Description

Red vinyl with gatefold cover

Annihilator’s 2017 album “For The Demented” promises to pack a premier punch. Despite the ever-changing climate of the Metal World (and releasing a series of “different” Metal records with various line-ups along the way), Jeff Waters and company have consistently delivered strong albums since the band’s debut “Alice In Hell”. Then there was 1990’s best-selling “Never, Neverland”, 1995’s “King of The Kill”, “Schizo Deluxe” in 2005 and many other critically-acclaimed releases up until 2015’s “Suicide Society.” Main man Jeff Waters, in his usual humble manner, says: “Annihilator’s music has been influenced by a good hundred of my favorite bands and musicians; you can hear their contributions to what I have been doing all throughout the band’s catalogue. It’s a bonus and an honor when bands and musicians I love mention that I had something to do with their playing or songs” Which all leads to the fact that Annihilators 16th studio release, “For The Demented”, is certainly their most complete and definitive statement yet. “It was time to analyze what a lot of fans over the years have kept telling me,” says Waters. “It was time to sit down and figure out “why” Annihilators early “thrash-meets-melodic” caught the ears of so many and to try to sweep the “fan” part of my writing/playing/singing out the door and welcome back the mostly-original Waters writing that was to be the first four Annihilator albums.” Waters didn’t venture back alone, while looking back through the bands history. “I was well aware that trying to re-capture the past usually fails, or at least won’t come close. So, I decided to bring in fresh ears, both musically and physically with Rich Hinks, my bassist for the last few years. And doing most all of the records by myself, including writing and playing most all on my own, as well as mixing, mastering, engineering, etc…, well it can become routine and can often hinder you from being objective and more creative. Rich came in and co-wrote the music with me, as well as co-produced the beginning stages of the record. His background of classic thrash metal meets a newer “math” metal style was the perfect combination for me to simply ask, “what do you think of this?” He would most-often reply with “not the Annihilator style I like”, so we would keep going until we both felt that core Annihilator riffing and writing style presented itself. “Bottom line, “For The Demented” captures some feel from Annihilator’s 1985-87 demos mixed with the first 4 records. Back to the thrash meets melody but with some pure Waters guitar riffing, up-graded lead guitar shredding and vocals back to the demo-days meets the “King of The Kill” record. Lyrically, I placed a theme on the record: the human mind and all of its glory, complexity, diversity, weaknesses and insanity! Pretty much the craziness of the music is matched by the lyrics.” “I think Metal Fans are going to hear much of what they have been waiting for from Annihilator.

Track list:
1. Twisted Lobotomy
2. One To Kill
3. For The Demented
4. Pieces Of You
5. The Demon You Know
6. Phantom Asylum
7. Altering The Altar
8. The Way
9. Dark
10. Not All There