Annihilator-Never, neverland, 1990

Who is the most well known solo metal artist who is from the states? I guess Dio comes to my mind first. What about the UK? I think of Ozzy. Germany? UDO or Doro. What about Canada? Well, perhaps this band would count. Mainman Jeff Waters was (and is) the lead guitarist, main writer, played bass on a number of recordings, produced and even took a stab at singing in the late 90's for his band Annihilator. This was their second lp and already they had a new singer (something that would be common during the band's now 20 years plus career). Even though this was done in 1990 and speed metal had been big for a few years, Waters and his band manage to bring quite a few sounds of their own. Many speed/thrash bands of the time were trying to copy the bay are sound or Slayer or Kreator, but during their first two releases Annihilator really created their own sound. The first thing that struck after listening to this album today was the amount of riffs. Jeff Waters is like the man of 1,000 riffs. You could pick anyone of these songs and the amount of riffs that are here may be three times the amount of the average speed metal. Of course quantity doesn't matter if you don't know how to organize it. Water's writing is stellar here as the riffs work to build a dizzying attack. The band knows when to be complex and when to plow ahead and that's not something every band knew or could pull off. I remember buying this and Slayer's Seasons in the abyss the same day back in 1990. Slayer was the main one I wanted to I listened to it first and was let down, but then I was quickly blown away when I put this album on. Tracks like Road to ruin and Stonewall just tear along with unbelievable tightness. The title track might be the most complex song here and it works just as well as the rest of the album. Just to let you know the band has a sense a humor they throw in Kraft dinner which is a tribute to macaroni and cheese. Silly topic, but they approach the music with the aggressiveness as any other track. Former Omen vocalist Coburn Pharr is the singer here and he was probably my favorite Annihilator vocalist. I really like his gruff barking style mixed in the tightness of the music. Unfortunately the band spent most of the rest of the decade experimenting with various styles that never came close to this album or the debut. In recent years they have gotten back to a heavier sound though. A very good album worth hunting down if you have never heard it.

***Canada Rocks week continues tomorrow with the topic of what's the difference between metal and hard rock in the United States and in Canada?