I think Jeff Waters should have released 'Remains' under some other name than Annihilator. This differs very much from Annihilator's metal for a big part, though 1994 album 'King of the Kill' and 'Refresh the Demon' from 1996 can be said to be from same period as this, style-wise, at least partly. Hell, the change started on 'Set the World on Fire' album! But, nevertheless this is the less playful of Annihilator's albums. Period. This is a record, that can denigrate the band's name, just like Megadeth's 'Risk' (1999) or Metallica's 'Re-Load' (1997).

The positive thing number one is of course Mr. Waters' skillful guitar playing. Hell, he's respected guitarist in the speed/thrash metal scene. Speed, power and also emotional, in non-aggessive ways, causes no problems for him. He plays the bass, too, I guess. Mr. Waters' vocals are okay as he can't sing, technically, yet his voice doesn't annoy me. It's semi-harsh throat style with a pinch of trying for melody. But the lyrics are bad, as this line from 'Sexecution' shows: "I wanna sex you up, I wanna sex you down, I wanna do it all over and all around"... He writes very straight lyrics, no any metaphoras, no any tricks. Very simple all around. The themes come from human life, varying from racism to relationships to politics etc.

The synths and the samples are usually very simplistic, but some "industrial" and "scenery" effects actually work quite well. 'Bastiage' paints a future scenery in my mind, with somewhat "Blade Runner" -ish atmosphere. Not bad! The drum machine sucks, as usually, but now I mean it really sucks! Especially all kinds of "flamenco" rhythms and all kinds of drum sound bustles... Okay, there's more than preset beats, but it sounds thin. Some harder beats work fairly well, at least in this company.

These things combined, 'Remains' is a mixed bag for sure. Sometimes Mr. Waters wanted to create more simple songs where electronics are as important as guitar, e.g. danceable 'Sexecution', 'No Love' and heavily effected 'Human Remains', and it sounds a bit like Rob Zombie, which to me means totally emotionless music. A few of the songs are in true Annihilator style, meaning there's familiar guitar playing and melodies that let's say classic 'Never, Neverland' (1990). Clearly. 'Wind' is a calmer, more emotional piece giving a needed pause for all those electronics and effected guitars. 'Tricks and Traps' is the album's 'Alice in Hell', kinda tricky song, even though not as good as the classic. 'I Want' is a Megadeth-esque thrash-out. The speed metal frenzy that 'Reaction' offers, is another goodie. Simply said, the first half is more electronic and the second half is more familiar Annihilator. But, as it should be clear without writing, most of the songs include some familiar Annihilator elements, if not a lot. The guitar and the bass bring much flesh over this digital skeleton and the production is clean. Sometimes too sterile, but the able guitars save a lot! The cover artwork couldn't be much more simple and it also feels sterile and repellent.

'Remains' is interesting and partly good. Sadly it was released under the name Annihilator, because it includes so much music that is something else than Annihilator in my ears. Maybe Jeff Waters should have released this under his name. But what's done is done. I've heard worse style changes in the past.

Rating: 5- (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
03/19/2003 11:27