Review by Richard Henry for MPM
Ear-music are re-releasing the Annihilator catalogue; these are getting redone on 180g vinyl and in cd reissue as well, with new release notes and interviews with Jeff Waters, also included are the demos and bonus tracks from each release!
King of the Kill –1994
Kicking off this is a much more straight-ahead affair with the album title track coming up first, now this is one of the tracks that you get a demo version of, now in fairness the demo and the album track are virtually identical, a real double bass led tune with a catchy chorus for sure, one thing you notice as well, no solos on this one, just a middle section!
21 up next led by the bass riff, much like a Peace sells sort of tune, direct guitar sound on this, very precise, the middle section is very sort of Judas priest to me, nice solo on this one, full of blues licks and phrases, the end lick on this really reminds me of the solo he does on the Roadrunner Utd track, very catchy chorus on this one and definitely will stick in your ear, this one also comes as a demo track as a bonus and much like the first track, the demo is really close to the original.
Bliss, lovely clean guitar sound to open this one, lovely counterpoint, then the bass comes in as another counterpoint to the guitar figure, nice little interlude piece
Second to None, this is another double bass led track, and again I can’t shake a sort of Priest vibe to this one the way the guitar comes in, then a nice punchy riff kicks you in for the verse, really driving and pacy, then you get the gang vocals coming in to add depth before the chorus, love the half time feel of the solo, really melodic and lovely little guitar figures, almost ballad like at the midpoint after the solo, then an almost Maiden style harmony before another solo comes in, there is a demo track for this one, and like the previous two, its virtually identical to the main version.
Hell is A War up, again the clean guitars bring the song in, this one stays as a ballad feel in the verse, some nice harmony vocals, the heavy guitars come in sort of abruptly and a really lurching half time feel on the drums almost like an Atheist sort of riff, the song doesn’t really pick up till the mid-section just before the solos, then the tempo drops again, not sure on this track at all to be fair.
Annihilator, opening with a bass riff and hand claps going along with the snare hit, you’re really in a groove metal sort of feel here for this one, this one really sounds like it should be on Jugualator, especially that chorus, you know this album was definitely from the 90s, there is a really nice solo in here though with lots of fast picking before it falls back into the opening groove, this one has the original demo included as well, much like the others it’s pretty much a carbon copy of the original track.
Fiasco, comes in with again the clean guitar part, with some chattering people noise as well, reminds me a bit of Queensryche to be fair, then it completely changes to another bass line and drum part before the blues licks come in, this has almost a punk vibe to it, there are some real Chuck Berry/Nugent vibes to that middle section, it’s definitely a schizoid vibe and it falls all over the place in feel and vibe.
The Box, is opened with another drum and bass slow groove before a chugging guitar with dissonant chords come in, really lumbering feel, the riff is sinister, chugging on the E string and an almost distorted vocal part in the verse, with the don’t push me refrain in the chorus, for me this one doesn’t go anywhere, it just sort of stays the same for most of the song, great solo but that is sort of the highlight of the track.
Bad Child opens with another clean guitar intro and an almost Tesla style sort of feel to it, really sort of 80s early 90s rock vibe to it, clean guitars and melody guitars in the background, then when the band comes in, it really is an 80s rock song, Skid Row anyone, nice key changes in the solo section, as expected some really nice playing and a cool harmony before your back to the clean guitar at the start and verse, chorus and out, demo is on here of this one as well, but again it really is a carbon copy of the final version.
In The Blood, clean guitar and a sort of mid-tempo feel ballad style verse, reflecting at this point it’s a completely different band to less than a decade before and some songs are firmly entrenched in 80s balladry, almost a Queensryche/Savatage feel mixed with a heavier Skid Row, that’s what I keep hearing and especially on this track, this one just sort of lumbers along but I can’t say there is any highlight for me on this track, again there is a demo version included.
Speed, it’s almost of jump blues sort of feel to this one, before the double bass Hot for Teacher shuffle comes in, I love the two riffs in the verse and the groove of the whole piece, not the biggest chorus, then the middle section sort of picks up the pace a bit, some really nice playing on that solo, lovely little stops and starts and then a great harmony guitar piece before we have a breakdown before we are back into the shuffle, nice outro solo!
Catch the Wind, we are loving the clean guitar starts to this album, another one comes in on this with a little guitar melody piece backing it up over a slow groove, some nice chord work here, descending from one part into another, for an instrumental track, the reliance on chord work rather than solo guitar for most of it is outstanding, when the heavy guitars and a solo kick in its well-placed, outstanding track!
Refresh the Demon – 1996
An odd, ring a ring a roses sort of guitar part kicks this one off, you will get what I mean when you hear it, then when it kicks in this is more like it, slamming riff and some vicious double bass, that’s a proper headbanger of a riff, I love the dissonant chords that punctuate with the drums, this is a head down barn stormer, that middle section is belting, when it changes feel and into the solo, which as expected is awesome, then a more melodic section comes in with the vocals and then this build up with a snare roll back into the original feel, well executed, class track!
