On album, Canada's Annihilator are a furious metal machine, capable of cranking out solid thrash or classic sounding power metal, but in a live format, the band is a different beast altogether. Double Live Annihilation, recorded on the band's 2002 European tour, is a blistering 2CD set packed with Annihilator classics old and new, and the lavish digibook packaging that adorns the two discs contains plenty of great color photographs of the band onstage and behind the scenes. The performances here are red hot, displaying a band that surprisingly has never been a household name after all these years of kicking some serious metal ass. Led by guitarist extraordinaire Jeff Waters, the rest of the Annihilator line-up for this CD (Waters changed the roster quite often) is singer Joe Comeau (ex-Leige Lord & Overkill guitarist, and current singer for Tad Morose), Russ Bergquist on bass, Curran Murphy on guitar, and Randy Black on drums.
Fast and furious thrashers like "Murder", "Ultra-Motion" and "Denied" mix in with more groove laden thumpers like "Box" and "King of the Kill", showing that Annihilator can rage with the best of them. If you've never heard the music of Annihilator before, take Megadeth, Savatage, Fates Warning, and maybe a little Overkill and Testament, put them in a blender, and out comes this crazy thrash machine with stellar guitar chops and melodic hooks. While Waters always was an admired guitar hero, his maniacal style is complemented well here by Murphy, which allows the two to indulge in some wild dual guitar riffery and solo interplay. Comeau is an unlikely choice for a singer considering his past as mainly a guitar player on the metal scene, but he really has a solid gruff voice, kind of similar to Chuck Billy from Testament, which really works on these grooving, complex, and thrashy songs.
If you're not pummeled into submission three quarters of the way through this set, by the time the classic "Phantasmagoria" or even "Alison Hell" blast out of your speakers you certainly will be. This is riff-o-rama the way it should be played, as there are few bands out there today who can churn out monsters like "Refresh the Demons" or the intelligent "Never, Neverland" like these guys do, and with ease. To top it all off, Jeff Waters is a true guitar talent, one of the most overlooked metal players of the last 20 years. So yeah, this is a kick ass live album-check it out and experience the annihilation for yourself if you don't believe me.
Track Listing
Disc: 1
1. Murder
2. Ultra-Motion
3. Box
4. Denied
5. Blackest Day
6. King of the Kill
7. Torn
8. Lunatic Asylum
Disc: 2
1. Set the World on Fire
2. I Am in Command
3. Refresh the Demon
4. Syn. Kill 1
5. Never, Neverland
6. Striker
7. Bliss
8. Phantasmagoria
9. Crystal Ann
10. Alison Hell
11. Shallow Grave
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