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Annihilator > Bag of Tricks > Reviews
Annihilator - Bag of Tricks

At least a couple of cool curiosities in this cabinet - 53%

autothrall, January 3rd, 2024
Written based on this version: 1994, CD, Roadrunner Records

The cover artwork for Bag of Tricks might actually be a little cooler than the two full-length albums before it, but that's nothing to get excited about, as this is merely an early fan-package probably released to fill out some contractual agreement with Roadrunner. I believe Annihilator had at this point moved over to Music for Nations for new studio material, so this feels like a loose collection of odds and ends that suffers a bit from the inconsistency of its contents. At the very least, though, we would assume we could be spared from the lamentable direction the band proper had taken through its mid-90s material, and Bag of Tricks was sticking to the band's demos and debut album and little else. To that end, this was probably worth tracking down if only for the diehards.

By far the best content here are the unreleased tracks "Back to the Crypt" and "Gallery" which had Randy Rampage on vocals and were recorded as demos for Never, Neverland while he was still in the lineup, but for whatever dumb reason never manifest on the actual album. These aren't the catchiest songs the group had written, but they definitely remind me of tunes like "Wicked Mystic" or "Burns Like a Buzzsaw Blade" and have some of that early nastiness present. Riff-wise, they aren't super memorable, but the leads are good and the energy is fiendish and vibrant as the band was when they hit the studio for the debut, and in fact these tunes belong more with that than the sophomore. The "Alison Hell" remastered track is worthless to me, why bother messing with something that was already excellent, and it doesn't offer enough of a notable difference for me to care. The demo cuts for Set the World on Fire are also quite uninteresting, and the new track from that era, "Fantastic Things", feels like an acoustic AOR track that would have only brought that album down even more, though it of itself isn't entirely terrible.

The old demo at the end of the compilation is pretty neat because you're hearing tunes like "Alison Hell" and "Phantasmagoria" with even more savage, extreme vocals from Jeff Waters which were quite hilarious but also kind of awesome at the same time. And the EP's worth of live tracks are actually recorded decently enough for the 80s or early 90s and make "Human Insecticide" and "W.T.Y.D." shien in the live setting. So ultimately, this could better be titled Mixed Bag of Tricks, but at least half of the content shouldn't have been tossed into the bin, and as a fan of those first two albums I thought it was neat to hear those unreleased tracks and confirmation of the band's skill in the live setting. At the same time, a little bit of a painful reminder of the band's then-present decline in quality.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

A Gift for True Annihilator Fans - 90%

DawnoftheShred, April 16th, 2007

Step right up, ladies and gentleman. This is Bag of Tricks, the Annihilator rarities disc. A unique and varied collection, this hefty catalog of tracks is sure to please both the metal newbie and the seasoned Annihilator purist with its flawless portrayal of the band's early years, a mystical time far before frontman Jeff Waters would blow his load on fruitless experimentation. Gather round and listen well, as this collection assuredly beats out the studio albums that would follow its release.

Whatever it is thy heart desires from this band, Bag of Tricks will deliver. Would you like to hear more from Randy Rampage? Then it is this you shall receive. Right off the bat this album delivers a remastered version of the classic "Alison Hell," a unique early recording of "Phantasmagoria," this time with Randy on vocals, and an unbelievably energetic live recording of "Human Insecticide." But perhaps you'd like to hear some things you've never heard before. In that case, enjoy some early unreleased tracks, some featuring Rampage, others featuring his successor Coburn Pharr (some of the riffs from these would go into "Never Neverland," while others have been all but lost). Maybe it's live tracks that really tickle your fancy. Behold then, some more recordings from the Never Neverland tour (yes "WTYD" can be found on their In Command live album, but the rest are exclusively here). "Okay," you say, "but what if I liked some of the songs off of the Set the World On Fire album, but I really hated that Aaron Randall chump's lispy-ass voice." Then I say to you, it is done. Bag of Tricks features early versions of "Knight Jumps Queen," "Bats in the Belfry," and "Don't Bother Me" (entitled here as "Evil Appetite") with then-singer Coburn Pharr providing the pipes. Tack on a few rough '86 recordings with Jeff doing his damnedest death metally vocals and you've got almost 80 minutes of Annihilator at their rawest, their rarest, and their most pure.

Yes...cower in fear at the lost riffage. Tremble in the presence of original drummer Ray Hartmann's mighty percussion (and no, your ears don't deceive you, those are indeed blast beats you're occasionally hearing on the early demos). Stand in awe at the mighty beast of thrash that once was Annihilator and pray with utmost conviction that their current path of self-parody and musical abandon will come to a swift and respectable end. Keep the Annihilator of yesteryear alive in your hearts and do yourself a favor: pick up this collection.