Drummer, I love you, but faker!
In "No Way Out" your hair looks red and I was looking forward to more redheaded awesomeness, but it was just the lighting at the beginning of "No Way Out".
The first time I watched this video, I spent the whole time asking, "Where's the redhead? Hey, where'd he go?" Think: cat (me) chasing a red laser.
Regardless of how well you hit the jackpot in the gene pool for red hair, you are a superbly talented drummer, Mike Harshaw.
The entire band performs live exceptionally well. Some bands don't. They look so comfortable on stage.
Technical skill aside, Annihilator has themes that I don't fully understand, but I'd sure love to know more. In several of their songs they talk about women and their power / lack of power.
In "Stonewall", they say -- get this, so cool -- in context of a cute little blond girl:
It's time to listen and hear her cries.
Reminds me of something an older brother would say... I wonder.
In another popular song, "Deadlock", the woman is powerless, total victim, then the guys all kill each other (message = war is futile), then in the end the woman wins. Fully Powerless / Ultimately Powerful.
I'm not including a link to "Deadlock" because DO NOT WATCH. It's not Mormon-ok content. It shows police violence (hurting police) and violence against women. The end message is good, but it's too Machiavellian. (In the 1400-1500s Niccolo Machiavelli had some great ideas, but didn't live long enough to see that his theory, "The ends justify the means," turns out badly nearly every time.)
Annihilator is a Canadian heavy metal band that's been around since 1984. What a great year to start a heavy metal band. (Think Orwell.) Jeff Waters has been the one and only constant all those years. He's the guy with the shortest hair in the "No Way Out" video. They're the highest selling Canadian heavy metal band.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annihilator_%28band%29
Annihilator has a more consistent beat than most. Their songs are so SATISFYING rhythmically. Some heavy metal bands shift rhythm so often that I end up intellectually challenged, but in the end, confused. Annihilator is more constant and that will probably make it more fun to hear them play in person.
Their official site:
http://www.annihilatormetal.com/
My favorite quote from Jeff Waters himself, "We are truly among the few bands with a long history, that have always waved the flag for honesty, integrity, and perseverance in this hard-edge category of music."
Mormon moment: "...honesty, integrity, perseverance..." sounds like the Young Women's theme
Skip Annihilator's videos, but they are a must-see in person. Something to play in the background during your next work session:
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