Ultra paranoia, boom, right into a belting verse, full of driving riffs and double bass throttling along, this is already such a massive change from the last album, it’s more what I want from this band, again the solos are just as tight as anything and so well played, again it’s a product of the 90s where there is more double bass than all out speed and thrash on these tracks.
Syn. Kill 1, now straight away this one with the guitar and bass start reminds me of a Fear Factory kind of intro, then it kicks in to a cool groove, one guitar following the drums and the other playing a counterpoint, almost like a Helmet sort of feel on that verse as well, very industrial crossed with a very groove metal feel, I love the pick up into the middle section where the tempo starts to drive forward, very well changed, love the songwriting on this one!
Awaken, guitar trem noises great you at the start of this one, with a weird synth wall coming in every few seconds, almost futuristic feeling, nice little prelude
The Pastor of Disaster, that’s a chunky riff right there, you really hear the bass sound on the start of this, following along, again it’s a real, chunky riff, then it breaks to just bass and drums, now here is the thing, I can’t unhear Sweating Bullets from Megadeth, that verse is almost lifted from the song if you think about it, I love the use of the dissonant chords in the section before and after the solo, it’s a good track but I can’t help thinking of that other song!
City of Ice, this has a real punk rock feel, right from the off it’s like a mix of 70s punk with something more like the Ramones, only with double bass instead of a straight beat, now when you hit that middle section it starts to sound a lot more thrash in feel, that solo is just so cool, you have all the Chuck Berry riffs with really melodic parts and a little bit of shred in there, it’s such an upbeat and dare I say happy song, love it!
A Man Called Nothing, well as I thought, an almost sort of Unforgiven style vibe, the clean guitars and the melody vocals, then a low almost spoken voice part on the verse, the melody guitars are beautiful, then an abrupt change to a mid-tempo double bass verse groove, with a heavy chugging riff coming, that next section with the join us part is straight Alice in Hell vibe with the way they have added the high unison bends to the riff, now, that middle section where it just stops and goes into a jazz section, for me, it just doesn’t work, it should have gone from one part back into the heavy riff after the jazz part and then into the solos, just my opinion, love the transition to the intro again to play the song out.
Innocent Eyes, clean guitar part to open this one, this one has massive ballad vibes to it, and again it just makes me think of Queensryche, even in a way the vocal delivery as well, some nice vocal harmonies in this one, it is an 80s power ballad at heart when you sit back and think about it, the solo is full of feel and phrasing, the second part of it has some lovely blues licks in with the more melody parts, good song but a bit detached from everything else on the album?
Voices and Victim, a slab of a riff comes in to start this off, this one could be a Thin Lizzy or Whitesnake sort of Cold Sweat, Still of the Night vibe, that’s a real stank face of a riff and a nice John Sykes sort of solo comes right in there, the solos after the second verse are just class, again this is pure Whitesnake in feel, that groove, the riffs and the solos, love this one!
Anything for Money, again there is that punk vibe in that riff, then the drumming comes in and yeah, it 100% is that Misfits/Ramones vibe, I love the Misfits so I can’t complain, that’s a good chorus getting shouted out, lovely solo section with some great playing, then a sort of angular riff comes in being syncopated with the drums then back into the verse chorus and out, another great track!
Hunger, that’s an interesting riff with a four to the floor drumbeat, again I mentioned them a few times but Queensryche vibes for sure, it’s a real driving rocker of a track, and i love that little guitar part played under the chorus part, again you get to the solos and they are just perfectly fitted to the song, but the one thing that I love just as much is the climbing rhythm behind them, then back into the groove again, another blinder of a track!
Remains – 1997
Tricks & Traps, clean guitar before the heavier guitars come in, straight away the production seems massive, as soon as you say that there are 2 tempo changes straight away, it’s a weird song as it has a sort of start stop riff in the verse part, full steam ahead, it’s hard to hear that this is a drum machine on the album and that Jeff recorded this all himself, a lot more shredding straight away on the solo for this one compared to the previous two albums, this song reminds me of classic Annihilator!
Murder, some industrial noises in there between that start stop riff, reminds me of Therapy for some reason, think the song Knives, just me? Really good middle section though with a nasty driving riff, then you have an almost clean jazzy sounding guitar playing partner to a more distorted guitar part, makes for an interesting solo section, can’t say I am a massive fan of this track.
Never Forget, love the odd time riff on this when it kicks off, following the drum part, it’s a real head turner, again the vocals are different, this one has Prong vibes all over it, from the riff to the vocal performance and the dissonant chord part out in the far sides of the mix, again that middle section when it drives in is a real headbanger of a part and then it breaks to a weird spacey middle section, some really nice syncopated playing after this part where it goes off in a rhythm harmony part, before a tapping solo hits in, good track but confused at times.
