A few weeks ago a package from a well known management company arrived in my mail box. Not expecting anything from this particular company I was surprised to see that it contained a review copy of Annihilator's latest release Feast. I should mention that this wasn't just your typical review copy they had sent me the deluxe eco-pak version with the 3-D cover and and the bonus "Re-kill" disc. Where most companies have gone to an all digital delivery system for releases it was pretty damn awesome to actually receive the version I was just about to buy. If after reading this you are convinced to grab a copy of Feast do yourself a favor and spring for this version. It's packaged in the little book form that several bands from Europe have used over the past years. UDR, the label that put this release out did this same type of packaging for Saxon's Sacrifice, So for a little extra money you get a killer 3-D cover, a 12 page booklet with all the lyrics, and a bonus disc entitled "Re-kill" with 15 of the bands best tracks rerecorded for your metal pleasure. Personally, I would have paid full price for just that bonus disc. It's that good.
It's been three years since Annihilator's last release and as a long time fan I was wondering if I would ever see another release. Our wait has been rewarded as main man Jeff Waters has crafted another masterpiece in "Feast". Jeff is one of the most over looked guitar players in metal and it has always seemed odd that the guy hasn't had the success that his talents deserve. Perhaps part of that is due to his incredible ability to craft parts that serve the song rather than stroke his ego. One of the greatest assets of Annihilator has been the ability to not fall into a cookie cutter approach to writing. A person who has no prior knowledge of their music might listen to Feast and allege that the band is trying to jump all over different genre bandwagons but if you listen to Re-kill it's very apparent that this has always been part of who Annihilator is.
I've spent a few weeks with this disc and it continues to sound as killer as that first pass. Why a few weeks? At heart I'm a metal fan first and as metal fans we usually fall into the trap of savoring that first taste of new stuff from a band, especially one that we haven't heard from in a bit. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't being seduced by that and that this was as amazing as I thought. And yes it is.
The disc kicks of with Deadlock. First impression was that it was like hearing KIll era Tallica (with better drumming). Right from the start I was pumped. It morphs into a more Testament tone after that but nonetheless it doesn't let up and it's a perfect lead off track. Next up is No Way Out. This comes in with some slightly flanged arpeggios and creates a nicely creepy vibe. Then the thrash kicks in. Very nice. The jewel on this songs is the very hooky chorus. Live, this one will go down well and I can hear people singing along to it. There's a great break in there too with a cool half time feel without actually resorting to playing at half time. So far we are two for two.
Smear Campaign sits in the third spot. Very catchy with an almost groove metal vibe. The drums on this one have an almost hypnotic vibe that carry the song while giving Waters the ability to weave some very tasty guitar lines throughout. The bridge section goes to a totally different place making this clearly an Annihilator tune. This one also contains the first of Jeff's truly smoking solos on the album.
Track four No Surrender is the first one on this disc that clearly changes gears. A bass line you would expect from Flea and funk guitar stabs. This one approached the rap metal vibe of Faith No More. Add to that a doomy sounding bridge section and another killer Waters solo before bridging back the funk and you've got a damn cool tune.
For Wrapped the guys clearly put on their GnR hats. It has that punky vibe wrapped with LA Glam and in your face lyrics. Dank Jones wrote the words for this one and they clearly carry a lot of venom and mesh perfectly with Jeff's guitar work. So far not a single letdown on this disc.
Track six Perfect Angel Eyes threw me at first. After the anger and fuck you bitch attitude of the prior track I was a bit stunned to get an acoustic ballad. The sequencing seemed off. But after thinking about it , if this was on vinyl that would be the opener of side 2. Looking at it that way it made sense. So what about the tune? Well I really have an appreciation for a lot of work that Jeff Pilson has done and this song really reminded me of Dysfunctional era Dokken with all the Pilson production qualities. I think that Annihilator could have a massive crossover hit with this song, especially the modern country audience. Although it might not resonate as well with a large portion of the audience that might buy this disc it was incredibly ballsy for Waters to include it.
Demon Code returns us to the land of the insistent pounding of groove oriented thrash. There's a great bright sounding riff that in here that has some potential but I just feel that it's wasted in this tune. Of any of the songs on Feast this is the one that feels like it's a collection of several ideas all being strung together into a song. What saves it for me is the last 3 minutes of the song which is just some amazing guitar work. Except for some brief vocal spots most of the song after 3:37 could easily be on a Satriani album. In fact each time I listened to this one I kept imagining Waters jamming with Satch.
That Satch vibe continues with the opening of Fight The World. The first 1:20 is some atmospheric guitar work with some nice soaring stuff. After that we hit full throttle again. Think of the threesome love child of Anthrax, Living Colour, and Death Angel and you might get the idea. This song is pure metal fun.
Sadly we come the final track, One Falls, Two Rise. At 8:33 this is the longest song on the album. I'm glad they put it last. It's also a more mid tempo track rather than a faster thrash tune. This one has more of a modern hard rock vibe like Alter Bridge. For at least the first two and half minutes. What follows is an amazing mix of thrash with more experimental elements thrown in. If Zappa wrote thrash it might have sounded like some of what's presented in this one. The songs goes back to the more melodic mid tempo theme for the last bit of the song giving the disc a nice ride out.
So let's do the math. Seven well executed metal tracks, one funk track and a ballad. All of them well worth countless listens. For the hardcore Annihilator fans the one possible sticking point may be track six but for my money it just shows how fearless this band can be. I should also mention that for this one it's only Jeff on guitar, bass, and backing vox. He also does the main vox on Demon Code. Dave Padden is once again on vocals and they have Mike Harshaw is hitting the skins. It's the same cast for Re-kill except that Alberto Campuzano is the man on bass. The packaging is top notch. The artwork is killer. This all adds up to a release well deserving your metal dollar.
So what more do ya need? Go get yourself a copy of Annihilator's Feast right now. The final verdict is that like the zombie girl on the cover, this is one Feast that you will continue to gorge upon.
