Annihilator frontman/founder Jeff Waters has checked in with the following update:

"Annihilator seeking touring bassist! We are on the way to Europe for our awesome summer festival run (Wacken, Barcelona Rock Fest, etc.). As many of you already knew, our bassist Oscar has been a "temp"... we are looking for a bassist for our upcoming headline tour and possibly beyond. Must play with a pick. No dope. No booze problem. No criminal record whatsoever. Oh yeah, he has to play bass good and be a relatively-good person! Send a link to a video of you playing the song 'Alison Hell' (with no music behind it... just the bass) to jeffwatersound@gmail.com.

WARNING: Learn the song as close to the way Jeff Waters plays it on this video: 

 

If you don't, no chance! In your email with your video link, please also include stuff about you! Good luck and have fun!"

Annihilator will release their brand new (and 15th) studio album, Suicide Society, on September 18th via UDR Music worldwide.

As usual, guitar wizard Jeff Waters handles all songwriting duties, plays all guitar & bass, engineers, produces, mixes and masters Suicide Society… and Waters is also back commanding lead vocal duties, as he did on the critically acclaimed King Of The Kill (1994), Refresh The Demon (1996), Remains (1997) and other Annihilator albums over the years.

Waters on his return to vocal duties: “Dave (Padden/vocalist from 03-14) and I have, essentially, been Annihilator since 2003 but he resigned last December, citing having had enough of touring, being away from home and other commitments. I thank him for his 11 years with Annihilator. That said, Annihilator and I are known for never giving up and, occasionally, coming up with something even better than its former offering(s): this is undeniably the case with Suicide Society!”

Waters later elaborated on his initial statement: "Those who expect a King Of The Kill vocal are in for something interesting! I intentionally tried to avoid the cliché metal vocal/rock stuff I did then (but didn't realize I was doing it then!) and weed out the bad in my voice and style; try to find the good stuff and only do those things! I guess you will be the judge but I am stoked!"

With Suicide Society, Annihilator goes headfirst into some of the most technically perfect, crisp, and crushingly taut, riffage Waters has ever produced. Although Waters’ vocals keep traces of stylings from his King Of The Kill album, they now evoke a surprising blend of legends such as Staley, Osbourne, Hetfield and Mustaine. This, in a twisted way, mirrors Waters’ signature blend of riffing, drums grooves and bass; all drawing from multiple sources and genres.

Waters has built a worldwide reputation as being a premier guitarist and songwriter; the conciseness and arrangement of “Creepin’ Again” is both an air-guitarist’s dream and a sharp reminder of this. The gloriously-brutal thrash of “My Revenge” calls up a vintage of ’85 with the technical chops of 2015. The neo-classic title track defiantly expresses anger at the state of world affairs, while offering up hope in closing. With the multi-layered power of the anthem “Snap”, Waters illustrates the diversity of Annihilator’s sound, without sacrificing one decibel of attack.

“Metal fans will likely sport evil, satisfied grins on their faces, when they hear this record”, chuckles Waters, “but in the words of Joe Perry: “Let the Music Do the Talking”!”

Tracklisting:
"Suicide Society"
"My Revenge"
"Snap"
"Creepin’ Again"
"Narcotic Avenue"
"The One You Serve"
"Break, Enter"
"Death Scent"
"Every Minute“

Audio clips: