Annihilator (band)

Annihilator
Annihilator at Wacken Open Air 2013
General information
origin	Vancouver , Canada
Genre (s)	Thrash metal , heavy metal , speed metal
founding	1984
Website	www.annihilatormetal.com
Founding members
guitar	Jeff Waters
singing	John Bates (until 1985)
Current occupation
Guitar, vocals	Jeff Waters
Bass, vocals	Rich Hinks (since 2015)
Guitar, vocals	Aaron Homma (since 2015)
Drums	Fabio Alessandrini (since 2016)
former members
singing	Randy Rampage (1989–1990, 1999–2000; † 2018)
singing	Coburn Pharr (1990-1992)
singing	Aaron Randall (1993)
singing	Joe Comeau (2000-2003)
guitar	Myles Rourke (1985)
guitar	Joe Bongiorno (1985)
guitar	Casey Taeves (1989)
guitar	Anthony Greenham (1989)
guitar	Dave Scott Davis (1989-1992, 1993-2001)
guitar	Neil Goldberg (1993)
bass	David Scott (1984–1985)
bass	Wayne Darley (1989-1993)
bass	Cam Dixon (1994-1995)
bass	Lou Bujdoso (1996-1997)
bass	Sandor de Bretan (2004-2005)
Bass, vocals	Alberto Campuzano (2009-2014)
Drums	Rob Lange (1985)
Drums	Paul Malek (1985, 1986)
Drums	Richard Death (1985)
Drums	Ray Hartmann (1987-1993, 1999-2001)
Drums	Rik Fedyk (1993)
Drums	Mike Mangini (1993, 2004-2005, 2007)
Drums	Randy Black (1993-1996, 2001-2004)
Drums	Dave Machander (1996)
Drums	Rob Falzano (2004)
Drums	Mike Harshaw (2012-2016)
Guitar and vocals	Dave Padden (2003-2014)
bass	Oscar Rangel (2014-2015)
Live support
Drums	Alex Landenburg (2007) , Ryan Ahoff (2007–2008) , Carlos Cantatore (2010–2011)
bass	Brian Daemon (2007) , Dave Sheldon (2007-2008)

Annihilator ( engl. "Destroyer") is a thrash metal - band from Vancouver , Canada . It was founded by guitarist and band boss Jeff Waters.

Guitarist and singer Jeff Waters at the Rockharz Open Air 2016.

Drummer Fabio Alessandrini at the Rockharz 2016

history

The early years: 1984–1988

Annihilator were founded in 1984 in Ottawa , Canada by Jeff Waters . John Bates is at his side as a singer and lyricist. In 1985 the duo recorded the song Annihilator in a local studio, with Jeff Waters being responsible for the drums and bass in addition to the guitar. A little later the two found a suitable bassist in Dave Scott. For the first promotional photos, the demo layouter, Rob Lange, is taken onto the photo as the supposed drummer. Shortly afterwards, the three musicians find the right drummer in Paul Malek. Myles Rourke and Joe Bongiorno are part of the band as second guitarists.

The four-part Waters, Bates, Scott and Malek recorded the first band demo Welcome To Your Death that same year and gave their first concerts in Val D'Or, Quebec. After Malek left, Richard Death joined the band as drummer for a short time before the group split up and Jeff Waters continued on his own. In 1986 Waters recorded the second demo, Phantasmagoria , in which he was responsible for the vocals in addition to guitar and bass. Paul Malek is again on the drums. The demo later becomes one of the five most swapped tapes of all time in the heavy metal sector. In 1987 a third, untitled demo followed with which Waters aroused the interest of record companies and a manager from Vancouver. Believing the manager's promises, Jeff Waters relocates to Vancouver.

There he meets the drummer Ray Hartmann, with whom Waters is now teaming up. In 1988 the two began recording the first Annihilator album, on which Jeff Waters played all the guitars and bass again. At the same time, the duo is looking for a singer who they finally found in 1989 in the former bassist of the Canadian cult punk band DOA , Randy Rampage .

Annihilator eventually sign with Roadrunner Records , who want a full band. The post on bass is quickly filled with Wayne Darley. Filling the position on the second guitar turns out to be a little more difficult. When the record company wants a photo of Annihilator, Casey Taeves, who is holding an audition with the band, appears in the picture. The final decision is between Anthony Greenham and Dave Scott Davis. Although Greenham appears on the back of the debut album and can also be seen in the video clip for Alison Hell , Dave Scott Davis ultimately gets the job, who is also on the tour. In the song Alison Hell , in addition to Rampage and Waters, John Bates and the singer Dennis Dubeau can be heard in some passages.

