Annihilator - 'Set The World On Fire'

Annihilator is one of the more underrated thrash metal bands. The Canadians burst onto the scene with 1989's Alice In Hell, but they never became mass appeal. They've had several vocalists over the years, and didn't have albums with wide U.S. distribution for more than a decade.

Annihilator's third album Set The World On Fire is being re-released. The 1993 effort was the band's only one with Aaron Randall on vocals. It drifted away from Annihilator's trademark thrash sound and towards the mainstream.

There are some thrash songs on the album, such as "Knight Jumps Queen." A few songs are in the hair metal/mainstream rock vein, and Annhilator throws in a couple of ballads as well. "Phoenix Rising" is a well done traditional ballad, while "Sounds Good To Me" is more of a power ballad.

The 2009 version of Set The World On Fire has been remastered, and a bonus cover of Judas Priest's "Hell Bent For Leather" along with an acoustic version of "Phoenix Rising" are included. There's also a bonus disc with the video of the title track, an interview with Jeff Waters and bonus video footage.

Set The World On Fire wasn't one of Annihilator's all time best albums, but it has some quality songs, and Waters' guitar work is always worth listening to.

(released March 10, 2009 on Metal Mind Productions)