This may be the worst musical travesty I’ve heard all year. Ever since my 80s metal tape-trading days, I’ve liked these guys. Jeff Waters is an incredible guitarist, and he knows how to make a great metal album. I’ve always thought of ANNIHILATOR as the kind of band that doesn’t vary their style very much from album to album. Despite a lot of lineup changes over the years, these guys have cranked out some real gems. For example, 2002’s “Waking the Fury” is just a great thrash album. Joe Comeau is the kind of veteran metal vocalist that really “gets it”, and even adds that kinda Bon Scott / Paul Baloff vibe to Waters blistering axe work.

Well, we’ve got a new singer in the ANNIHILATOR camp, Dave Padden, as well as a new drummer Mike Mangini on this album. This new lineup and some of the production techniques present have made this an absolutely painful experience for mine ears. Waters still rips, but instead of the poised snarl of Comeau, we get pitiful angst-ridden blubbering from Padden. I don’t know about you, but I don’t need to hear more STAIND-style balladry (check out “The One” or “Bled”…ugh!) than I’m currently exposed to via the FM stations. Padden’s “angry” side in the heavier tracks comes through sounding more like a pale version of Serj Tankian than a thrash metal frontman. Really, this thing sounds more like a parody of ANNIHILATOR than an actual release. Two crappy ballads? Come on, man. Then there’s stuff like “Rage Absolute”, a confusing mess of a song, that alternates between crappy nu-whining and attempts at 1987-styled classic thrash. Plus, the lyrics come across really cheesy on this thing, which can probably be attributed to Padden’s delivery more than anything. Listen to “Dr. Psycho” and try not to giggle. I know we’re not going for a Pulitzer prize here or anything, but this is just laughable. I remember being disappointed at the drop in quality from MEGADETH’s “Rust in Peace” in 1990 to the lackluster “Countdown to Extinction” in 1992. Well, that was nothing compared to this catastrophe. Break twice and flush.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: www.annihilatormetal.com

RELATED ITEMS: No related articles at this time.