Annihilator
is considered by many to be the perfect example of an
intelligent, sweaty, ever surprising metal act, Undoubtedly
back in the late 1980’s with the Alice In Hell and Never
Neverland albums they were arguably one of the best thrash
metal bands around. Band leader and guitarist Jeff Waters
is without question one of the best lead players and most
intricate riff writers in the genre, but the majority of the
bands work since the 1993 album ‘Set The World On Fire’ left
me feeling rather let down. So its was with some apprehension
when I first put ‘Metal’ into my CD player all the more
enhanced by the accompanying press blurb from Waters stating,
“Metal is going to be known as one of the coolest guitar
albums out there but this is also one of the best-written
records in my career; something that you can never achieve if
you try… it just happens!”. The album also boasts a guest
list that reads like a who’s who of modern metal with names
such as like Alexi Laiho (Children Of Bodom), Danko
Jones (Danko Jones), Michael Amott and Angela
Gossow (Arch Enemy), Corey Beaulieu (Trivium),
William Adler (Lamb Of God), Jeff Loomis
(Nevermore), Jesper Strømblad (In Flames), Steve
´Lips` Kudlow (Anvil), Anders Bjørler (The
Haunted), Mike Mangini (Steve Vai, Extreme,
Annihilator), Jacob Lynam (Lynam) and more. Not names
you would normally see mentioned here at virtuosityone.com but
a friend that is into many of these bands seemed pretty
impressed by the line up.
So without further a do lets get to the music. Well Jeff
Waters has lost nothing in the guitar stakes over the years,
in many respects the classic Annihilator sound is here in
buckets full, But I can’t help but feel the album lacks some
of the traditional Annihilator identity mainly in the vocal
department. Lyrically the album does have a few laughable
moments, ‘Army Of One’ being a particular moment, but
the riffing and drumming normally makes up for any lyrical
shortcomings. Opener, ‘Clown Parade’ is blistering
from start to finish, ‘Couple Suicide’ sees some of
Water jazz influence at the start before losing some ground
with the modern metal sounding verse and chorus, the riff are
however ripe. ‘Downright Dominate’ is crushing
musically but does suffer from a weak vocal melody line whilst
Water riffs in classic fashion throughout ‘Smothered’.
‘Operation Annihilation’ is reminiscent of Pantera in
places with its chunky riff and before heading into a ‘Set The
World On Fire’ era chorus. Clocking in at over 8 minutes
‘Haunted’ is one of the fastest tracks tempo wise on the
album and the tightness displayed by Water and Mike Mangini
(with double bass drum work to rival Dave Lombardo people) is
an undoubted highlight and one that will surely be unstoppable
in the live environment. ‘Kicked’ sees some of the
more experimental sounds displayed through the bands past come
into play and again some storming shred from Waters.
‘Detonation’ sees the band borrow quite shamelessly from
Black Sabbath for the verse melody sadly the chorus lets the
track down somewhat, again musically it can’t be faulted.
Album closer ‘Chasing The High’ is sure to get the mosh
pit at gigs into a frenzy and some of the most intense music
on the album can be found here, but it does seem to lack a
little direction to these ears although the track is salvaged
somewhat by a trademark Waters solo.
SUMMARY
Overall ‘Metal’ is a solid album, nothing truly special
in the vocal or lyrical stakes but musically it’s a prime
slice of thrash/modern metal. Jeff Waters is still one of
the best guitarist in the metal genre but I can’t help but
unfortunately feel this album isn’t the classic the bands label or
even Waters himself would like us to think it is. Fans of
the band are advised to pick this up, but anyone new to the
Annihilator brand would be better off starting with the true
classics ‘Alice In Hell’ or ‘Never Neverland’ and then work
their way towards this. If you do appreciate the more
modern Annihilator sound this this is recommended.
RATING
80%
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
http://www.annihilatormetal.com
