ALBUM REVIEW: Annihilator – For The Demented

01. Twisted Lobotomy opens with a nice melodic lead riff, followed by immediate fast paced, hectic thrashing and a blistering solo. 30 seconds in and I know it will be a good release from the Metal icons Annihilator. The riffs following on are so catchy and mosh ready, I only saw Annihilator a couple of months ago but this makes me really want to again (alongside the memories of a killer set).
02. One To Kill has a lovely opening riff which continues perfectly from track 1, with more solos of course. The drum work on this track is amazing additionally the lyrics and vocal style are really catchy.
03. For The Demented slows down the pace very nicely and works a great interlude to the Thrash Metal atmosphere, diversity is always key in keeping an album interesting and I believe this song does so well. It has a nice yet uncomfortable atmosphere (possibly due to the chord choices and flanger use). Of course the heaviness kicks straight back in. This song has a sort of similar feel to something off Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” but to me Annihilator are the better band thus this is more enjoyable.
04. Pieces of You slows things again in a glorious ballad style, of course with dark lyrics, but that is what we expect. This song actually works surprisingly well with the faster stuff. I really enjoyed this piece and it reminds me of something but I cannot decide what that may be. Amazing vocal work especially on this song.
05. The Demon You Know brings the heavier tones back, excellent production on this track, really nice lead part in the intro, the drum sound is excellent. This song immediately makes me think of Megadeth (of whom I am a fan so this is not a bad thing). I feel like this was certainly a throwback to some of the early Thrash Metal bands.
06. Phantom Asylum has a really cool dissonant introduction, followed by super groovy riffs which just perfectly suit the head banging rhythm of Annihilator. So far this song is certainly the best. It has a perfect match of groove, heaviness, catchiness and old school brutality. Excellent vocals and instrumentation throughout.
07. Altering The Alter is yet another mosh anthem after the atmospheric introduction ends, there is yet more riffing, shredding and heaviness from the band. The bass work and technically of the guitars on this track is wonderful, really showcasing the band (especially Jeff Waters’) musical ability well in this song.
08. The Way completely changes the atmosphere with an almost pop punk vocal hook and lyrics. Although it is catchy, it really does not fit the album and I cannot decide if I like it on first listen. Standalone maybe I will enjoy it, but as part of this particular music collective, I certainly am not keen personally although I appreciate the change in tempo. Possibly though it could just be poor placement as I think it is (as I said) a song on its own that I will enjoy and I imagine growing on me.
09. Dark is a nice piece of ambient music to break up the album (although I feel it could have been earlier on as it didn’t really flow from the energy set by “The Way” but still a nice little interlude.
10. Not All There is the finale of the album and the Thrash is back and most welcomed. Once again a nice catchy, riff fuelled piece by the band, and a nice ultimate song. The tempo towards the ends slows down and makes for a lovely melodic outro to the album (before the opening riff comes back again and keeps the listener unsure of what will happen next). Great song here!

Overall this album had tons of nice riffs, catch vocal hooks, groovy bass lines and blasted thrashy drums. Despite the placement of tracks 8 and 9, the rest of the album was absolutely killer, really cool material and although for me does not beat some earlier stuff from the band, it is a solid release and I am sure very welcomed in the Metalhead community. Final Rating: 7/10