Song Listing:

1. Intro
2. Alison Hell
3. Release Party
4. TV Media One
5. Stonewall
6. TV Media Two
7. TV Media Three
8. Backstage
9. Fun Palace Live
10. TV Media Four
11. Set The World On Fire
12. KOTK Back Vocals
13. King Of The Hill
14. Jeff In Japan
15. 21
16. Only Be Lonely
17. Syn.Kill 1
18. Criteria Rehearsal
19. Alison/Homicide
20. Oh Canada
21. Ultraparanoia
22. Pharr Live
23. Rampage Raw
24. End Credits

Artist:   Annihilator
Title:    "10 Years In Hell”
Label:    SPV Records
Release Date:    2/21/2006
Genre:   Thrash Metal

Rating:    8/10

Written By:   Ken Pierce (copyright 2006) for PiercingMetal.com

Annihilator is one of those bands whose music was a little ahead of its time in the Metal realm it first made an appearance upon. Founder Jeff Waters is an incredible lead guitarist whose craftsmanship on the axe was borderline extraordinary. This factor made Annihilator a little more of an interesting band but perhaps a little bit out of the league of some of their peers of the time. While I only casually was a fan of their music and a couple of their earliest releases, I found that this DVD set was able to make even the most unschooled of listeners an instant study and fan of what was done during their early years. Entitled “10 Years In Hell” the DVD is a showcase of what went on during the first ten years of the bands existence. There is a lot of emphasis on the release “Alison Hell” and “King Of The Kill” and with these releases the band proved that Canada could deliver the Metal just as good as anyplace else in the World. DVD1 focuses mainly on the very early stuff and celebrations around it.

DVD2 is a large collection of interview and archive footage that I felt was outstanding because of the way it was laid out for the viewer. As someone who did not know more than a couple of the popular tunes by the band I found this incredibly interesting as it starts from the bands very beginnings and spans across all of the different line ups that the albums and tours featured. Jeff Waters presents this to a positive effect as he highlights just how hard the band worked when trying to get signed. Hearing the steps and angles that bands had to work to get attention in the pre-internet world of today. There was no MySpace and Email Newsletters in the early days of musical adventures. While most of the interview is focused on Jeff Waters (as the founder and leader of the group) there is also some commentary from Coburn Pharr, Mike Mangini and Neil Goldberg who were part of the band at different points in time. The albums Alice In Hell, Never Neverland, Set The World On Fire, King Of The Kill, Refresh & Remains, and Criteria are discussed in some detail. Fans of these albums will enjoy this DVD the most.

Annihilator music and Jeff Waters as a guitarist remain influential to some of today’s greats. Sadly not all bands that influence are afforded the same accommodation as those who were influenced and this fact makes this DVD a must have item. There is a lot of great stuff that serves as a great “Old School Metal” educator and enough blistering guitar to give Jeff Waters a new generation of followers.

Official Web Site:   www.annihilatormetal.com