Reaction, that’s an absolute banger of a speed metal riff, this is more like it, full speed ahead on this, I think this is the song I can hear it’s a drum machine, this is a shredding track, full of aggression and violence, this is what I want from Annihilator, that solo with the close two guitar harmony is beautiful then it’s just straight back into the speed again, best track so far!
Human Remains, grimy feel on this, the guitars and the bass seem really fuzzed out, not distorted but like a weird sort of feel, even the drums are very muddy, I can’t say I enjoyed this one at all.
I Want, then you get this track and the production is back, good solid up-tempo track, driving double bass and a bouncy riff, great vocal part on the verse, doubled up, that’s a really catch little guitar melody part that comes in after the verse, you will never catch the magic man is the vocal refrain, the guitar playing is just sublime, again a lovely little melody part there before the main solo comes in, some nice phrasing and playing in there!
Dead Wrong, almost like a Walk sort of vibe to that riff, very Pantera in feel, one for the crowds to bounce about to, even the next riff that comes in feels very Pantera, that solo though that is absolutely stand out then back to the groove again, great track!
No Love, synthy vibes to kick this off before a lone kick drum comes in, this is very industrial in feel, a simple riff comes in, this is very Manson or something, yeah when it kicks in you get a distorted vocal part over that static riff, then the riff with the little guitar beep comes back again, yeah I don’t know about this one at all, its nearly like every song is different and it’s more a collection of ideas than cohesive tracks on this album?
Sexecution, almost like a dance loop starts this one, very synthy and then a simple riff comes in over the drum machine groove, again this in feel sort of goes more to a White Zombie sort of place, some nice parts in here with some of the different riffs, but again its very all over the place in terms of what else there is on this album.
Wind, lovely guitar figure opens this one, clean guitar part that has loads of movement in it, with a delicate vocal over the top, very venerable in feel, this one has a sort of grungy feel in a way, and it sort of reminds me of bands like Mansun, then all of a sudden it kicks up tempo and changes into a more pop punk sort of feel in a way, again it’s a good song but it’s so different in feel.
Bastiage, back to the industrial feel again, pulsing synth bass and a sort of soundtrack feel to the start of this one in a way, think Terminator, that’s what I thought, it’s a cool piece of instrumental music to finish off the album!
More Noise Vol.1
This album is a selection of bonus tracks and live releases and some demos, I have covered a few of these songs already in this review,
Annihilator (Demo), Fiasco (Interlude), 21 (Demo), The Box (Live)
So, let’s have a look at some of the other tracks
Only Be Lonely, this is a bonus track from King of the Kill, this is a very radio friendly acoustic ballad in opening feel, very melodic, again as mentioned before this has huge Queensryche vibes, very Silent Lucidity maybe a bit more upbeat, love the vocal harmonies in the verse, there is a lovely guitar solo section in the middle of this one, nice and melodic and very Queen sounding, love this track!
Weapon X, you are getting a demo version of the song, what you have is for the most part, bass, vocal and harmony guitar parts, then some of the lead but no rhythm guitars, it’s a good look into the song without the main guitar parts
Bloodbath Demo – 1999 demo version of the song that ended up on Criteria for a Black widow album, much like some of the other demo tracks, you pretty much have what you end up with on the main album!
Nothing to Me, this was a single from the Waking the Fury album, it’s a very sort of AC/DC feeling track in a way, I love it to be fair, its catchy and will stick in your head, the part under the solo is gold, love that break after the solo where the riff is there on its own before the band comes in again before another solo, fantastic track!
Back to the Palace, another demo of a son from the Criteria for a Black Widow, it’s a great up-tempo thrashy track, aggressive as anything, there is that lick he loves so much in there that he uses on the Roadrunner Utd song, great middle section on this one, climbing sort of melody riff part, for a demo it sounds absolutely savage!
It’s You, bonus track from the Remains album and again we have an almost power ballad sort of start to this one, lovely vocal in the verse part and then a nice change into the pre chorus as the song sort of opens up, the middle section gets almost Zeppelin epic in vibes, great build up then what’s that, a flute, hmmm, lovely gut string guitar solo part comes in, it’s a great track, really well put together!
Riff Raff, yeah it is indeed, your last track is a cover of the AC/DC classic, this one is lifted from the Refresh the Demon bonus tracks.
I think that this is a confusing set of releases, there are some absolute bangers of tracks in there, but Remains is very all over the place, Refresh the Demon is excellent and then King of the Kill is somewhere in between the two, if you are a completist then you have the extra tracks and demos on there to get a listen to!
The re-release of the ANNIHILATOR years 1994–1997 is just the beginning. Fans and collectors can look forward to more albums coming soon.
Find out more on: https://www.earmusic.com/annihilator-reissues/
