The Best of Annihilator in Bloomington, MN

Canadian
thrash
mainstay
Annihilator
's reputation is founded on their early
Roadrunner
catalog, and as
The Best of Annihilator
shows, it's with good reason. Drawing from their first three albums,
Alice in Hell
(1989),
Never Neverland
(1990), and
Set the World On Fire
(1993),
highlights guitarist and group mastermind
Jeff Waters
' eclectic tastes and massive chops. From the precise acoustic picking of
"Crystal Ann"
and its natural follower, the over the top electric histrionics of
"Alison Hell,"
to
riff classics
"Phantasmagoria"
and
"Set the World On Fire,"
Waters
steers the band on a course between the
metal
in his hands and the
power metal
in his head. The two styles don't always sit well together, but few could make them sound as bonded as
on this classic material. There are two live cuts thrown in as well,
"Human Insecticide,"
taken from 1994's outtakes collection
Bag of Tricks
, and
"I Am in Command,"
from the live collection
In Command
, proving that
could pull off his guitar antics outside the safety of the studio. ~ Wade Kergan