Before I get onto the track itself, I'd like to preface this by saying that today I have been on a bit of an Annihilator spree. Listened to a total of 5 full-lengths and 1 EP. Long story short I was unimpressed with anything they released after their first two albums, and was holding out for anything close to a sign of returning to their former glory. I put it down to many bad judgement calls of Jeff Waters (Annihilator might as well be a one man band), despite his excellent musicianship. I finally decided to wade my way through their large discography, most of which has led to disappointment, unfortunately. I almost find it hard to believe in a way, as, Jeff is such a brilliant guitarist, a decent vocalist, and has proven his ludicrous amount of skill and songwriting talent on many occasions. I read someone describing Annihilator as a "proof of concept", and I mostly have to agree with that statement.
However, after a few hours of eye-rolls and head shaking of disapproval, my eyes finally lit up (OK, perhaps not as much as the ones in the album cover xD). This is the album I have been looking for all along. While it is no Never, Neverland or Alice In Hell, it feels like the logical third album I would have expected from the group; the self-titled release features a partial return to their early formula, and holds more resemblance to their original ideas than anything released since. Lets hope the trend continues. I will probably find out in the next few days xD.
YouTube, Spotify, metal-archives, bonus YT link to Jeff playing the song on guitar :)
Some cool covers in that album too.