Annihilator "Set The World On Fire" CD

With Set the World on Fire, Annihilator axeman Jeff Waters has managed to craft one of their most inconsistent and commercial sounding albums to date. With very little thrash left on the table and a lot of apparent ballad/pop metal influences rearing their heads, StWoF was a disasterous release, on paper anyway. Somehow, Waters managed to make it work, giving us a very mainstream, but still respectable Annihilator release.
The song types are very divided in sound. The best ones are the Annihilator standard thrash classics. "Don't Bother Me" and the title track are heavy as hell, while "Knight Jumps Queen" delivers some enjoyable Testament worship and "Brain Dance" impresses with its ridiculousness. The problem songs are the ones that try and incorporate the pop influences. Sometimes it works. The all-out acoustic ballad "Phoenix Rising" is actually quite memorable, if not a great Annihilator song. But then there's some that just reek of 80's glam/hair metal. "The Edge" and "Sounds Good to Me" couldn't be lamer if they tried, mixing generic riffing with stupid lyrics and bad vocals. New vocalist Aaron Randall is actually a decent singer, but in the context of Anniihilator, his performance is most unwelcome, adding to the already "poppy" sound.
Despite this, Waters' playing is still phenomenal. Even when he's playing shitty pop songs, he plays them with conviction. His solos are outstanding. Unfortunately, his self-declared role as Annihilator's sole creative force would eventually send the band's albums into the darkest depths of mediocrity, with this album acting as the first step in that descent. For what it is, it's not terrible. I enjoy listening to it now and again; marvelling at the awesome tracks and how odd it is that they share an album with some terrible ones. Definitely not the place to start looking into the band, but a decent release anyway.

Official promo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...