Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voicespoke in depth with Annihilator mainman Jeff Waters about Neil Peart’s passing, Touring the USA, working with former Annihilator singer Coburn Pharr and their new album Sadistic Ballistic which will be released January 24 2020 on Silver Lining Music.
Watch the interview below.
When asked about the passing of Rush Drummer Neil Peart
“My top three Rush songs are Spirit of Radio, Limelight and Tom Sawyer. Rush to me is just part of Canada, they are almost not even people, it’s a religion, it’s a statue, it’s a feeling, it’s something you are proud of. Peart was and Rush is part of Canada, when Neil Peart died a little piece of Canada died.”
When asked about the lyrical themes off the new album Ballistic Sadistic
“Seven or Eight of the songs are kind about the same subject and they are just worded sometimes and little specific or more general. The album is not internationally out there trying to create awareness for this subject of the album. In 2001 I wrote a song about domestic violence and it was not about what people think about the stereotypical domestic violence, which is the guy hits or hurts the girl, it was in the reverse and that happens a lot more than people think. Since then I wrote 5 more songs about that subject, not condoning it just saying how wrong it is. So this album in general all spawns from a personal incident that happened to me recently and it wasn’t actually me involved in the domestic abuse it was someone else but it was very close to me and I became a third party in that mess . I had to get this record out personally because I had to get through it like a therapy by getting it all out in the music.The music is much angrier than anything the songs and the music were therapy as i am not an angry person.”
When asked about working with former Annihilator singer Coburn Pharr who sang on Never, Neverland
“Oh yeah, I talked to him last night, he was at my house in the summer, I talk to him all the time. I don’t do this reunion and anniversary crap but that is the one thing I would stop and go backwards for my favorite record, Never, Neverland. The record most people like over all the others and that was the reason I spoke to Coburn last year. I would never do a complete Never Neverland band reunion but I would like to work with Coburn again.”
Heavy metal/thrash metal legends ANNIHILATOR today debut the shredding new lyric video for “Dressed Up For Evil”. The latest single comes by way of the band’s seventeenth studio album, Ballistic, Sadistic, set for release January 24th via Silver Lining Music.
Issues founding guitarist, vocalist, producer, and principal songwriter Jeff Waters of the track, “Evil in the guise of a man; that’s how I would describe the theme in this one. People who have no good in them. Destroying all in their way with abuse, lies, and negativity. Generally, just being a nasty human being and ruining lives in the name of money; thinking that it makes them special. It just makes them evil and a waste of life. Musically-speaking, this one is as old-school ANNIHILATOR metal as it gets. It’s obvious that the vibe in this tune reminds us of the early days of the band; even extending back to the demo days from ’84-’88. A highlight for me in this song is the legendary voice of Raven’s John Gallagher on backing vocals with Durham’s Kat Shevil Gillham (Winds Of Genocide). An honor to have John on this record and his voice helps make this song a killer. Oh, and lots of shred guitar, as some have been demanding for a while! We hope you like this one… we do!”
Watch the video below.
Find the band’s previously released videos for “I Am Warfare,” “Psycho Ward,” and “Armed To The Teeth” HERE.
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Waters, Ballistic, Sadistic was recorded at the brand new, state-of-the-art Watersound Studios UK in Durham earlier this year with additional engineering and editing by bassist Rich Hinks and mastering by Maor Appelbaum (Faith No More, Halford) at Maor Appelbaum Mastering in California.
Ballistic, Sadistic will be available in limited-edition digipak, vinyl, and digital formats. For preorders, go to THIS LOCATION.
METALHEADS FOREVER, one of the biggest metal entities out there (having today 154K+ members, led by David Maloney) and Alpha Omega’s partner since February 2018, have posted online their November+December 2019 issue, featured interviews w/ Alpha Omega’s STEVE DI GIORGIO’s QUADVIUM and SON OF A SHOTGUN alongside ANNIHILATOR, AGNOSTIC FRONT, BLIND GUARDIAN + several reviews & More!
Canadian heavy metal/thrash legends ANNIHILATOR today reveal the official video for “Armed To The Teeth”, the opening track off the band’s explosive seventeenth studio album, Ballistic, Sadistic.
