Annihilator
Alice In Hell

THE REVIEW

This is an album recommended by the "spiladur de satana," as the owner of Stratos, my favorite bar, likes to call himself. One evening he said to me: "Do you like Annihilator?" Me (slightly drunk): "Yes, for fuck's sake and all the angels in a row! The Rush - a song from another album - is amazing". His response: "What the hell are you saying! They’ve gone soft now, listen to 'Alice In Hell,' their first album: stunning!"

Needless to say, I went and checked it out, and he was right. This album is exceptional. From the first song, you understand why Jeff Waters is considered a great: "Crystal Ann" is a splendid instrumental piece played with finesse... a worthy prelude to the hell of "W.T.Y.D.," where Dennis Dubeau's voice (unfortunately only in the group from 1987 to 1989, the year the album was released) is, in my opinion, fantastic, with notably intense angry high notes, while Waters and Dave Scott Davis dominate on the guitar and the drummer, the phenomenal Ray Hartmann, hits throughout the song. The third track is called "Burns Like A Buzzsaw Blade," and again here, Waters and Dubeau are the two poles of the sound, particularly with Waters placing a fantastic solo in the middle of the song. As the background noises of the final part of the third track end, the Canadian combo starts hammering again: after a while, it feels like they’re in your house, personally, I love the bass (entrusted, in this album, to Wayne Darley, who will play with Waters until '94) and drums in "Schizos (Are Never Alone)" (that’s the title of this shocking track, perhaps the best among those by Annihilator) are truly splendid, alternating exchanges between the two guitars and pauses with sudden accelerations and overwhelming rhythm changes.

These first four tracks are splendid, but we're not even halfway through... the best aspect of the album is, indeed, the ease with which the songs alternate; as you listen to this CD, time flies. And indeed we find ourselves in front of "Human Insecticide," another skill piece where, besides the prowess of the future despot Jeff, the delirious voice of the singer stands out again. The show for the quintet of musicians continues with "Alison Hell," where, after a magnificent initial arpeggio-solo alternation, Waters & Co. sharply describe the hell in which a "poor girl" has ended up, nothing like "Alice in Wonderland"! The next track, "Wicked Mystic," continues in the vein of the previous ones with shrieks and ghastly B-movie atmospheres, masterfully realized by these psychopaths! Then comes "Word Salad," another piece where Waters invents arpeggios and rhythm changes, splendidly backed by the rhythmic section: I personally love the central part of the song where everything stops and he restarts with a poignant solo that becomes increasingly fast until the overwhelming finale where Dubeau pushes his voice to the max, then leaving the stage to the sound alone...
Finally, another masterpiece "Ligeia," freely inspired by a work of E. A. Poe (a story of the great author that, honestly, I know only from the song, not being among the few I remember having read), which provides an excellent excuse for the Canadian band to enjoy themselves and entertain us once again! Fantastic!

Without a doubt, this was the best lineup Waters ever had: a great voice, not endowed with absolute versatility, but perfect for the style; a second guitarist like Dave Scott Davies, a worthy companion to the leader; a drummer perhaps not as famous as others, but certainly monstrous like Hartmann; and finally a bassist like Wayne Darley who, without overdoing it, gives a crucial contribution in terms of balance and harmony to the band, placing on some occasions real gems. A splendid album... the good old spiller of Satan was right!!!