The One

The end of the Joe Comeau tenure in Annihilator was a bit of a disappointment; I thought Jeff finally had someone who really complemented his style (and vice versa), but just a few years after Waking the Fury we had a new vocalist in Dave Padden, and a new record en route, prefaced about a month earlier by The One enhanced EP, which is obviously intended to showcase the most commercial track the band had yet released. Yes, "The One", a total cheese ballad with laughable lyrics that comes off as some alt rock 90s band trying to write a hook in the vein of famous hard rocker ballads' from the decade before that. I guess you might dub this a "Silent Lucidity" for Annihilator, and to be fair, the chorus itself is slightly catchy, showcasing Dave's smooth, radio-friendly range which might be a bit of a shock to long time fans who heard this particular track before anything else on the EP or album...

Of course, you can also hear Padden's heavier vocals on the other tracks here, most notable the full-length title track which is knuckle-dragging chug-thrash with almost no effort whatsoever in its pursuit of an idea or chorus. This is really the dregs, one of the most boring cuts in the band's history, and when Dave hits his cleans for the chorus and bridge it just doesn't stick with me. Certainly when you look back at the history of this band and some of the ragers that they open album with, this is extremely out of place, and not in a good way. The non-album track, "Weapon X", which seems to liken the band to everyone's favorite Canadian mutant, is nothing to write home about with some cheesy, cliche lyrics, but it does at least pick up the pace and makes the new vocalist growl a lot more to earn his keep. That it's still so painfully average in a 90s groove/thrash way and still the best tune on the pure audio component of the release is trouble indeed for the album ahead.

As for the live video stuff, the music on "Alison Hell" and "Never, Neverland" still comes off pretty strong in that setting, and I'd say Padden actually comes off a lot better here than the new originals. Not that he can compare with his predecessors like Rampage or Pharr, but he clearly has a trained voice that can handle the screams and the more aggressive lines. He puts a bit of his own spin on things, but only to a reasonable level and with no disrespect. So sadly for me, the enhanced content was the best part of the release. "The One" is safe enough for your grandmother, but my gods is this whole thing a bummer after the potential explosiveness that was starting to snake back into the band's sound over the prior two full-lengths.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

If one were to pinpoint the exact point where Annihilator unequivocally shat the bed, it'd have to be All for You, perhaps the most putrid example of an old(ish) thrash guard alumni going completely mallcore. The then-recent acquisition of Dave Padden already hamstrung the band in comparison to the Comeau era, and the full-length in question delivered nothing but farce - a complete joke of a record and one of the worst "efforts" I've ever had to sit through. It made the worst of the '90s swell with newly-perceived muscle in comparison.

I'm singling out this admittedly decent (in regards of quantity offered) EP, The One to isolate a particular track: "Weapon X." Defenders of this era of Annihilator always claim this is a forgotten classic, and while it would have stood out on All for You and is clearly the highlight here, it isn't anything mindblowing. Schizo Deluxe had tracks like "Maximum Satan" and "Warbird" which were superior anyway. Seriously, fuck All for You, and it's such a bullshit move to cram the rest of the tracklisting with these godawful Matchbox 20 ballad-esque numbers. The lyrics are as bad as they have ever been, and Padden hadn't worked the vocal kinks out yet.

As bad as "The One" is, at least it is a proper ballad, somewhat fluid and emotive despite the godawful lyrics. "All for You" is worse by at least one order of magnitude due to its jarring contrast. It begins sounding like typical Annihilator, and then that whiny ass chorus comes on and... it sounds like a fucking joke. Feigned aggression laced with pussified whining - yeah we really asked for that. These "single edits" prove that Waters was trying to sell out and get some radio airplay. Thankfully, it fell on its face. That said, the enhanced element of the CD offers some live tracks as well, so as stated, it isn't a bad pickup if you are one of the dozen or so lunatics who like this sound. Never again.

This EP is completely worthless, save for 1 song, which is 'Weapon X' of
course. It starts off with a nifty midpaced intro and then bursts out with one hell of a thrash riff. The song construction is pretty basic, but nevertheless it still PWNS. Now if the rest of 'All For Nothing' album sounded like this song, with variety in song structures and a great vocalist in the mix, then it could've been a winner.

Initially, 'Weapon X' was supposed to be included on 'All For You', but
Annihilator's record company probably thought it was too good for an album and decided to go for a cashgrab instead, by putting it on this EP with a bunch of worthless songs - a short version of the worthless ballad 'The One' and 2 versions of a dreadful title track (an album version and a short version). Just as if the title track wasn't awful enough, you also have to endure a slighter short version of it. Urghhhhh.....

Finally, there is a multimedia section on this album which has 3 old-school Annihilator songs (Never, Neverland, Refresh The Demon and Alison Hell) that were performed on an Earthshaker Festival 2003 with current vocalist. Now let me tell you something, go for Double Live Annihilation instead!!!!! It also has these songs, but with a great singer (Joe Comeau) on vocals, who doesn't butcher these songs with awful angsty metalcore vocals.

Also avoidable just like 'All For Nothing' album!!!

It is very hard to come across a good CD single anymore. Most of them are now EPs and flat out suck. The bonus tracks are horrible and the multimedia content is laughable.

The One proves that good CD Singles can still be made. Comprised of four audio tracks (and three visual tracks spliced together as one from the Earthshaker Festival in 2003), the album definately makes for a good listen.

While the single 'The One' and 'All For You' (which appears on this twice, mind you) retain that mainstream feel, the true saving grace of the CD comes from the orgasmic track 'Weapon X', quite possibly one of the best "Annihilator" tracks to ever be released.

This may sound like any ordinary, every day, run of the mill CD single. But it's not. Included is a three song video performance from the Earthshaker 2003 Festival with their new frontman in place covering three classics, 'Never, Neverland', 'Refresh The Demon', and 'Alison Hell'. These three songs prove that this man is actually a killer vocalist and can do a hell of a lot better then what is shown here...with the exception of 'Weapon X' of course.

And for those who still don't think this is enough, there are computer uses too, included a screensaver and wallpapers! So, there's something for everyone on this release, whether you are a die hard fan, newbie, or computer geek who is a fan, you will find something on this EP to entertain and amuse you for a little while.