Alice in Hell [Import]

Annihilator | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 10, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Roadrunner UK
• ASIN: B0000248L1
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,052 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Gold, remastered CD of classic 1989 debut from Canadian thrash metal act that weilded the melodic speed of Metallica to the progressive elements of Megadeth. Bonus tracks include 'Powerdrain (demo)', 'Schizos (Are Never Alone) Parts I & II(demo)' and 'Ligeia (demo)'. 1998 release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Human Insecticide!, October 14, 2002

By 

Patrick Stott (Rolleston, Canterbury, New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alice in Hell (Audio CD)

Uh oh, what's this? A dodgy thrash album? Well, it has all the trimmings to set off the average detector- a logo which looks like it's stolen from Blade Runner, five bemulleted denim-clad warriors trying to look tough on the back, a pretty girl being stalked by a demonic dolly on the front. This should really set alarm bells ringing. It almost makes Anthrax's 'Fistful Of Metal' look classy.

But never judge a book, or an album, by it's cover. The grooves within contain pure class.

The pretty intro piece "Crystal Ann" is a well executed classical guitar passage, merely whetting the appetite for some thrash action. And thrash this does! "Alison Hell" sets the standard for the rest of the album to follow. There are tasty guitar licks by the truckload. Annihilator main man and guitar slinger Jeff Waters wrote just about everything on the album, played all the guitars and bass, and threw in some backing vocals. Lead vocalist Randy Rampage (as if THAT was his real name...) looks like he'd just escaped from the introductory class at the Motley Crue School of Big Hair and Bad Makeup, but when the guy opens his mouth, the hair crimes are forgiven. Limited vocals were often a stumbling point for thrash outfits, but Rampage lets rip with a gutsy, tuneful shout reminiscent of a more restrained version of Overkill's Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth

The recording of the album took over a year, as it was done a small piece at a time, but there is excellent flow throughout, with no sense of anything being disjointed.

The music is second to none when it comes to riffs and solos. OK, so it's more polished than the likes of Slayer or Possessed, but both of those bands would have cleaned up their sound if they could have written melodies and solos like Waters. There is something new to discover on almost every listen, with the odd thing still hitting the ear more than a decade after first hearing it- a quick fill here, an unnoticed counter-melody there. However, it's not Malmsteen-esque guitar wankery. These are songs which will have you playing air guitar and compulsively banging your head, so be careful listening to it while using public transport if you don't want to attract funny looks.

Waters' lyrical bent was rather refreshing for the time. Each song has a quick explanatory note with the lyrics. He explored themes of mental illness and altered states of mind ('Schizos Are Never Alone Part I & II', 'Human Insecticide', 'Alison Hell', 'Word Salad'), and even literature, with a retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's twisted supernatural story of love lost and found in 'Ligeia'. On any normal album, 'Ligeia' would be a contender for the best track on the album. It has an addictive crushing main riff, excellent guitar and bass interplay in the bridge section, intelligent, thoughtful lyrics, solos to die for, and a driving thrash pace to get even the most jaded toes tapping.

But this isn't any normal album. Last track off the ranks is the storming 'Human Insecticide'. It pushes the standard just that bit further. It rips straight into the main riff, a high-speed thrash classic- simple, memorable and irresistible for the air guitar enthusiast. Rampage puts in his most er, rampaging performance of the album, spitting out the lyrics as if he were the delusional psychotic subject of the song. Blasting out of first one speaker, then the other, then both, the fretboard frenzy seems to pick up speed as the song progresses. It thrashes it's way through several themes of the original concept, continuing to gain momentum until it all collapses in an exhausted, satisfied mess, like a slow motion train crash in a 1970s disaster movie.

Jeff Waters set the standard so high for himself with this stunning debut he has never even remotely approached such greatness again.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best all-time Metal albums!!!!!!!, September 25, 2000

By 

Luis (San Sebastian, Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alice in Hell (Audio CD)

This is one of the best trash-metal albums of all time. The first thing that blew me away was the amazing skills of Jeff Waters on the guitar, I was absolutely impressed by the speed, the rhythms and the solos of Jeff.... this album is a clasic of metal and has some of the finest songs that I've ever heard... listen to 'Crystal ann' (This acoustic masterpiece is one of the best intros I've ever heard) , 'Alison Hell', 'WTYD' and you'll know what i'm talking about .... the psychotic melodies and the speed of 'Human Insecticide' (faster impossible) and 'Schizos Are Never Alone' will drive you crazy ... a MUST-HAVE!!!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Their debut album: thrash only, but a masterpiece anyway!, May 14, 2001

By 

I. MUNOZ (Montreal, PQ, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alice in Hell (Audio CD)

The first album from Annihilator is a classic one. This is thrash metal at its best, plenty of good guitar riffs and solos. Jeff Waters showed for the first time there his impressive technique and talent, with those guitar "phrases" and "screams" that sealed the Annihilator style forever. You'll love how guitars deal with dynamics in this album, and how their sound can be aggressive, dark and lyrical at the same time. Annihilator is a machine of playing music, with tempo changes and breaks that could qualify them as a progressive metal band, instead of thrashers.

"Crystal Ann" has a classical touch that takes your breath away from the beginning. It introduces then "Alison Hell", a masterpiece full of great riffs and musical experiments. The entire album has a vocal style a little bit rough for a non-trained ear, but it fits well in the dark style that Annihilator proposed in this CD. "WTYD" is a powerful piece, with amazing solos and rhythmical shredding.

However, I give the entire album four starts because it contains many other material with no transcendence, written only for headbangers, in spite of the quality of the whole CD. Nevertheless, this is not a show stopper at all. Said in one sentence, don't miss how Annihilator presented itself to the world! This release, although their first album, is a very good piece of artwork, and a must-have for any metal fan.