Annihilator - Alice in Hell (1989)^{Release ID: 2848}

It really is incredible to listen to this album nearly 20 years after its release. To think that such an amazing debut by such a talented band would be followed up by more than 10 albums that wouldn't (with perhaps the exception of the follow-up) get close to the quality of Alice in Hell. It's easy to blame constant line-up changes (Annihilator have had no less than 21 different members), but it's so obvious that the main talent behind this album is Jeff Waters, who has been involved in every single album from day one.

This is tight, energetic and catchy thrash metal with a great production. Randy Rampage's vocals are an acquired taste for sure. But I don't mind them at all and they obviously have no effect on great instrumental tracks like Crystal Ann and Schizos. Out of the rest, Alison Hell, Word Salad and Human Insecticide get me thrashing my head madly, with only Burns Like a Buzzsaw Blade letting it down slightly.

All up, a damn entertaining album from a band that would never meet these dizzy heights again.

I've never really gotten Annihilator. They're not a bad band, they're not a Meliah Rage tier band, where where they're just sort of there. It's just in the years since I first listened to their albums I rarely ever get the urge to revisit them. I remember that the only consistent member of the band is guitarist and occasional singer Jeff Waters, and this is generally the most liked album they released.
For a technical thrash band, they sure don't sound like it. I mean, it's bassy, quite a few riffs on some songs, but for the most part it just sounds like a mundane thrash album. Jeff Waters seems like he's trying to have a more jazzy kind of solo style than you typically get at times with thrash. I think, anyway, it doesn't really sound like anything I've heard from a jazz album but that could just be because the albums I listen to don't mesh with what Waters heard.
The album flows weirdly. The intro track is a non-metal instrumental, followed by a song with an intro that isn't terribly metal either. This is something of a theme, the technical and even thrash aspects of the album feel like something of an informed genre, as often the way the songs go off has more in line with prog. One thing is for certain, with this track order the band wanted to get across that this isn't your typical thrash album. Which does work...until the album becomes something of a typical thrash album.
The vocals are similarly hard to pin down. On a basic level, he's a refugee from a USPM band, maybe a bit more on the thrashy side. Apparently he did more with punk bands than with metal ones. He can do a few interesting tricks, but mostly seems to stick to a not really USPM kind of vocal style, which isn't necessarily bad, but contributes to how this album feels out of whack. Not helping are somewhat limp lyrics concerning abuse and a ill-chosen Poe tale.
That's all not to say that this is a bad album, merely that Alice in Hell doesn't really know what it wants to do. It feels too ingrained in normal thrash to make much use of Waters's abilities, but too out of normal thrash to be a straight thrasher. The music is all good, just with an awkward track listing.

Alice in Hell was an album I had very little interest in beforehand because Annihilator never got the rep of my favorite thrash acts.  Throughout last year, however, I checked out several of their albums.  And I don't remember why, but at the time I first heard this, I loved it.  Now that I came back to it, I can say that while it's a perfectly fine album, I don't love it the way I used to.

It all starts with the acoustic intro "Crystal Ann."  The purpose of an intro is simply to set the mood for the rest of the album, so normally they're just sound effects or a small operatic piece, so they aren't that great.  But "Crystal Ann" is a pure exercise in acoustic rhythm that simply melts the listener.  Of course, this is pretty much forsaken and screwed in the ass as soon as "Alison Hell" begins, and we've got a demonic voice singing deathly poetics alongside strong thrashing, and the weirdness of their lyrical imagery is something the musicians try to reflect with their mood and tempo-changing.  For a post-opener, this is really good, but ironically I like the intro a tiny bit more.  Next, "W.T.Y.D." begins with more speed and a highly technical riff that sounds like it belongs on Rust in Peace.  I gotta admit, I kinda want to cover this since it's so true to everything that thrash stands for, despite the fact that this emerged from a debut album.  "Wicked Mystic" continues the tempo of the previous song, which is something I'm usually against because I want more out of an album than monotony.  However, it was clearly a heavier song with a clear focus on aggression, and with that guy's fucked up voice, the song did feel just a little scary.  A speed-style solo occurs in the middle, and it's easily the best part.  That crazy dance-worthy composition is the kind of thing I would write.  "Burn Like a Buzzsaw Blade" is next, and once again we have the exact same tempo.  The key difference displayed at the beginning is the guitar riffs sounding a little more like a power metal song before going straight to the riffs.  At this point, I had practically already decided that it would take a miracle for this song to surpass the previous.  The whole song was pretty damn repetitive, with no real focus on rhythm at all.  It was pretty heavy, but a kid could've written it.  However, the solo sounded pretty psychotic and the wail at the end helped.

