Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Annihilator - Never, Neverland (1990)

Annihilator started their career in a bang with the groundbreaking Alice in Hell. It is a masterpiece that showed me what to love from traditional/technical thrash metal. After that one, the band decided to make one more album from their classic era. Only difference is, vocalist Randy Rampage left the band and wouldn't record another album with the band until a decade later. Despite a different vocalist, could Annihilator continue what they had in their breakthrough debut?...

Indeed they could! More of the thrash insanity was unleashed, and the audience continued growing from there. Never Neverland is nicely equal to the fans' expectations, and it's almost as much of a blessing as Alice.

Without any intro, the action kicks off in "The Fun Palace", a catchy highlight for any metalhead. "Road to Ruin" has a lyrical theme of drunk driving, which seems kind of obvious but works out quite well. "Sixes And Sevens" isn't so bad, but it's not really as spectacular as the first two tracks. It just doesn't match their greatness! "Stonewall" has lyrics about blocking information. The song itself is a catchy single to win both new fans and longtime fans.

Taking on a similar "Wonderland"-like concept to the previous album's title track while being a different story, this album's title highlight takes through dark sanity. "Imperiled Eyes" that has faster chorus riffing that can fit in the debut, though it doesn't give you much attention. "Kraf Dinner" is so cheesy. Literally! It's about macaroni and cheese.

"Phantasmagoria" has thrashy riffing worth headbanging, but the mid-paced chorus riffing is kinda lame. Another notable strong track is "Reduced to Ash". The unforgettable closing "I am in Command", a true highlight here. It quite rocks! There's another lame mid-paced riff in the beginning, but then it's decimated hard by the intense aggression of fast thrash. The verses are fast, and the chorus is catchy. It shares the greatness of the debut album's closing track, though not as brutally fast.

So while the vocals by Coburn Pharr don't match the power of Randy Rampage, the riffing and drumming in most songs is h*lla amazing, sounding catchy and fast, each whenever appropriate. Any metalhead can be up for the fun. Welcome to the palace of thrash!

Favorites: "The Fun Palace", "Stonewall", "Never Neverland", "Reduced to Ash", "I am in Command"