by William Ruhlmann

Aaron Randall advises his listeners to prepare for attack, but by then the battle has already commenced, as guitarists Jeff Waters and Goldberg roll out the usual power chords and the rhythm section of Wayne Darley and Mike Mangini piledrive every beat. Annihilator brings a certain efficiency to garden-variety speed metal, never wasting time, which, in a genre defined by excess, gives them a certain elegance.