A name that should need no introduction in the metal world, ANNIHILATOR was forged in Canada in late 1984. Since then, the band has been touring and releasing records, selling millions of albums to date, nonstop, for over thirty years. January 24th, 2020 marks the release of their seventeenth studio album, Ballistic, Sadistic.
Cited by bands like Megadeth, Pantera, Dream Theater, Children Of Bodom, Lamb of God, Opeth, Trivium, and so many more as having some sort of influence on their music, founding guitarist/vocalist, producer and principal songwriter Jeff Waters and ANNIHILATOR have continued to tour the world, year after year, whilst consistently putting out high-quality true-metal music.
Written, performed, engineered, and produced by Waters, Ballistic, Sadisticwas recorded at the brand new, state of the art, Watersound Studios UK, in Durham earlier this year with additional engineering and editing by bassist Rich Hinks.
“Almost every artist, initially, loves the songs they create. They are like your babies! In my case, it is difficult to be the main writer/producer and stay fresh, come up with new ideas or make old one’s better and I am well aware of that. Since ‘we’ love what we do, we can be blinded to just how good or bad a song or record really is. Time will tell. Press, fans, band members, label, etc… They will all tell you what they think and, in their own ways, are usually right,” reflects Waters. “In this case, I throw that nonsense in the garbage and can tell you that we have made a record that is angry, technical, back to the first three records’ vibes and it is going to be difficult to continue writing another record after releasing this one! It’s the best record I’ve made since 2005’s Schizo Deluxe and I think many will argue that this new one is in the top three. From the ‘Stonewall’-esque track ‘Psycho Ward’ to the haunting ‘I Am Warfare’ and the pissed-off ‘The Attitude’ to the aggression and old-school technicality of ‘Out With The Garbage,’ the record is like this: take the Alice In Hell, Never, Neverland, and Set The World On Fire records, make them angry, combine the old-school production with modern hi-tech studio gear, then add the best guitar work I didn’t know I still had in me, and you’ve got the best we could possibly offer. I honestly cannot wait for everyone to hear this.”
It takes a long time to reach legendary status, and no one can dispute that ANNIHILATOR and Jeff Waters are inspirations, teachers, legends, and a force showing what hard work and love of your craft can bring to the world. It’s about the music. Nothing else.
Ballistic, Sadistic’s belligerent first single, “I Am Warfare,” is available now and can be viewed below.
Ballistic, Sadistic will be available in limited-edition digipak, vinyl, and digital formats. Preorders will be available beginning October 11th HERE.
ANNIHILATOR will now embark on a forty-three-date, eighteen country European Tour, which will commence in Newcastle, UK this weekend. See all confirmed dates below.
ANNIHILATOR Live:
10/12/2019 Riverside – Newcastle, UK
10/13/2019 Slay – Glasgow, UK
10/15/2019 Rebellion – Manchester, UK
10/16/2019 Steelmill – Wolverhampton, UK
10/18/2019 Pumpe – Kiel, DE
10/19/2019 Tivoli – Bremen, DE
10/20/2019 Zeche – Bochum, DE
10/22/2019 Luxor – Köln, DE
10/23/2019 Victorie – Alkmaar, NL
10/24/2019 Hedon – Zwolle, NL
10/25/2019 Biebob – Vosselaar, BE
10/26/2019 Underworld – London, UK
10/27/2019 Le Petit Bain – Paris, FR
10/29/2019 Illyade – Grenoble, FR
10/30/2019 Le Metronum – Toulouse, FR
10/31/2019 Santana 27 – Bilbao, ES
11/01/2019 Sala Mon – Madrid, ES
11/02/2019 Rock City – Valencia, ES
11/03/2019 Razzmatazz 2 – Barcelona, ES
11/05/2019 Locomotiv – Bologna, IT
11/06/2019 Legend Club – Milan, IT
11/07/2019 Kofmehl – Solothurn, CH
11/08/2019 Kaminwerk – Memmingen, DE
11/09/2019 Explosiv – Graz, AT
11/10/2019 Boogaloo – Zagreb, HR
11/11/2019 SKC Fabrika – Novi Sad, RS
11/13/2019 Havana Club – Tel Aviv, IL
11/15/2019 Fuzz Club – Athens, GR
11/16/2019 Principal Club – Thessaloniki, GR
11/17/2019 Joy Station – Sofia, BG
11/19/2019 Quantic Club – Bucharest, RO
11/20/2019 Form Space – Cluj-Napoca, RO
11/21/2019 Barba Negra – Budapest, HU
11/22/2019 Szene – Wien, AT
11/23/2019 Kwadrat – Krakow, PL
11/24/2019 Proxima – Warsaw, PL
11/26/2019 Lido – Berlin, DE
11/27/2019 Colos Saal – Aschaffenburg, DE
11/28/2019 Hirsch – Nürnberg, DE
11/29/2019 F-Haus – Jena, DE
11/30/2019 Substage – Karlsruhe, DE
11/02/2019 Red Club – Moscow, RU
11/03/2019 Club Zal – Sankt Petersburg, RU
