ANNIHILATOR To Unleash 'Metal' In April

SPV Records has set an April 16 European release date (April 13 in Germany) for the new ANNIHILATOR album, entitled "Metal". According to a press release, "Anybody reading the album title of the latest ANNIHILATOR release, 'Metal', will know what to expect. What we have here is no pseudo-intellectual moniker, no term that suggests pensiveness or indeed ambiguity, but boldness, directness and determination. It's a title that suits Jeff Waters' dynamic guitar style down to a tee. Like few other musicians, Waters' name stands for a tough-as-nails, energetic and always brilliant metal guitar."

Commented Waters: "It may sound a little strange when I say that the new album reminds me of the first three ANNIHILATOR recordings. You could be tempted to think that I am looking back artistically, when the opposite happens to be the case. I always try to evolve musically. But it's a fact that I composed the new material the way I went about the early ANNIHILATOR tracks. Instead of writing them with the help of state-of-the-art studio equipment and recording them immediately, almost all of the guitar riffs were developed on a simple ghetto blaster. I only went on to find a rhythm and arrangements to suit an idea if it really floored me."

The ten new tracks were recorded by Waters, playing guitar and bass and on lead vocals for one number ("Operation Annihilation"),drummer Mike Mangini and vocalist Dave Padden. A literal "army" of renowned guest musicians, whose names Waters will reveal soon, also dropped in to be a part of this. ANNIHILATOR fans had better brace themselves for a big surprise. Waters says, "This is one of the coolest guitar albums of all time. And I'm saying this despite the fact that I don't happen to be a friend of exaggerated superlatives. The fact is that 'Metal' is a dream-come-true for me, and this new ANNIHILATOR CD is going to rock and awe."

April will see ANNIHILATOR embark on a major European tour as TRIVIUM's special guests, playing over 40 shows until early May in countries such as Germany, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Italy and France. "The business side of our career rests in capable hands at last," says the musician from Canada. "We have an ambitious record label, a committed management and a concert agency that knows how to present us."