Founding guitarist, vocalist, producer, and principal songwriter Jeff Waters issues of the track: “‘Armed To The Teeth’ is simply about how one should never judge a book by it’s cover. If you poke a bear with a stick, abuse or bully someone, or treat a living creature with disrespect, be prepared that it might turn around and retaliate, far beyond what you ever thought possible. The retaliation could be ballistic and sadistic. Whether it’s about a music industry jerk bullying an artist or about a kid being bullied on the way home from school, karma will catch up to you and bite you in the face. Someday. Although this is a very heavy and aggressive song, we chose to represent the subject by clips of a teen getting bullied; a serious, common, and relevant subject to touch on… and we thought it more appealing than showing this 53 year old musician taking shit from someone in the music biz! Enjoy the metal.”
Find the band’s previously released videos for “I Am Warfare” and “Psycho Ward” HERE.
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Waters, Ballistic, Sadistic was recorded at the brand new, state of the art, Watersound Studios UK earlier this year with additional engineering and editing by bassist Rich Hinks and mastering by Maor Appelbaum (Faith No More, Halford) at Maor Appelbaum Mastering in California.
Ballistic, Sadistic will be available in limited-edition digipak, vinyl, and digital formats January 24th, 2020 via Silver Lining Music. For preorders, go to THIS LOCATION.
Canadian heavy metal/thrash legends ANNIHILATOR are pleased to unveil the official video for “Psycho Ward”. The thought-provoking track centered on domestic violence, comes by way of the band’s seventeenth studio album, Ballistic, Sadistic, set for release January 24th, 2020 via Silver Lining Music.
“Psycho Ward” is yet another example of the band’s return to their roots with a contemporary twist. Issues founding guitarist, vocalist, producer and principal songwriter Jeff Waters of the track,“‘Psycho Ward’ takes us back to the musical vibe of Never, Neverland’s ‘Stonewall’ but with a drastically-different lyrical theme: domestic violence and abuse. I’ve written quite a few songs on this subject since the ’90s. But this song is the perfect combination of ‘old-school’ metal meeting the right lyrical and vocal delivery to get the point across. Enjoy, ‘old-school’ metal fans. Welcome, the new!”
Find the band’s previously released lyric video for “I Am Warfare” HERE.
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Waters, Ballistic, Sadistic was recorded at the brand new, state of the art Watersound Studios UK, in Durham earlier this year with additional engineering and editing by bassist Rich Hinks and mastering by Maor Appelbaum at Maor Appelbaum Mastering in California.
Ballistic, Sadistic will be available in limited-edition digipak, vinyl, and digital formats. For preorders, go to THIS LOCATION.
ANNIHILATOR embarked upon a mammoth forty-three date tour in October and have delivered their signature explosive and energetic live performance across eight countries thus far. Still on the road, you have the chance to catch ANNIHILATOR live. A full list of remaining shows are below.
ANNIHILATOR Live [remaining dates]:
11/27/2019 Colos Saal – Aschaffenburg, DE
11/28/2019 Hirsch – Nürnberg, DE
11/29/2019 F-Haus – Jena, DE
11/30/2019 Substage – Karlsruhe, DE
12/02/2019 Red Club – Moscow, RU
12/03/2019 Club Zal – Sankt Petersburg, RU
(L to R): Rich Hinks (Bass), Jeff Waters (Vocals/Guitar), Aaron Homma (Guitar), Fabio Alessandrini (Drums) Photo Credit – Jasmina Vrcko
A name that should need no introduction in the metal world, ANNIHILATOR was forged in Canada in late 1984. Since then, the band has been touring and releasing records, selling millions of albums to date, nonstop, for over thirty years. January 24th, 2020 marks the release of their seventeenth studio album, Ballistic, Sadistic..
Cited by bands like Megadeth, Pantera, Dream Theater, Children Of Bodom, Lamb of God, Opeth, Trivium, and so many more as having some sort of influence on their music, founding guitarist/vocalist, producer and principal songwriter Jeff Waters and ANNIHILATOR have continued to tour the world, year after year, whilst consistently putting out high-quality true-metal music.
Written, performed, engineered, and produced by Waters, Ballistic, Sadisticwas recorded at the brand new, state of the art, Watersound Studios UK, in Durham earlier this year with additional engineering and editing by bassist Rich Hinks.
