Annihilator – Refresh the Demon – 1996

For those familiar with Canadian Annihilator’s earlier albums, the sound on Refresh the Demon won’t come as a surprise. Most elements are recognizable but still relatively fresh, and Jeff Waters manages to be innovative with the guitars once again. Already during the intro of the first song – the title track Refresh the Demon, you get a taste of originality, nothing extraordinary, just a guitar panning in stereo, but it works excellently as an atmospheric setup. Then the music kicks off with a high thrash metal tempo that truly leaves a strong impression.

The tempo is somewhat lowered with the second song but still of the utmost quality. Jeff Waters, who at this point in the band handled vocals (in addition to guitar and bass), actually works quite well as a vocalist. Not that he’s a virtuoso, but it feels genuine. Since aggressiveness is a significant ingredient in this type of music, you don’t have to be extremely melodious to work satisfactorily. I’ve later seen him claim in interviews that he thinks of himself as an ok singer. Not great but ok. That about sums it up I think.

Same Path

Refresh the Demon follows the same path as King of the Kill, with catchy guitar riffs combined with the familiar sound from previous albums. For example, Pastor of Disaster reminds me a lot of Knight Jumps Queen, at least in the bass-accompanied verses, from a couple of albums back. There are also tempo changes and instrumental turnarounds that I personally love. This applies perhaps mostly to A Man Called Nothing, which breaks off unexpectedly. Unfortunately, it also includes singing through the type of filter already used in The Box from the previous album King of the Kill. I’m not a fan of this technique as I find the sound too artificial for my taste. Don’t get me wrong; there’s probably good music with distorted singing, but I’m generally not fond of it.

However, there’s also a sound on the album that is less familiar, even though it’s unmistakably Annihilator. For example, City of Ice breathes more melody and completely different chord progressions than usual. I’d almost call it a more traditional rock song in many respects, but of course, with added aggression! While melodic tones are not new, just listen to the more commercial Set the World on Fire, it’s not nearly as aggressive.

Chromatic

There’s also something resembling chromatic punk, but in Annihilator’s version, Anything for Money. Even if this isn’t among my favorite influences, I still think it’s fun when a band is willing to experiment and incorporate influences to make them their own, and that’s undoubtedly what they’ve done here.

In short, a very solid album that undoubtedly won’t disappoint fans with preferences in the borderland between heavy and thrash metal, especially if you appreciate the inventiveness with the guitars. Additionally, you get a little bonus, I would argue. It’s not my favorite song on the album, but it contains something for which I truly commend Jeff Waters – his way of sincerely writing about personal experiences or things he genuinely cares about. The closing ballad Innocent Eyes is such a song, not particularly extraordinary in terms of lyrics, rather relatively cliché-filled, but it apparently is dedicated to his son Alex, which makes it feel genuinely authentic!