Alice in Hell is the debut studio album by Canadian thrash metal band Annihilator, released on April 17, 1989 through Roadrunner Records. This was the only Annihilator album for ten years to feature Randy Rampage on vocals, until he returned for their seventh studio album Criteria for a Black Widow (1999).
| Alice in Hell | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 17, 1989 | |||
| Recorded | 1988 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:27 | |||
| Label | Roadrunner | |||
| Producer | Jeff Waters | |||
| Annihilator chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Alice in Hell | ||||
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Album information
editAlthough the album's insert lists five members, Annihilator was a three-piece (Randy Rampage, Jeff Waters and Ray Hartmann) at the time of its recording in 1988. In addition to guitar, Waters provides bass and backing vocals on the album, produced it and wrote all the songs, with the exception of "Crystal Ann". Although Anthony Brian Greenham and Wayne Darley are noted on the album's insert as playing guitar and bass respectively, this was a mistake and they did not join Annihilator until after Alice in Hell was finished;[2] Darley does, however, provide backing vocals on the album. Waters has explained in interviews the reason Greenham and Darley were listed in the credits was at the behest of Roadrunner.[citation needed]
Alice in Hell was the first of six Annihilator albums to feature songwriting contributions from former singer John Bates, who was credited as the (co-)writer of the songs "Alison Hell", "W.T.Y.D.", "Burns Like a Buzzsaw Blade" and "Human Insecticide". Bates also co-wrote some songs on Never, Neverland (1990), King of the Kill (1994), Refresh the Demon (1996), Remains (1997) and Criteria for a Black Widow (1999).
To promote Alice in Hell, Annihilator supported Onslaught internationally on their In Search of Sanity tour, and Testament (along with Wrathchild America) in the United States on their Practice What You Preach tour.[3] After the tour was over, the band began preparations for their next album Never, Neverland.
The title track "Alison Hell" was released as part of a DLC package for Rocksmith on April 16, 2019.
Reissues
editThe album was re-released twice: 1998 with three demo tracks as bonus tracks and again on September 9, 2003, in a two-disc compilation set along with Never, Neverland, entitled Two from the Vault. One of the demo tracks, "Powerdrain", serves as the base of the song "Sonic Homicide" on Annihilator's 1999 album Criteria for a Black Widow.
Reception and legacy
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Classic Rock | |
| Rock Hard | 9.0/10[6] |
Alice in Hell has received mostly positive reviews. AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia stated that "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."[4] Adam McCann of Metal Digest referred to Alice in Hell as "a real classic thrash metal album", and wrote, "For a debut album, Annihilator blasted it out of the park, the Canadian band hit the ground running with one of thrash metal's best albums, tracks such as 'Human Insecticide', 'W.T.Y.D. (Welcome to Your Death)' and 'Alison Hell' in particular still stand tall today as thrash metal anthems as Jeff Waters demonstrated his prowess on guitar backed up by the indomitable vocals of the late Randy Rampage which drove Alice in Hell into MTV's heavy rotation."[7]
Accolades
edit- In 2014, Loudwire ranked the album the 9th best thrash album not released by the Big Four.[8]
- In 2015, VH1 listed the album as one of the greatest thrash debuts.[9]
- In 2017, Loudwire also listed the album as the 30th best thrash metal album of all time.[10]
- In 2020, Revolver placed it on their list of "10 Criminally Underrated 80s Thrash Albums."[11]
- The same year, Loudwire included the album on their list of the best debut thrash albums of all time.[12]
Track listing
editAll lyrics are written by Jeff Waters, except where noted; all music is composed by Jeff Waters
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Crystal Ann" (instrumental) | 1:40 | |
| 2. | "Alison Hell" | John Bates, Waters | 5:00 |
| 3. | "W.T.Y.D." (Welcome to Your Death) | Bates, Waters | 3:56 |
| 4. | "Wicked Mystic" | Waters, Jody Weil | 3:38 |
| 5. | "Burns Like a Buzzsaw Blade" | Waters, Bates, Weil | 3:33 |
| 6. | "Word Salad" | 5:49 | |
| 7. | "Schizos (Are Never Alone) Parts I & II" | 4:32 | |
| 8. | "Ligeia" | 4:47 | |
| 9. | "Human Insecticide" | Bates, Waters | 4:50 |
| Total length: | 37:27 | ||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Powerdrain" (Demo) | Waters | 2:49 |
| 11. | "Schizos (Are Never Alone), Parts I & II" (Demo) | Waters | 4:18 |
| 12. | "Ligeia" (Demo) | Waters | 4:56 |
| Total length: | 49:53 | ||
Personnel
editAnnihilator
- Jeff Waters – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, classical guitar, bass, backing vocals, producer, mixing, lead vocals on bonus demo tracks
- Randy Rampage – lead vocals, backing vocals
- Ray Hartmann – drums
- Anthony Brian Greenham – rhythm guitar (credited, but does not perform)
- Wayne Darley – bass (credited, but does not perform), backing vocals
Additional personnel
- Dennis Dubeau – lead vocals (bridge on "Alison Hell"), backing vocals ("Alison Hell")
- Paul Blake – engineer
- Frank Donofrio – engineer
- Victor Dezso – photography
- Chris Gehringer – remastering
- Satoshi Kobayashi – reissue design
- Len Rooney – logo, cover art
- Recorded and mixed at Live West Productions, Fiasco Bros. Studios, New Westminster, Canada
References
edit- ^ "Top 50 Thrash Metal Albums Of All Time". Loudwire. 2 May 2023.
Vancouver, Canada's Annihilator brought a high level of technical refinement to thrash metal with 1989's 'Alice in Hell,' with its metronomic instrumentation and intellectual lyrics ("Ligeia" was based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe!). None of which stopped frantic fare like the psycho-thriller "Allison Hell," "Burns Like a Buzzsaw Blade" and lightning-fast "Human Insecticide" from teetering on the edge of control with all that pent-up viciousness.
- ^ "MusicMight :: Artists :: ANNIHILATOR". Archived from the original on 2016-07-09. Retrieved 2016-06-13.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Review of Alice in Hell". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- ^ Ewing, Jerry (July 2000). "Déjà Vu". Classic Rock. No. 16. Future plc. p. 78.
- ^ Stratmann, Holger (1989). "Review Album: Annihilator — Alice in Hell". Rock Hard (in German) (31). Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- ^ "Annihilator – 'Alice in Hell' – Metal Digest – The Normless Magazine". metal-digest.com. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo (May 15, 2014). "10 Best Thrash Albums NOT Released by the Big 4". Loudwire. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ McPadden, Mike (June 11, 2015). "10 Greatest Thrash Metal Debut Albums". VH1. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo (August 30, 2017). "Top 50 Thrash Metal Albums of All Time". Loudwire. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ Bennet, J. (December 4, 2020). "10 Criminally Underrated 80s Thrash Albums". Revolver. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ DiVita, Joe (June 3, 2020). "The 40 Best Debut Thrash Albums of All Time". Loudwire. Retrieved March 16, 2022.