“Almost every artist, initially, loves the songs they create. They are like your babies! In my case, it is difficult to be the main writer/producer and stay fresh, come up with new ideas or make old one’s better and I am well aware of that. Since ‘we’ love what we do, we can be blinded to just how good or bad a song or record really is. Time will tell. Press, fans, band members, label, etc… They will all tell you what they think and, in their own ways, are usually right,” reflects Waters. “In this case, I throw that nonsense in the garbage and can tell you that we have made a record that is angry, technical, back to the first three records’ vibes and it is going to be difficult to continue writing another record after releasing this one! It’s the best record I’ve made since 2005’s Schizo Deluxe and I think many will argue that this new one is in the top three. From the ‘Stonewall’-esque track ‘Psycho Ward’ to the haunting ‘I Am Warfare’ and the pissed-off ‘The Attitude’ to the aggression and old-school technicality of ‘Out With The Garbage,’ the record is like this: take the Alice In Hell, Never, Neverland, and Set The World On Fire records, make them angry, combine the old-school production with modern hi-tech studio gear, then add the best guitar work I didn’t know I still had in me, and you’ve got the best we could possibly offer. I honestly cannot wait for everyone to hear this.”
It takes a long time to reach legendary status, and no one can dispute that ANNIHILATOR and Jeff Waters are inspirations, teachers, legends, and a force showing what hard work and love of your craft can bring to the world. It’s about the music. Nothing else.
Ballistic, Sadistic’s belligerent first single, “I Am Warfare”, is available now and can be
viewed below.
Ballistic, Sadistic will be available in limited-edition digipak, vinyl, and digital formats. Preorders will be available beginning October 11th via Silver Lining Music, at THIS LOCATION.
ANNIHILATOR will now embark on a forty-three-date, eighteen country European Tour, which will commence in Newcastle, UK this weekend. See all confirmed dates below.
ANNIHILATOR Live:
10/12/2019 Riverside – Newcastle, UK
10/13/2019 Slay – Glasgow, UK
10/15/2019 Rebellion – Manchester, UK
10/16/2019 Steelmill – Wolverhampton, UK
10/18/2019 Pumpe – Kiel, DE
10/19/2019 Tivoli – Bremen, DE
10/20/2019 Zeche – Bochum, DE
10/22/2019 Luxor – Köln, DE
10/23/2019 Victorie – Alkmaar, NL
10/24/2019 Hedon – Zwolle, NL
10/25/2019 Biebob – Vosselaar, BE
10/26/2019 Underworld – London, UK
10/27/2019 Le Petit Bain – Paris, FR
10/29/2019 Illyade – Grenoble, FR
10/30/2019 Le Metronum – Toulouse, FR
10/31/2019 Santana 27 – Bilbao, ES
11/01/2019 Sala Mon – Madrid, ES
11/02/2019 Rock City – Valencia, ES
11/03/2019 Razzmatazz 2 – Barcelona, ES
11/05/2019 Locomotiv – Bologna, IT
11/06/2019 Legend Club – Milan, IT
11/07/2019 Kofmehl – Solothurn, CH
11/08/2019 Kaminwerk – Memmingen, DE
11/09/2019 Explosiv – Graz, AT
11/10/2019 Boogaloo – Zagreb, HR
11/11/2019 SKC Fabrika – Novi Sad, RS
11/13/2019 Havana Club – Tel Aviv, IL
11/15/2019 Fuzz Club – Athens, GR
11/16/2019 Principal Club – Thessaloniki, GR
11/17/2019 Joy Station – Sofia, BG
11/19/2019 Quantic Club – Bucharest, RO
11/20/2019 Form Space – Cluj-Napoca, RO
11/21/2019 Barba Negra – Budapest, HU
11/22/2019 Szene – Wien, AT
11/23/2019 Kwadrat – Krakow, PL
11/24/2019 Proxima – Warsaw, PL
11/26/2019 Lido – Berlin, DE
11/27/2019 Colos Saal – Aschaffenburg, DE
11/28/2019 Hirsch – Nürnberg, DE
11/29/2019 F-Haus – Jena, DE
11/30/2019 Substage – Karlsruhe, DE
11/02/2019 Red Club – Moscow, RU
11/03/2019 Club Zal – Sankt Petersburg, RU
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 