Annihilator – ‘Criteria For A Black Widow’/’Carnival Diablos’ (Earmusic)

Annihilator – ‘Criteria For A Black Widow’/’Carnival Diablos’ (Earmusic)

The back catalogue of influential Canadian thrashers Annihilator continues to get a fresh lick of paint, courtesy of earMUSIC. By the late ‘90s, Annihilator main man Jeff Waters had decided to get back to the band’s thrash roots. This resulted in the reunion of original frontman Randy Rampage, and drummer Ray Hartmann. Alongside guitarist Dave Davis, the band delivered the goods with the album ‘Criteria For A Black Widow’ in 1999.

There are some great moments on CFABW, the opening track, ‘Bloodbath’ is peak Annihilator, crunchy riffs, stabbing drums, “THAT” guitar tone, and Rampage spitting and snarling his way through the lyrics. Brilliant stuff.

‘Back to the Palace’ nods to the Alice in Hell and Never Neverland albums. At a time when most metal bands were questioning their existence with the rise of nu metal, Annihilator were forging ahead with their true calling. ‘Nothing Left’ is another full-on thrasher with an amazing performance from Ray Hartmann, he was always one of my favourite thrash drummers. Superb.

The title track is another high point of the album, technical, moody, with more superb performances from a band that’s as tight as it gets. We get some bonus tracks of early demos that are interesting. A must-have in your Annihilator collection.

The band’s momentum carried them into 2001 with the release of Carnival Diablos. This time, we get ex-Overkill vocalist Joe Comeau taking over frontman duties. Hartmann and Davis resume their roles, and we get another solid album in the Annihilator discography. The opening track ‘Denied’ gives us an instant insight into the quality of the material. ‘Comeau’ sounds great, it’s a shame he was just another member in the constant revolving doors at Annihilator HQ. Battered is another full-on thrasher, Jeff Waters should be way more revered than he is. Annihilator are a very important band in the thrash metal story, and their legacy should be cherished.

‘Carnival Diablos’ is solid from start to finish. World-class musicianship and well-crafted songs that remain comfortably in their genre. Waters should be talked about in the same conversations about Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, et al. It’s a travesty that he’s not a household name. Just ask Dave Mustaine what he thinks of Water’s talent.

We get some extra live tracks and a hidden track in a well put together package. Get these albums and remind yourself just how good Annihilator is.

Criteria For A Black Window Here

Carnival Diablos Here

Author: Kenny Kendrick

Annihilator album pre sales and Euro tour dates

Annihilator album pre sales and Euro tour dates
Album Pre-Orders Available From Today  here


ANNIHILATOR– A name that should not need an introduction in the METAL World but, for those who need one: this is a METAL band that started in Canada in late 1984 and since then, ANNIHILATOR has been touring and releasing records (selling millions of Albums to date), non-stop, for 30 years.  January 24, 2020 marks the release of their 17thStudio Album, BALLISTIC, SADISTIC.

The belligerent and pugnacious first single, “I AM WARFARE”, is available now and can be streamed here
Cited by bands in the likes of Megadeth, Pantera, Dream Theater, Children Of Bodom, Lamb of God, Opeth, Trivium and many, many more as having some influence on their music, guitarist/vocalist JEFF WATERS (Annihilator’s founder, producer and song-writer) and ANNIHILATOR have continued to tour the world, year after year, whilst consistently putting  out high-quality true-metal music.
Written, performed, engineered and produced by none other than Waters himself, BALLISTIC, SADISTIC was recorded at the brand new, state of the art, WATERSOUND STUDIOS UK, in Durham earlier this year.
“Almost every artist, initially, loves the songs they create. They are like your babies! In my case, it is difficult to be the main writer/producer and stay fresh, come up with new ideas or make old one’s better and I am well aware of that. Since “we” love what we do, we can be blinded to just how good or bad a song or record really is. Time will tell.  Press, fans, band members, label, etc… They ALL will tell you what they think and, in their own ways, they are usually right!” Said Waters. “In this case, I throw that nonsense in the garbage and can tell you that we have made a record that is angry, technical, back to the first 3 records vibes and it is going to be difficult to continue writing another record after releasing this one!!  Best record I’ve made since 2005’s Schizo Deluxe and I think many will argue that this new one is in the top 3. From the ‘Stonewall-esque’ track “PSYCHO WARD” to the haunting “I AM WARFARE”, the pissed-off “THE ATTITUDE” to the aggression and old-school technicality of “OUT WITH THE GARBAGE”, the record is like this: take the Alice, Neverland and Set The World On Fire records, make them angry, combine the old-school production with modern hi-tech studio gear, then add the best guitar work I didn’t know I still had in me, and you’ve got the best we could possibly offer. I honestly cannot wait for everyone to hear this.”
It takes a long time to reach legendary status, and no one can dispute that ANNIHILATOR and Jeff Waters are inspirations, teachers, legends and a force showing what hard work and love of your craft can bring to the world.  It’s about the music. Nothing else.
BALLISTIC, SADISTICwill be available as a Limited Edition Digipak, Coloured Vinyl and Digital formats.
Unstoppable and relentless, ANNIHILATOR will now embark on a 43 date, 18 country, European Tour, which will kick-off at Newcastle’s Riverside on October 12th.