Sibe B starts with "Word Salad."  First, lemme say that's the worst song title I've ever heard that didn't belong to crunkcore.  I like the melodic and dark tone they go for, and despite ONCE AGAIN GOING FOR THE 130-140 BPM TEMPO, is a more complex and technical song than "Buzzsaw Blade." it was kind of a breath of fresh air.  And when the mid-section took a slower pace for the sake of mood and calming the nerves, it was yet another breath of fresh air to the point where returning to the thrash with a kick-ass solo was easy to forgive, and after the third verse we get an even better solo, one that gets really weird and twisty, as if to say, "We already wrote an incredible song, so we can play whatever we want now."  But still, what happened to the tempo changing of the post-intro?  "Alison Hell" did it, so why don't the other songs?  The next track, "Schizos," is definitely a little more speed oriented and perfectly composed, despite yet another venture into the 130-140 BPM sect to start.  But after the intro, we get a much faster riff which doesn't have a lot rhythm, unfortunately.  But just when I thought I was safe, they go back to the old one!  This wasn't what I meant by changing tempos, Annihilator.  At least they keep doing it throughout this near-instrumental with barely determinable vocals that may not have needed to be there.  Still, the song does really jam, and it's obvious that the band is having a blast playing this song.  It's one of those things you can just sense, especially with the wilder stuff like Frank Zappa albums.  That same fun presence is there.  Then "Legeia" came on, and I just gave up.  Once again, the heaviness is perfectly fitting and the production brings the metallic sound out, and the riffs themselves are pretty clever.  But otherwise, this just started out like another thrash song.  "Human Insecticide" was the finale, and it was easily the most aggressive song on a very aggressive album, so it was perfectly suitable, despite needing a little bit of work in the rhythm department.

Alice in Hell is avery heavy and pretty well-written exercise in the essentials of thrash metal, right dow to the evil laugh at the end.  And I'd say it catered to my minimum needs as a thrash fan.  However, that tempo problem really needs to be fixed.

My ultimate Pit test is already at a magnificent start! Annihilator has one of the biggest discographies in any thrash band, with 17 albums, and only one or a few of them turning away from the genre. Jeff Waters has been determined to keep his band going despite the various changes in lineup and what is "all the rage" in metal these days. This band has made some of the best thrash albums I've heard, and this gem from the last year of the 80s is where it all begins...

I believe many of the speedier metalheads around here and out there, whether they like or dislike Annihilator, can agree about how awesome as f*** Alice in Hell is! Dark heaviness, searing technicality, and violent speed is all around. Metal listeners who can't get the hang of this band because of their later albums should give this album some listening. They'll be shocked about the different styles Jeff Waters can put together for a unique original sound. While the later albums have some of those earlier elements, Alice in Hell is where the elements truly shine, in the band's clearest example of traditional/technical thrash metal.

The beautiful intro "Crystal Ann" consists of classical guitar, something that would be integrated into the ballads or softer midsections of songs from the band's next 3 albums and beyond. It's a perfect acoustic start before the tech-thrash booms in. The intro to the classic "Alison Hell" slowly builds things up, then the speed makes its entrance. Clearly the idea of making the track title sound like the album title was taken from Slayer's Reign in Blood. The incredible Randy Rampage (RIP) does an amazing job with his vocals, ranging from thrashy snarling to falsetto screams ("AL-ison Hell!"). The more metallic "W.T.Y.D." (Welcome to Your Death) has a more original lyrical theme. Same with "Wicked Mystic". The lyrics are a bit wacky, but it's a signature aspect for the band, whether you love it or hate it.

