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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Europe Annihilation, March 23, 2005
The first few Annihilator CD's that I heard were Never Neverland, Carnival and Remains. The first thing that struck me was the difference in the styles...from pure unadulterated thrash to industrial. But nothing could prepare me for the shock I was about to receive when I heard STWOF. The first thing that came to mind was music for pop-metal bands like Bon Jovi, Europe, Cinderella. It took a while to sink in, but aside from Aaron Randall's NON-metal voice, and the Europe-ish style music (minus the keyboards) this is a likeable album. Aaron Randall is a great singer, just not a great "Annihilator" singer. The only song that comes closest to "real" Annihilator is "Brain Dance". As much as I hate to admit it the two slower tracks "Phoenix Rising" and "Sounds Good To Me" are the top tracks for this record, followed by the chugging Brain Dance, the title track and No Zone. I can't find fault with any other song either..keep an open mind and you will love this record. If you have heard other Annihilator records and do not want a rude surprise..pass on this album. If you are open to a more pop-oriented Annihilator..Go for it.
JOE COMEAU is still the BEST ANNIHILATOR vocalist ever!!
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Melodic Metal @ its Best, December 9, 2004
Set The World On Fire is definitely the most melodic Annihilator release to date. This album generally isn't considered thrash metal. Singer Aaron Randall brings a more melodic edge to the music, while Jeff Waters' song-writing here focused more on catchy, memorable songs rather than riff-oriented, fast & technical pieces that dominated the first 2 releases. The production is outstanding, the only problem is that the album is just under 39 minutes, way too short in my opinion!
Set The World On Fire - The title track is centered around a heavily syncopated guitar riff, which is doubled by the rhythm section. Very rhythmic, very powerful. Excellent song!
No Zone - is a short, fast song, with some impressive double bass drumming. A Fun little piece.
Bats In The Belfry - This song is perhaps the weakest on the album for me, it's really nothing special. It's a mid-tempo song, with some interesting changes.
Snake In The Grass - Starts out soft, with an acoustic intro & builds throughout the song. It has an outstanding groove to it.
Phoenix Rising - One of the highlights of the album. A beutifully soaring acoustic ballad that sends shivers down the spine! Waters showcases his talent to the Nth degree on this one!
Knight Jumps Queen - The verses are centered around a bass riff & a very simple AC/DC type drum beat. This is a good straight forward rock song, typical Annihilator! It's got good energy to it.
Souns Good To Me - Another ballad, but this is an upbeat one. Very pleasant and radio friendly.
The Edge - This is more hard rock, then metal. A straight forward, catchy rock anthem.
Don't Bother Me - The song is built on a shuffle type of beat (a la Van Halen). This the other song I'm not too crazy about, it's still OK, I guess.
Brain Dance - Even Jeff Waters admits that this is one of his most challenging guitar parts. The song is very complex, has rhythmic changes galore, stop-start passages & the middle section is like some goofy cartoon song! Hillarious! This is another highlight off of this album.
I can understand how many people were disappointed when this album came out in 1993. Metal was on the decline, and Annihilator became progressively lighter with their 3rd album, but Jeff Waters' song-writing skills still shine through on STWOF. After a decade, I still listen to this CD on a regular basis, because it's just that good!
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Getting better....., April 10, 2004
After Alice in Hell, my expectations were high. I was quickly brought down to Earth and them sumarilly pummeled into the ground about 100 feet by the absolutely abysmal Never,Neverland. However, just when I thought Annihilator was a one album band, Set the World On Fire rekindled some of my hope....SOME. First, Aaron Randall can sing. Not only angry metal like Randy Rampage from Alice in Hell but also songs with range which was kind of nice. Unfortuantely that set the stage for Jeff (Waters) to explore more pop metal type songs. Something he didn't fully outgrow until the recent Waking the Fury. Having said that the album can be split into two groups, pop metal reminiscent of Dokken and bands like them and songs that sound like the Alice in Hell Annihilator. On the good side, Set the World On Fire, the two really fun songs; Don't Bother Me and Brain Dance and the absolutely awesome Knight Jumps Queen. The other 6 songs range from okay to make me puke pop metal. The Edge is extremely excruciating (should have known by that title) Overall, I still think the album is worth buying, 4 great songs is still more than most bands can offer.
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