Annihilator (band)

Annihilator
Annihilator at Rockharz Open Air 2016 in Germany. From left to right: Rich Hinks, Jeff Waters, and Aaron Homma.
Background information
Origin	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Thrash metal speed metal heavy metal
Years active	1984–present
Labels	Roadrunner Epic Attic Hypnotic CMC International Music for Nations Metal-Is SPV AFM Marquee Earache Riot Entertainment
Associated acts	Aeon Zen Stress Factor 9 Big John Bates
Website	www.annihilatormetal.com
Members	Jeff Waters Aaron Homma Rich Hinks Fabio Alessandrini
Past members	Former members

Annihilator is a Canadian thrash metal band founded in 1984 by vocalist, guitarist, bassist, songwriter, engineer, producer, mixer and mastering engineer Jeff Waters and former vocalist John Bates. They are the highest-selling heavy metal group from Canada in Canadian history, having sold more than three million albums worldwide, although most of their sales have been generated outside of the band's home country. Along with Sacrifice, Voivod and Razor, Annihilator is credited as one of the "Big 4" of Canadian thrash metal.

Since its inception, Annihilator has released fifteen studio albums and has undergone many line-up changes. Waters is the only remaining original member left in the band, and usually assembles touring musicians to perform with him. Annihilator's first two studio albums—Alice in Hell (1989) and Never, Neverland (1990)—are considered to be influential Canadian heavy metal records. Many of their later albums also received high praise from critics, and enjoyed some success in Europe and Japan. Their latest studio album, Suicide Society, was released in 2015.

Annihilator was formed in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada by Jeff Waters in 1984. Waters later wrote on his Facebook page that he named the band after the tank that Eddie Murphy's character rode on in the 1984 film Best Defense. Waters wrote and recorded the song Annihilator (not to be confused with the song of the same name released on the 1994 album, King of the Kill) with singer John Bates. This original version of "Annihilator" was released on the special edition of the 2005 album Schizo Deluxe.

Waters and Bates then recruited drummer Paul Malek and bassist Dave Scott. This lineup lasted a year, producing a demo titled "Welcome To Your Death" during their time together. The demo received worldwide recognition and became highly sought after. After John Bates and Dave Scott left the band before its release, citing "artistic differences" and "personality conflicts", Jeff Waters and drummer Paul Malek recorded another successful demo titled Phantasmagoria in 1986. This was said to be the third most-traded metal cassette tape in the 1980s, behind Metallica and Megadeth's demo tapes. Some songs written at this time, by Jeff Waters and John Bates, ended up on Annihilator's first two official studio albums (Alice In Hell and Never, Neverland).