Annihilator – Metal

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SPV
Produced by Jeff Waters

Following up the hugely well-received All For You (2004) and Schizo-Deluxe (2005) on AFM records, Annihilator switched back to SPV, through whom they released five albums prior to All For You, for their double DVD Ten Years In Hell last year and their new all-star, all-metal opus aptly and simply titled Metal this year.

“AnnihilatorMetal” has been the band’s official website address for many years, so it’s only fitting that they eventually have an album by the same name. Those familiar with the band’s recent output featuring current vocalist Dave Padden, who replaced Joe Comeau in 2004, will know that he has two distinct vocal styles at his disposal, and both are used in equal measure on an album which features special guests from the cutting edge of modern metal on every track. Aside from Padden and obviously Annihilator main-man Jeff Waters on lead guitar (and bass for recording purposes), drummer Mike Mangini returns, having last recorded with the band on All For You.

Razor sharp opener Clown Parade features Nevermore guitar virtuoso Jeff Loomis and is fairly stock recent-Annihilator stuff, fast-paced with biting vocals and blistering solos. It’s quickly followed by one of the album highlights, Couple Suicide. Featuring Danko Jones and Angela Gossow from Arch Enemy on guest vocals the track is not so much thrash, as grooving, blues-influenced metal. It’s probably the grooviest Annihilator track since Perfect Virus and Jones does a superb job. The pace and style of the track really suits his hard rock voice, while Gossow compliments perfectly to give the track that aggressive edge it needs.

After such a high comes the album’s one true low. Army Of One, featuring Anvil singer/guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow, is basically a namechecking session of all the classic metal bands with a rabble-uniting chorus and a lengthy, blinding set of dueling guitar solos which just about save an otherwise sorry song. Children of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho stamps his authority over the short solos of the aggressive but lack lustre thrasher Downright Dominate, which is stylistically very close to Testament, then The Haunted guitarist Anders Bjorler does the same on the more interesting Smothered.

As with each of the previous Annihilator albums with Padden, Jeff Waters handles lead vocals on one song. For Metal he takes on the slower paced, angry Operation Annihilation, with highly tasteful guitar help from Arch Enemy/Spiritual Beggars hero Michael Amott. As if to make up for the pace of Operation Annihilation the epic Haunted is old-school technical thrash, featuring In Flames shredder Jesper Strömblad. Complex riffs, unbelievable solos and aggressive vocals being the order of the day from the very start through to the end eight minutes later with a break in the middle for some ominous reverberated chords and melodies over sound effects of babies crying and children whimpering. It is comfortably the most progressive and atmospheric track on the album, as well as being the longest.

Kicked, featuring Trivium guitarist Corey Beaulieu, starts off much more subdued, although no less technical, than most of its predecessors, but becomes another thrasher after about one minute. It doesn’t really get very far, maintaining the same feel for the whole song. Detonation unconventionally opens with a drum solo from Mangini, and features the most powerful chorus of the album, but is otherwise an uninteresting track with more awesome solos and a guest appearance from Lynam/ex-Mars Electric singer/guitarist Jacob Bunton.

The complexity, speed and variation (check out the superb clean break half way through) return on Chasing The High, with Lamb of God’s Willie Adler supplying the additional shred factor; the solos here being amongst the most astonishing on the whole record. One of the fastest songs on the album this is six minutes of top-drawer thrash.

A double CD digipak edition of the album is available, with the second disc containing selections from Refresh The Demon, Carnival Diablos Waking The Fury Remains and King of The Kill (the other five albums on SPV). This is likely aimed directly at fans of the trendy bands from which the various guests come, who are up to this point unfamiliar with Annihilator. For Annihilator fans it adds nothing.

Something about Metal feels too safe. It’s Annihilator doing what Annihilator do. They haven’t taken any chances. On previous records Jeff and co. sound like they’re pushing themselves. On Metal the complexity is lacking from the likes of Detonation, Smothered, Downright Dominate and Army of One, with massive focus on the solos. All well and good, you may think, but Annihilator have always had that focus on solo, and have had the massive riffs as well. This time the riffs are simpler and safer, which does achieve the desired effect of giving the limelight to the guests, but results in a rather less interesting album than we’ve been used to from the band of late. It’s good. It’s very good. But it doesn’t entirely impress like previous works have and it’s the solos that make it what it is.

“ too safe ”

Tracklist: Clown Parade / Couple Suicide / Army Of One / Downright Dominate / Smothered / Operation Annihilation / Haunted / Kicked / Detonation / Chasing The High
Japan Bonus Track: Heavy Metal Maniac

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Thrash Metal, Annihilator