The first successes: 1989–1994

Alice in Hell , the title of the first album, was released in September 1989 and, not least because of the song Alison Hell, caused a lot of attention in the scene. Due to discrepancies on the following tour (with Onslaught in Europe and Testament in the USA), singer Randy Rampage was fired before the second album was recorded and replaced by former Omen singer Coburn Pharr.

The second album Never, Neverland underlines the status of Annihilator, not least with a European tour as support for Judas Priest . Annihilator are in second place in billing via Pantera . In the same year Waters received the invitation to audition for Megadeth for the vacated guitarist position. He prefers to continue to take care of his own band. With the next album the line-up of the band changes again. Guitarist Davis clears his seat for Neil Goldberg and Coburn Pharr hands over his mic to Aaron Randall. Drummer Ray Hartmann can still be heard on three songs on the album, but is ultimately replaced by Mike Mangini. Rik Fedyk can be heard on the drums on the song Phoenix Rising , the first Annihilator ballad.

Set the World on Fire marks a partial departure from Thrash Metal of the early years towards more commercial Heavy Metal. The album is selling well in Asia, but is not as well received by European and American fans as the first two releases. After a European tour with Coroner , Mangini leaves the band for extremes . Randy Black becomes the new drummer and Dave Scott Davis returns to the band as the second guitarist. Bassist Wayne Darley - meanwhile the only remaining member of the debut album besides Waters - leaves his place. Cam Dixon comes for him.

At the same time, Annihilator are released from their deal with Roadrunner. The band signs with Music For Nations. In 1994 Annihilator - or rather Jeff Waters and Randy Black - are back in the studio. The fourth album King of the Kill is not only heavier again, but also comes up with the fourth singer: Jeff Waters is now on the microphone himself. At least now Annihilator can officially be considered as a solo band of Jeff Waters.

The late 90s: 1996–1999

In 1996 the album Refresh the Demon was released , a consequent sequel to King of the Kill . Waters still sings himself, Randy Black is on the drums, but is replaced by Dave Machander on tour. Second guitarist is still Dave Scott Davis and Lou Bujdoso is on bass. A year later, Waters is back. The album Remains is completely single-handedly produced and recorded by Waters. The use of a drum computer gives the record a mechanical coating that extends over the entire album.

In 1999 Annihilator signed again with Roadrunner Records. The album Criteria for a Black Widow will be released with the reformed line-up Randy Rampage (vocals), Jeff Waters and David Scott Davis (guitars), Russell Bergquist (bass) and Ray Hartmann (drums). But already on the following tour with Overkill , the situation escalated when a drunk Rampage rioted in the tour bus. His replacement will be Joe Comeau, who previously played guitar for Overkill.

The new millennium: 2000–2005

In January 2001 Carnival Diablos appears as the first album with the new line-up. This is followed by a tour with Soilwork and Nevermore , whose tour guitarist Curran Murphy moves to Annihilator's camp after the tour, as Davis has to pass due to an injury. Ray Hartmann also leaves the band because he doesn't want to give up his well-paying job for Annihilator. For him, Randy Black returns again. The album Waking the Fury , published in March 2002 via SPV / Steamhammer, impresses above all with its distorted guitar sound, for which Waters has to take some criticism. This is followed by a tour as a headliner with Seven Witches and Debase before Waters surprisingly separates from Joe Comeau because of “musical and personal differences”.

In the summer of 2002, Jeff Waters jumps in as a replacement for Al Pitrelli at Savatage and does a tour. In October Annihilator signed with AFM Records and released the live album Double Live Annihilation before they started looking for a new singer. In the summer of 2003, Annihilator and Dave Padden presented Comeau's successor and completed a European tour. Padden previously played for the Canadians Theory of a Deadman . In the same year, Randy Black accepts a well-paid offer from Primal Fear and leaves Annihilator. Mike Mangini is returning as a drummer for the recordings for the next album. In January 2004 Russell Bergquist left the band. He is replaced by Sandor de Bretan.

All For You is out in May. When the band toured Europe in June to support the reunited Judas Priest , Rob Falzano was also on the drum kit. In August, Jeff Waters is once again in conversation as lead guitarist for Megadeth , but again the idea does not work out. The eleventh studio album Schizo Deluxe will be released in November 2005. Tony Chappelle can be heard as the drummer. At the end of February 2006, the band's first DVD release entitled Ten Years in Hell was released .

