ANNIHILATOR — Refresh the Demon (review)

ANNIHILATOR — Refresh the Demon album cover Album · 1996 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
UMUR
"Refresh the Demon" is the 5th full-length studio album by Canadian thrash/heavy metal act Annihilator. The album was released through FEMS/CMC/Music For Nations in March 1996. It´s the successor to "King of the Kill" from 1994 and compared to the two-piece lineup who recorded the predecessor (Jeff Waters on guitars, bass, vocals and Randy Black on drums), guitarist Dave Davis has been added as a second guitarist. So "Refresh the Demon" was recorded as a three-piece.

Stylistically the material on "Refresh the Demon" continue the melodic thrash/heavy metal style of "King of the Kill (1994)". Annihilator can play both harder edged thrash metal riffs but also more melodic oriented riffs when that is needed. "Refresh the Demon" features everything from thrash metal tracks, to melodic heavy metal tracks, to punk influenced heavy metal tracks, to a power ballad type track like the closing "Innocent Eyes". So it´s a pretty varied album when it comes to musical styles. There are very few surprises here if you´re familiar with the band´s preceding releases though, and there are some sections and riffs here which feel a little like rehashing of ideas from past releases.

As mentioned above Waters has once again opted to perform lead vocals (like he did on "King of the Kill (1994)"), and once again it´s obvious he isn´t a natural vocalist. He can sing, and it doesn´t sound downright awful or anything like that, but he has a fairly limited range and compared to the three previous vocalists in the band, he sounds a bit like an amateur. It actually sounds like he recorded the vocals for a demo to give to a potential new vocalist for guidance, but since a suitable vocalist never showed up, Waters decided to keep his own recorded vocals, and use them on "Refresh the Demon".

"Refresh the Demon" features a sharp, powerful, and detailed production, which suits the music well, and upon conclusion "Refresh the Demon" is a good quality release by Annihilator. It doesn´t move the band forward and Waters vocals don´t do the album any favors either, but overall the album is still a quality release and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.
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