SPV/Steamhammer have issued the following in regards to Canuck thrash legends ANNIHILATOR and their forthcoming new album, Metal:

Anybody reading the album title of the latest Annihilator release, Metal, will know what to expect. What we have here is no pseudo-intellectual moniker, no term that suggests pensiveness or indeed ambiguity, but boldness, directness and determination. It’s a title that suits Jeff Waters’ dynamic guitar style down to a tee. Like few other musicians, Waters’ name stands for a tough-as-nails, energetic and always brilliant metal guitar.

“It may sound a little strange when I say that the new album reminds me of the first three Annihilator recordings,” band leader Jeff Waters admits. “You could be tempted to think that I am looking back artistically, when the opposite happens to be the case. I always try to evolve musically. But it’s a fact that I composed the new material the way I went about the early Annihilator tracks. Instead of writing them with the help of state-of-the-art studio equipment and recording them immediately, almost all of the guitar riffs were developed on a simple ghetto blaster. I only went on to find a rhythm and arrangements to suit an idea if it really floored me.”

Metal will be out on April 16th, 2007 (Germany: April 13th).

The ten new tracks were recorded by Waters, playing guitar and bass and on lead vocals for one number ('Operation Annihilation'), drummer Mike Mangini and vocalist Dave Padden. A literal “army” of renowned guest musicians, whose names Waters will reveal soon, also dropped in to be a part of this. Annihilator fans had better brace themselves for a big surprise. Says Waters, making the mouths of his more curious fans water: “This is one of the coolest guitar albums of all time. And I’m saying this despite the fact that I don’t happen to be a friend of exaggerated superlatives. The fact is that Metal is a dream-come-true for me, and this new Annihilator CD is going to rock and awe."

April will see Annihilator embark on a major European tour as TRIVIUM’s special guests, playing over 40 shows until early May in countries such as Germany, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Italy and France.

“The business side of our career rests in capable hands at last,” says the musician from Canada. “We have an ambitious record label, a committed management and a concert agency that knows how to present us.” And their first-rate album Metal is also waiting to be released.

Annihilator tour dates with Trivium:

April

8 - Dublin, Ireland at Ambassador
9 - Dublin, Ireland at Ambassador
11 - Bradford, England at St. Georges Hall
12 - Manchester, England at Apollo
13 - Glasgow, Scotland at The Academy
14 - Newcastle, England at City Hall
15 - Liverpool, England at University
17 - Nottingham, England at Rock City
18 - Cambridge, England at Corn Exchange
19 - Portsmouth, England at Guild Hall
20 - Plymouth, England at Pavilions
22 - Newport, England at Newport Centre
23 - Wolves, England at Civic Hall
24 - Ipswich, England at Regent
25 - London, England at Hammersmith Apollo
28 - Paris, France at Elysee Monmartre
29 - Brussels, Belgium at AB
30 - Herford, Germany at Club X

May

1 - Amsterdam, Netherlands at Melkweg
2 - Tilburg, Netherlands at 013
4 - Copenhagen, Denmark at Pumpehuset
5 - Oslo, Norway at Rockefella
6 - Stockholm, Sweden at Arena
8 - Helsinki, Finland at Nosturi
10 - Gothenburg, Sweden at Karen
11 - Hamburg, Germany at Grosse Freiheit
12 - Berlin, Germany at Postbahnhof
13 - Warsaw, Poland at Proxima
15 - Stuttgart, Germany at Longhorn
16 - Wiesbaden, Germany at Schlachthof
17 - Cologne, Germany at E-Werk
19 - Dresden, Germany at Alter Schlachthof
20 - Munich, Germany at Georg Elser Halle
21 - Vienna, Austria at Planet Music
22 - Linz, Austria at Posthof
24 - Trevisto, Italy at New Age
25 - Milan, Italy at Rainbow
26 - Fribourg, Switzerland at Fri-Son
27 - Zurich, Switzerland at Rohstofflager
29 - Barcelona, Spain at Apollo
30 - Madrid, Spain at Sala Heineken

June

1 - Bordeaux, France at Barbey
2 - Lyon, France at Transbordeur
3 - Strasbourg, France at La Laiteirie