Annihilator

Canadian guitarist Jeff Waters was a guitar prodigy. At just 13 years old, he was already teaching, and at 18, he started writing songs and formed his first band, Annihilator.

With singer John Bates, Jeff composed and recorded the group’s first song, “Annihilator”, which was never released, and he also had to play other instruments, such as the drums, because he had no one to do it.

After composing the group’s first song, Jeff realized that it was necessary to form a real band with a drummer and bassist, so Paul Malek and Dave Scott were called, respectively, and they recorded the first demo, “Psyco Metal Kills”, which contained some versions for the songs “Crystal Ann”, “Burns Like A Buzzasaw Blade”.
After some time, the drummer was fired and replaced by Richard ‘Death’, and four weeks later, all the members split up.

In 1986, Jeff returned to the studio to record a demo “Phantasmagoria”, playing all the instruments again, but this time with the help of drummer Paul Malek. The guitarist then decided to move from Ottawa to Vancouver, where he recorded part of the first album “Alice In Hell” with Ray Hartmann (drums) and Dennis Dubeau (vocals). With the formation of the new band, the group got a contract with Roadrunner Records.

However, before they got it right, the group underwent more changes. Dennis was replaced by Randy Rampage and Dave Davis (guitar), and Wayne Darley (bass) also joined. After the band’s restructuring, the album “Alice in Hell” was released in 1989 and led to two good tours for Annihilator – in Europe, the group opened for Onslaught and in the United States for Testament. The following year, they continued working with the album “Never, Neverland” with new vocalist Coburn Pharr.

In 2004, “All For You” was released, with the presence of Dave Padden, a new vocalist, and Mike Mangini’s participation on drums. The following year, “Schizo Deluxe” was released, perhaps the heaviest album ever released by Annihilator.

In 2007, “Metal” was released, bringing a cast with several participations in each song. Jeff Loomis (Nevermore), Michael Amott (Arch Enemy), and Alexi Laiho (Children Of Bodom), among others, are among the musicians who participated in the album.

Last year, the band released a DVD/CD (their second, the first was “Ten Years in Hell”, released in 2006), Live at Masters of Rock, which was recorded live on July 11, 2008, in the Czech Republic, with a set list that encompasses almost all phases of the band.

With the partnership of Padden, who, in addition to being a vocalist, is now also a guitarist, Annihilator released the self-titled “Annihilator”, their 13th studio album, released on May 17, 2010.

In 2013, Jeff and the band entered the studio and recorded a new album, “Feast”, released in August 2013.

Dave Padden leaves the group after 10 years on the road, and Jeff Waters resumes the band’s vocals. In September 2015, his most recent release, “Suicide Society”,” came out. This was met with mixed and slightly positive reviews.

In 2017, the live album “Triple Threat” was released. In the same year, the new album, “For The Demented”, was released, having a more positive review than its predecessor, but still did not please fans completely.

On August 14, 2018, Randy Rampage, the legendary voice of Annihilator on the album “Alice in Hell”, passed away.

On November 27, 2019, the band released the music video for “Psycho Ward”, a preview of the album “Ballistic, Sadistic”, the group’s 17th studio album to be released in January 2020

Current members

Jeff Waters – guitar, bass, vocals (1984-present)
Rich Hinks – bass (2015–present)
Aaron Homma – rhythm guitar (2015–present)
Fabio Alessandrini – drums (2016-present)

Studio albums

Alice in Hell (1989)
Never, Neverland (1990)
Set the World on Fire (1993)
King of the Kill (1994)
Refresh the Demon (1996)
Remains (1997)
Criteria for a Black Widow (1999)
Carnival Diablos (2001)
Waking the Fury (2002)
All for You (2004)
Schizo Deluxe (2005)
Metal (2007)
Annihilator (2010)
Feast (2013)
Suicide Society (2015)
For the Demented (2017)
Ballistic, Sadistic (2020)