Annihilator - Alice In Hell (1989)

Some bands just literally come from nowhere and Canada's Annihilator were one of those acts. Oddly, they completely passed me by despite the huge buzz around six-stringer and band head honcho Jeff Waters. For many Annihilator were up there with the thrash titans, for me it was the out of place vocal sneer of Randy Rampage that kind of put me off, but there was no denying the frenetic power of Waters and the rest of the band as they tore through what have now become classic thrash tracks such as the title cut, 'Buns Like A Buzzsaw Blade', 'Welcome To Your Death', 'Ligeia' etc, etc. The sound of Annihilator was oh so clear and almost pure in its energy, and maybe by 1989 I'd experienced too much else within the metal realm to be turned on by this type of thrash. Even so, 'Alice...' majestically sits alongside the likes of Megadeth's 'Rust...' as being a complex, relentless but sweeping record that deserves its accolades many years later. Although the band would go through several line-up changes - the various band members simply playing second fiddle to main main Waters, a la Chuck Schuldiner and Death, there's no denying that Annihilator are a cult metal act who never quite made the big time. The first handful of records were certainly where it was at, but like Metal Church and their glistening decibel's of harmonious power metal, Annihilator will simply have to exist as another of those much admired and highly talented bands who for some strange reason never made the big time - but remain all the more potent for it. Good stuff.

8/10