Annihilator
Suicide Society
UDR Music
Released: 18 September 2015
Review by Joshua Bulleid
When first putting on Suicide Society, it’s hard to tell whether you’re being “Rick-rolled” or not. The fifteenth album of Annihilator’s illustrious career sees main-man Jeff Waters returning to lead vocal duties for the first time since 1997’s Remains—following the departure of long-time collaborator David Paddin—and his approach on the album’s already overly-quirky, opening, title-track is head-scratching to say the least. Though Suicide Society’s off-kilter direction isn’t derivative of the rest of the album, which sticks to the band’s usual tech-thrash blueprint, it is an immediate barrier to the record’s overall enjoyment, which is never really overcome.
Suicide Society’s other major shortcoming is that a lot of its songs, especially early on, are heavily burdened with a sense of over-familiarity. My Revenge blatantly lifts the vocal pattern from Metallica’s Battery and the following Snap is centred around a riff equally reminiscent of Rammstein’s Ich Tu Dir Weh. Such instances might be more easily forgiven in isolation, or if they were a touch more ambiguous, but their flagrant resemblance is distracting, and this questionability invalidates any inherent worth or intrigue the tracks otherwise contain. Likewise, Waters’ vocal performance is surprisingly solid, but—even outside My Revenge, there’s a general Hetfield-ness to it that often leans further to the side of imitation rather than influence.
There are some redemptive moments to be found on Suicide Society. Creepin’ Again is a perfect throwback to the eccentric, phantasmagorical vibe of classic Annihilator tracks like Fun Palace and even Dr. Psycho. The quick-paced stomper The One You Serve and rollicking, old-school number Death Scent provide Suicide Society with dose of light redemption late in the game. However, it’s a clear case of too little too late, and even during these better moments, the band play their cards a touch too close to their chest, with the verse riff of The One You Serve again bearing an overly-close similarity to Pantera’s distinctive A New Level.
Suicide Society has a few good tracks and some decent moments here and there, but for the most part it remains thoroughly unsatisfying, due as much to its questionable direction as to persistent over-familiarity.
