."

Review: Into Eternity, "Buried in Oblivion"

Into Eternity first wowed me with their 2002 release "Dead or Dreaming." Its high-powered blend of progressive and extreme metal was surprising and refreshing.

The Canadian quintet returns with a much more ambitious offering for their official Century Media debut. "Dead or Dreaming" was all about the hooks, focusing on the progressive side and melodies that stick with the listener. There's nothing on this album that I'll hum for weeks like "Absolution of the Soul" from the last record, but the songs here are much more complex and engaging.

The focus on "Buried In Oblivion" is fully on the heavier side of the band, even veering a bit into the black metal realm on songs like the outstanding "Dimensional Aperture" and "Beginning of the End."

The band also embraces its Canadian roots. "Point of Uncertainty" sounds so much like Canadian thrash legends Annihilator that I had to check the liner notes to make sure Jeff Waters hadn't joined.

For those who prefer the progressive side of the band, there's a treat in the companion pieces "Buried in Oblivion" and "Black Sea of Agony." The first is a soft song with some nice orchestrations which leads perfectly into the second song, which would have been right at home on "Dead or Dreaming." There's some very nice vocal play on this album between Chris Krall and Tim Roth with interesting swaps and harmonies. The clean vocals sound at times like Geddy Lee and at others like a young Geoff Tate and the death vocals run the gamut from shrieks to rumbling growls.

With this album, Into Eternity shows that it has more to offer than a few catchy hooks. They're definitely a band to watch.

Get "Buried in Oblivion."