 ANNIHILATOR
Schizo Deluxe
Locomotive Records 2005
www.annihilatormetal.com
Read the Jeff Waters interview
What’s the 4-1-1?
After 10 studio albums and 72 band member changes, Canadian thrash
metallers Annihilator return with there 11th studio album. This one
promises to stay true to their early thrash days.
Genre
Heavy metal / thrash / hard rock
The Good
The Beast is unleashed on “Maximum Satan.” Dave Padden’s doubled-up,
echoed vocals mixed with Jeff Waters’ dark and heavy riffs help make for
one evil track. “Drive” barrels along like a racecar burning down
the track. The drum work is so frantic that one has to wonder how many heads
were damaged. “Plasma Zombies” takes a social stance on how young
kids today are hypnotized by video games and how images on television may influence
their lives. It’s set to a backdrop of monster riffs and powerful vocals.
Annihilator continues to express their social views on “Like Father, Like
Gun.” The rhythms fire off in typical thrash metal style, with shaded
of classic Pantera thrown in.
I would actually classify “Clare” as
a dark and ominous ballad. The track leans a lot on softer tones as it builds
to a distorted release during the chorus. Three bonus tracks are thrown in on
this release; all are rare demo or unreleased recordings. You can hear contrasting
vocal styles on “Weapon X” and “I Am Command,” but both
stay true to Annihilator’s early days. There’s also a song called “Annihilator” that
was taken from a Canadian radio premier sometime in the eighties. What metal
band didn’t have a song titles after them back then?
The Bad
Nothing notable
The Verdict
Annihilator deliver the goods with a thrash metal album that would go down
as historic, if this were 1985. Schizo Deluxe is sure to please the band’s
European and Japanese faithful, but how it plays out in the U.S. will probably
be worse than it deserves. It hard, it’s heavy, and it’s metal!
Did You Know?
Annihilator was founded in 1984 by guitarist and chief songwriter Jeff Waters.
Rating:  out
of 5
--George Dionne
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