Bag of Tricks

by

Annihilator

Edit

If you are a fan of Annihilator, especially the early works, then this album is a MUST for you! It has some early demos, live & alternate versions. The songs are really cool!

The opening classic "Alison Hell," is basically the same version as what ended up on the debut, except that it was remastered & thus has more "punch" to it. On the demo of "Phantasmagoria," we can hear Randy Rampage on vox & this version is very different in comparison to the one we can hear on Neverland. Next we have 2 unreleased songs, "Back to the Crypt" & "Gallery." These are extremely raw, thrashy songs with Randy R. singing and have riffs & pieces from the song "Never, Neverland." This take of "Human Insecticide" (which was originally on the debut)is taken from the "In Command - Live" album. Here it's played MUCH faster than the original studio version! Next up is an extended version of "Fun Palace," where we can hear some additional riffs. I prefer this to the studio version on the actual "Never, Neverland" album. The next 3 songs (W.T.Y.D., Word Salad & Live Wire) are all live & feature Coburn on vox. These are superior to the studio versions in my opinion. if for no other reason, then Coburn's impressive vocal range alone is worth the price of admission. And yes, Live Wire is an AC/DC cover. "Knight Jumps Queen" & "Bats in the Belfry" are demos that once again feature Coburn on vox. It's interesting to compare these version to the way they ended up on the "Set The World On Fire" CD. However, The real gem from this album is an unreleased track called "Fantastic Things." This is a lighter, more melodic song that was left off of STWOF, but would have fit that album perfectly. It has bassist Wayne Darley doing vox & he sounds GREAT! This track is very strong, even if it's not heavy, fast or thrasy. It's more on the catchy side. "Evil Appetite" is basically a demo version of what ended up being "Don't Bother Me" from the STWOF album. We have Coburn singing again & some of the lyrics were re-written for the final version. The last 3 songs (Gallery, Alison Hell & Phantasmagoria) are old demos from 1986. They are EXTREMELY raw & unpolished. The rhythm guitar sound is so thick & beefy it is unreal! Master mind Jeff Waters himself did the vox & he has a very coarse, Death metal type of voice. It is unbelievably BRUTAL!

So all in all this is a nice stroll down memory lane with the best Canadian metal band ever. This is really a treat for the hardcore. If you have all the other studio albums you shouldn't miss out on this, but if you don't know the band, get their studio albums first! Start with "Alice In Hell" & "Never, Neverland" first & work your way up!

Quite an appropriate title, this. The biggest trick is getting you to part with more money than it's actually worth. It's one of those "previously unreleased and rarities" type collections, and while some of this stuff might have been rare and unreleased, there was a good reason for it- it wasn't very good.

Back in 1990, Annihilator could have become one of the biggest names in Metal. The band had released the killer debut `Alice In Hell' and the reasonably solid follow up `Never, Neverland'. However, by 1994 when `Bag Of Tricks' was thrown together, the band and its reputation were in tatters. Jeff Water's revolving door policy meant the band could not cement a stable line up, and third album `Set The World On Fire' crashed and burned through a combination of poor songs, weak production and a changed musical climate. `Bag Of Tricks' could possibly have been Annihilator's swansong. We know now that it wasn't, and as an epitaph of the band's career, `Bag Of Tricks' would have been about as fitting as wearing a clown costume to a funeral.

Most of this is worthless filler. Witness "The Fun Palace (Extended Mix)". It is "extended" by 30 seconds. I'm sure Jeff Waters can hear the added parts, but I sure as hell can't, and it's not like it's a particularly strong song in the first place. Then there's the remastered version of "Alison Hell". So it's "thicker and punchier". It's still the same damn song! There are also production demos of "Phantasmagoria", "Knight Jumps Queen", "Bats In The Belfry", and "Evil Appetite", (which later became "Don't Bother Me"), which are all apparently special because they have different vocalists to the album versions.

A little more worthwhile are the production demos of a few songs which never made it to a full album. "Back To The Crypt", "Gallery" and "Fantastic Things" were all omitted from the first three albums, and quite rightly so. There are a few familiar riffs, but the songs were poorly conceived or badly constructed.

There is some good stuff on the album though. Four live tracks are included. "Human Insecticide (Live)" was originally released on the `Thrash The Wall' compilation, and shows Waters could actually reproduce live the insane riffing of that song. Manic renditions of "W.T.Y.D." and "Word Salad" demonstrate why Annihilator were rated so highly as a live band, while the cover of AC/DC's "Live Wire" is quite faithful and shows the song due respect.

Annihilator's 1986 demo `Phantasmagoria' was quite well sought after in underground tape trading circles, and the tracks "Gallery", Alison Hell" and "Phantasmagoria" are great. For a demo recorded in a basement (and obviously cleaned up in the studio a little), the sound quality is very clear, especially Jeff Waters' rhythm guitar. The vocals are a surprise, as Waters performed them himself. Instead of the clean, melodic sound of the singers generally employed by the band, Waters' voice is harsher, comparable to Slayer's Tom Araya. The embryonic "Alison Hell" and "Phantasmagoria" are instantly recognisable, but "Gallery" is a surprise. It was never released on an album, but much of the song is familiar, as Waters stripped the best riffs from the substandard song and used them elsewhere. Then inexplicably (or as Monte Conner says in the liner notes "because of time restraints"), the final track from the demo "Ligeia" was left off this album.

There are some gems on this incomplete and patchy compilation, but would have been far better put together in a different format without the filler. It does have extensive liner notes, explaining the motivation and significance of the tracks included. More live tracks, the complete pre- "Alice In Hell" demos and fewer "alternative" versions of album tracks would have made this album far more appealing.