Hard 20 |
Annihilator"All For You" Prepare for Annihilation! Jeff Waters and his band of merry Canuck thrashers have returned from hibernation in the Great White North with another pummeling album of bone crushing metal! Jeff, as always, is captain of the ship. Annihilator is his baby, as it has been from the very beginning. On this album, he wrote all the songs, played all the guitars and bass, and produced it. A damn fine job he did! All the songs are brilliantly executed, and if I didn't know better I'd swear this was a twin guitar band! Former Annihilator guitarist Andy Curran does join the band for a solo on one song. The permanent band members include vocalist Dave Padden and drummer Mike Mangini, both of whom do great at their respective jobs. Dave has a very powerful voice and Mike drums with aggression, skill, and precision. Most of the songs on "All For You" are in the classic Annihilator/speed metal vein, like "Dr. Psycho", "Demon Dance", "Bled", "Both Of Me", and "Rage Absolute", blitzin' tunes all! They took me back to the 80s when thrash reigned supreme! I was, however, brought back to the present by a couple of songs with a bit of a "modern" flavor, those being the title track, which kicks off the album, and has some Pantera influence, with chuggy guitar riffs, Mike singing like Phil A., and a pounding beat; and "The Nightmare Factory", which sounds like a three way collision of classic Annihilator, Pantera, and Alice In Chains. Also included are a couple of acoustic ballads; "The One", which has a mournful feel to it, and actually reminded me of "I Lost You" by Witchfinder General, if anyone is familiar with that song; and "Holding On", which is more hopeful and uplifting. Do not get the idea that Annihilator are going soft, however. They are just as thrashin' as ever, and have dished out a hell of an album here. Jeff is a genius who never fails to deliver, and has never strayed far from his roots. In spite of the constant lineup changes in the band, he's never let that cramp the style of Annihilator. Mr. Waters just seems to have a knack for picking the right guys, and making great metal music! |
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