Set the World on Fire is the third studio album by the Canadian band Annihilator. I believe it was the first album I ever got with the band and I liked it right away. I think it shows depth and doesn’t just display the speed/thrash side of the band. Set the World on Fire is actually a pretty melodic album. The title track is pretty raw though and in the intro we get to here genuine sounds from the Gulf War. There’s no problem interpreting that lyrics.
But after that, it’s actually a pretty soft album. There are a lot of ballad-like songs, or at least songs focusing on being less “hard”. Many of my all time favorite with the band comes from Set the World on Fire. Phoenix Rising, refecting the classic setting of the giant bird who gets reborn in the fire. Snake in the Grass, which to me is about an unhealthy relationship and the final breakup.
But there are allså some songs that displays the innovating style of Annihilator at the early stages of their career. The riffs in Brain Dance and the structure of the song stands out to me. It’s playful and especially if you take some of the segments of it into consideration. I could probably go on for a long time about my love for this album. But I choose to go down the path and comment on the songs I don’t find fantastic. There are two quite skippable songs on Set the World on Fire – Bats in the Belfry and The Edge. They don’t give me anything.
Aaron Randall is on vocals and Jeff Waters, apart from playing the guitars, bass and God knows what, also makes a couple of vocals. I know he’s credited by doing the funny voice in Brain Dance. Mike Mangini is credited for most of the drums and Wayne Darley is credited for doing the bass, but as we all know Jeff Waters tends to do that himself on the albums…