It's kinda weird hearing some funky riff-bouncing in "Burns Like a Buzzsaw Blade", but it works quite well. That song and "Word Salad" has slightly more odder lyrics. For the latter song, Randy Rampage adds more aggression and dignity than Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, enough to make that track a superb highlight. The faster "Schizos (Are Never Alone)" is a mostly instrumental song split into two parts. The only lyrics there are the occasional saying of the song title. Quite a thrasher! A sequel ("Part III") would later be recorded for Rampage's other album with the band, Criteria for a Black Widow.

"Ligeia" continues the occasional crazy randomness. To be honest, the wackiness really is what makes the band unique and different from other classic thrash bands. It really adds a bit of happiness to the darkness without being too comedic. And there's more of that in their later material. "Human Insecticide" is the fastest, most thrashy song in the album. There's even a bit of guitar tremolos that might've planted a seed for classic black metal. No time wasted, nothing toned down, just full-on raging thrash!

All in all, Alice in Hell is a standout gem in the massive discography of Annihilator, as well as thrash metal in general. There's blazing power in every song from the guitars and bass. The vocals really have that charismatic anger. With all that and the great production, Annihilator's debut is perhaps one of the best classic thrash metal albums for me. There are many different twists in the rest of the band's journey, but the open-minded fans, such as myself, can find great enjoyment in them. Not a single thing needs to be changed in this masterpiece. Jeff Waters was once a young fellow ready to develop a long incredible journey, and Alice in Hell is the perfect start of it. Go get it if you haven't!

Favorites: "Alison Hell", "W.T.Y.D." (Welcome to Your Death), "Word Salad", "Schizos (Are Never Alone)", "Human Insecticide"

A long time ago I vowed never to waste my time listening to another Annihilator album, so I'm kinda bummed out that I've had to endure them one more time for a Clan Challenge, but I have taken one for the team and listened to the Canadians' debut once more to refresh my memory. I was hoping that maybe time would make me more amenable to it, but no, I still find it insufferably insipid. The recycled Metallica riffs, the boring drumming, the bland songs, the horrible vocals and weak-ass solos are all still as tedious as they ever were. I find it inconceivable that a thrash album can't raise any excitement in me at all, I can usually pick out something about a release that I like, but the sheer banality of this renders me incapable of enjoying anything about it - and this is probably their best album!

I was a big fan of "Alice In Hell" when it was released & it still comes across as a really solid & ambitious thrash metal debut today. Every song includes at least a couple of classic thrash riffs but there are also plenty of more melodic King Diamond & Iron Maiden style heavy metal parts tossed in throughout the tracklisting, only they're generally played at high speed which gives the album a noticeable speed metal feel (see "WTYD", "Word Salad", "Ligeia"). The bass lines are really interesting & are also quite prominent in the mix which really enhances the progressive nature of the composition. Randy Rampage's vocals have invariably been a cause for debate over the years but I've always quite liked them. Jeff Waters guitar solos are certainly impressive, if a little high in the mix. His opening intro piece "Crystal Ann" is pure Yngwie Malmsteen worship.

I have to admit that the song structures are pretty loose by today's standards. In fact, a few of the songs sound quite pieced together but the quality of the riffs is good enough to overcome it. The links to technical thrash metal are overly ambitious as there's really not very much genuinely technical stuff on offer. "Alice In Hell" sits much more comfortably alongside bands like Testament & particularly Megadeth although it's the precision performances & overall sophistication in the song-writing that draws comparisons with the likes of Coroner.

Annihilator's debut album is comfortably their best work but I've never regarded it as a thrash classic. The title track certainly is & there's a case for "Burn Like A Buzzsaw Blade" too but the remainder of the album doesn't quite fit the bill, despite displaying an undeniable consistency & maturity.