ANNIHILATOR - Metal

Annihilator - Metal

10 songs
55:03 minutes
***** ****
Steamhammer / SPV

Bandpage

It’s always a pleasure when a metal legend is releasing a new CD, and Annihilator are no exception. Main man Jeff Waters is responsible for the guitars and part of the vocals, but on every song, he is supported support by members from metal bands like Nevermore, Danko Jones, Arch Enemy, Anvil, Children Of Bodom, The Haunted, In Flames, Trivium, Lynam and Lamb Of God. Even if too many cooks may spoil the food, the recipe works fine this time.

The opener Clown Parade is not the album’s strongest title and suffers from a weak production, but a cool chorus is making up for this. The situation improves on Couple Suicide, a groovy up-tempo metal track. To underline that Annihilator are still a thrash metal band, you have to listen to Downright Dominate and Smothered. Operation Annihilation is the only song with Jeff Waters on lead vocals and this Metallica-like thrash song deals with the highs and lows in the history of Annihilator. Haunted is running for over eight minutes and sounds like a leftover track from the Flotsam & Jetsam debut. Kicked is another raw thrash metal song. The album ends with Chasing The High, a real killer that combines speed attacks with quieter moments.

Metal is even stronger than Schizo Deluxe which Annihilator released about two years ago. It doesn’t reach the class of Alice In Hell, which was an exceptional release for its decade, but it’s nevertheless one of the better Annihilator records. By the way, Annihilator so far released 18 albums and featured 24 different band members. Jeff Waters must be hard to handle, but he is also a first class metal maniac.

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