Alice in Hell

by Ed Rivadavia

Annihilator's brand of technical, thinking man's thrash metal garnered many fans with this fine debut, arguably the best release of the band's career. A brief acoustic guitar piece called "Crystal Ann" introduces the excellent title track: a psychological murder thriller supposedly based on a disturbed young girl's true story. Leader Jeff Waters takes himself a little too seriously at times (see the Edgar Allen Poe-influenced "Ligeia" and his ridiculously erudite commentary on each song's lyrics), but he is equally prone to refreshing flashes of humor on "Word Salad" and "Schizos are Never Alone." The spectacularly named Randy Rampage proves himself to be a versatile vocalist on "Wicked Mystic" and "Burns Lika Buzzsaw Blade" (seriously). The careening closer "Human Insecticide" is magnificent for its sheer speed.