SEE ANNIHILATOR (JEFF WATERS, AARON HOMMA, RICH HINKS & FAIO ALESSANDRINI) ON TOUR:
12 OCT – Riverside –  Newcastle (UK)
13 OCT – Slay  –  Glasgow (UK)
15 OCT – Rebellion  –  Manchester (UK)
16 OCT – Steelmill  –  Wolverhampton (UK)
18 OCT – Pumpe  –  Kiel (DE)
19 OCT – Tivoli  –  Bremen (DE)
20 OCT – Zeche  –  Bochum (DE)
22 OCT – Luxor  –  Köln (DE)
23 OCT – Victorie  –  Alkmaar (NL)
24 OCT – Hedon  –  Zwolle (NL)
25 OCT – Biebob  –  Vosselaar (BE)
26 OCT – Underworld  –  London (UK)
27 OCT – Le Petit Bain  –  Paris (FR)
29 OCT – Illyade  –  Grenoble (FR)
30 OCT – Le Metronum  –  Toulouse (FR)
31 OCT – Santana 27  –  Bilbao (ES)
01 NOV – Sala Mon  –  Madrid (ES)
02 NOV – Rock City  –  Valencia (ES)
03 NOV – Razzmatazz 2  –  Barcelona (ES)
05 NOV – Locomotiv –  Bologna (IT)
06 NOV – Legend Club  –  Milan (IT)
07 NOV – Kofmehl  –  Solothurn (CH)
08 NOV – Kaminwerk  –  Memmingen (DE)
09 NOV – Explosiv  –  Graz (AT)
10 NOV – Boogaloo  –  Zagreb (HR)
11 NOV – SKC Fabrika  –  Novi Sad (RS)
13 NOV – Havana Club  –  Tel Aviv (IL)
15 NOV – Fuzz Club  –  Athens (GR)
16 NOV – Principal Club  –  Thessaloniki (GR)
17 NOV – Joy Station  –  Sofia (BG)
19 NOV – Quantic Club  –  Bucharest (RO)
20 NOV – Form Space  –  Cluj-Napoca (RO)
21 NOV – Barba Negra  –  Budapest (HU)
22 NOV – Szene  –  Wien (AT)
23 NOV – Kwadrat  –  Krakow (PL)
24 NOV – Proxima  –  Warsaw (PL)
26 NOV – Lido  –  Berlin (DE)
27 NOV – Colos Saal  –  Aschaffenburg (DE)
28 NOV – Hirsch  –  Nürnberg (DE)
29 NOV – F-Haus  –  Jena (DE)
30 NOV – Substage  –  Karlsruhe (DE)
02 NOV – Red Club  –  Moscow (RU)
03 NOV – Club Zal  –  Sankt Petersburg (RU)

For tickets visit: annihilatormetal.com

Produced, engineered, edited and mixed by: JEFF WATERS at WATERSOUND STUDIOS UK
Additional engineering and editing by RICH HINKS

ANNIHILATOR ARE:
Jeff Waters (vocals/guitar), Rich Hinks (bass), Aaron Homma (guitar), Fabio Alessandrini (drums)

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