Activities until 2020

Despite a number of line-up changes, Annihilator are still among the most famous Thrash Metal bands. A tour to Schizo Deluxe was completed in early summer 2006. On April 13, 2007, the next Annihilator studio album, entitled Metal , was released. Jeff Loomis ( Nevermore ), Angela Gossow and Michael Amott ( Arch Enemy ), Steve "Lips" Kudlow ( Anvil ), Alexi Laiho ( Children of Bodom ), Anders Bjørler ( The Haunted ), Jesper Strømblad ( In Flames ), Corey Beaulieu ( Trivium ), Jacob Lynam (Lynam), William Adler ( Lamb of God ), as well as Danko Jones are part of the guest contributions.

On April 16, the album was also released in Europe. Following this, Annihilator went on a European tour to support Trivium , which included more than 40 concerts with Alex Landenburg behind the drums and Brian Daemon as bassist. Annihilator celebrated the end of the tour as headliner at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg in June 2007.

In October 2007 Annihilator appeared as the opening act for the European part of the "Wicked World Tour" by Iced Earth . On May 17, 2010, her thirteenth studio album, Annihilator, was released in the United States. The album was released in Europe on May 21, 2010.

On August 1st, 2013 they played again at the Wacken Open Air . In addition, their fourteenth studio album, Feast, was released in Europe on August 23, 2013 . In December 2014, Dave Padden left the band because he was tired of going on tour. As part of the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise, the band performed for the first time with Coburn Pharr, who had once sung on the album Never, Neverland . Jeff Waters took over the vocals again and began work on the new album Suicide Society , which was released on September 18, 2015.

In 2017, For the Demented was the sixteenth album. On August 14, 2018, former Annihilator singer Randy Rampage died after a heart attack at the age of 58. On January 24th, 2020 the band released their 17th studio album Ballistic, Sadistic .

occupation

There have been numerous changes in the band since its inception. With the exception of Jeff Waters, who continuously worked on the concept, is no longer a founding member in the band.

Discography

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Never, Neverland   DE 37 08/20/1990 (11 weeks)   UK 48 08/11/1990 (1 week) Set the World on Fire   DE 79 07/05/1993 (7 weeks) Criteria for a Black Widow   DE 79 06/14/1999 (1 week) Carnival Diablos   DE 71 02/12/2001 (1 week) Annihilator   DE 49 06/04/2010 (1 week) Feast   DE 20th 06.09.2013 (2 weeks)   CH 36 09/08/2013 (1 week) Suicide Society   DE 44 09/25/2015 (1 week)   CH 33 09/27/2015 (1 week) Triple threat   DE 93 02/03/2017 (1 week) For the Demented   DE 73 11/10/2017 (1 week)   CH 42 11/12/2017 (1 week) Ballistic, sadistic   DE 22nd January 31, 2020 (1 week)   AT 47 02/07/2020 (1 week)   CH 11 02/02/2020 (2 weeks)

Demo tapes

• 1985: Welcome to Your Death
• 1986: Phantasmagoria
• 1987: Untitled demo
• 1988: Alice in Hell (demo)

Studio albums

• 1989: Alice in Hell
• 1990: Never, Neverland
• 1993: Set the World on Fire
• 1994: King of the Kill
• 1996: Refresh the Demon
• 1997: Remains
• 1999: Criteria for a Black Widow
• 2001: Carnival Diablos
• 2002: Waking the Fury
• 2004: All for You
• 2005: Schizo Deluxe
• 2007: Metal
• 2010: Annihilator
• 2013: Feast
• 2015: Suicide Society
• 2017: For the Demented
• 2020: Ballistic, Sadistic

Live albums

• 1996: In Command Live 1989
• 2003: Double Live Annihilation
• 2009: Live at Masters of Rock
• 2017: Triple Threat Live

Compilations

• 1994: Bag of Tricks (Rare Tracks)
• 2004: The Best of Annihilator

Singles and EPs

• 1990: Stonewall
• 1991: Never, Neverland
• 1993: Set the World on Fire
• 1993: Phoenix Rising
• 2004: The One (EP)

Video albums

• 2006: Annihilator: Ten Years in Hell (2 DVDs)
• 2009: Annihilator - Live at Masters of Rock

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Annihilator: Live video from the "70,000 Of Metal" performance with Coburn Pharr is online Rock Hard, January 29, 2015; accessed on November 20, 2019.
2. ↑ RANDY RAMPAGE, Canadian Hardcore Legend And Former ANNIHILATOR Frontman, Dead At 58 blabbermouth.net August 15, 2018; accessed on November 20, 2019.
3. ^ Holger Stratmann: Ballistic, Sadistic. Rock Hard, January 24, 2020, accessed February 29, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH UK

Web links

Commons : Annihilator  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website
• Annihilator at laut.de
• Annihilator at Allmusic (English)