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THE ARCHIVES
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Morrigan's Pit has closed down as of November 2006. The site and its articles will stay online as an archive until September at least, but probably longer.
The Archives
2002-2006
» CD REVIEWS
» INTERVIEWS
» LIVE REVIEWS
» SPECIALS
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ANNIHILATOR
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Schizo Deluxe
2005
AFM Records
http://www.annihilatormetal.com
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1. Maximum Satan
2. Drive
3. Warbird
4. Plasma Zombies
5. Invite It
6. Like Father, Like Gun
7. Pride
8. Too Far Gone
9. Clare
10. Something Witchy
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Annilator-Padden era took a little getting used to. Not so much the music, but esp. Dave Padden's extreme versatile voice, going from clean to aggressive to screaming, has a big impact on the band. And why not, the man has incredible talents so why not use them and it's on itself not a bad thing if such talents give a band the chance to be more versatile and experimental too. A little innovative even, and who would've thought that of Annihilator, who have been one of the very few reliable sources in the metal scene for 16 years. Still, for me as an old fan it does take some getting used to. No I'm not stuck in the 80s/early 90s with classics like "Alice In Hell" or "Never neverland", since two of my very favorite albums were the ones with Joe Comeau not too long ago. But Dave Padden brought a lot of new things to the band and I guess that Jeff Waters enjoyed trying them out. I didn't give "All For You" (Padden's first with this band) enough chance to get used to it, but now with "Schizo Deluxe" it all seems to be just right and I had no trouble getting into it at all. Waters treats us once again on aggressive, razor sharp and ultra tight riffs and ultrasonic fast and mind-blowing solos, but he also puts in a lot of groove, some unusual parts and a lot of humor. To say they go back to the roots is a bit too simply put, since there is way too much happening on this album, old-fashioned as well as some modern stuff. But it's definitely an overwhelming axe attack again (much heavier again than the previous one).
The intro is the sound of zapping channels with a roaring sound of the "beast" that is about to be unleashed for "Maximum Satan". Mid-tempo crushing riffs suck you right in, so you're well prepared when the pace picks up in "Drive". "Warbird" is ultra heavy (and ends with a very long scream) and so is "Plasma Zombies", those riffs simply knock you down, the galloping opening riff as well as the rest! Like in several other songs there is a quiet part with different, melodic vocals, which adds to the diversity of the songs and the whole album. The drums play a dominant role here, they are handled splendidly by Tony Chappelle. Then it's time for one of my favorite songs, "Invite Me", with fast, killer riffs again and a catchy chorus with hilarious backing vocals (the voices in his head). There is also a part with an almost folkish riff and more melodic vocals, but again this fits like a glove. Time for more groove in "Like Father, Like Gun", another song that gets stuck in your mind easily. "Pride" starts with super riffs and double bass, stops for a few seconds of funny comments, then the riffage continues. The chorus is pretty melodic but very cool. Btw, the high-pitched scream at the end is of none other than Exciter's drumming legend Dan Beehler, who does some backing vocals on a few other songs as well. Jeff sings lead on "Too Far Gone" (and not too shabby either) with some typical Annihilator riffing and cool guitar leads. Another awesome song is "Clare", it starts as a semi-ballad, the choruses are heavy with melodic vocals. Padden sings the verses with a low, passionate voice which perfectly fits the sicko (or schizo deluxe?) he's impersonating here, I just love this song! To top it off Waters ends it with a blistering solo! "Something Witchy" has some screaming vocals and I needed some time to warm up to the song, but it's once again a nice contrast with the melodic parts in the chorus and the solo is again awesome. After a short silence the song ends with half a minute of funny voices, hehe.
The limited digipack that I got has 3 bonus tracks: "Weapon X" (remastered from last year's single "The One"), "I Am In Command" (first rehearsal with Coburn Pharr/Neverland line-up in 1990) and "Annihilator" (first ever studio recording in 1985 with the first Annihilator singer John Bates).
So whether you still have to get used to Dave Padden's talents or not - let at least Jeff Water's insane and sick riffs and solos blow you away and the rest will all fall in place too, I promise. This is still unmistakably Annihilator! Just... richer! A rating is always a bit difficult if there already is such an impressive back catalog, but if Nadja gave "All For You" already a 4.5, I can only give a full 5 for "Schizo Deluxe"!
submitted by Marlies 30.12.2005
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rating 1 - 5 Morrigans
5 = awesome, 4 = good, 3 = average, 2 = keep practising, 1 = sell your gear!
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