earMusic has announced a remarkable reissue series of (almost) the entire Annihilator catalogue. Metal II kicks off this extensive catalogue campaign that will give you special editions, bonus material, exclusive and previously unreleased tunes.

And Metal II is only the first taste, ahead of a huge catalogue campaign covering (almost) all Annihilator studio records and long lost rarities. Fans have been waiting years and it’s finally happening: the much sought-after and previously unavailable Annihilator back catalogue is getting a series of reissues via earMUSIC. In total, 18 records are going to be released over the next few years, including the original 2007 version of the Metal album.

Metal II has been given an incredible overhaul with the one and only Dave Lombardo (Dead Cross, ex-Slayer) killing the drums and lead vocals "re-invented" by the great Stu Block (Into Eternity).

Waters passed over mixing duties to legendary engineer Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Van Halen) and it was remastered by Maor Appelbaum. The guest list on the album is huge with more than a dozen killer artists from bands like Lamb Of God, Arch Enemy, Children Of Bodom, Nevermore, In Flames, Trivium, Danko Jones, Anvil, The Haunted and Lynam: One big metal party!

“Dave was in my favourite band ever (Slayer),” Waters gushes “and continues to evolve and play in many diverse bands, like Misfits, Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungle and many other projects. It was an honour to be on the same record as Lombardo. And he uses the Reign In Blood ride cymbal!! Yes! The ACTUAL ride cymbal we hear on that classic record.”

Waters reveals that, “Stu has been the vocalist that I have (publicly) wanted to be Annihilator’s singer, ever since I heard him in the Canadian band Into Eternity, but I never got the opportunity to get him! He is the next generation of amazing vocalists that is grabbing the microphone from such icons as Dickinson and Halford. And our paths SHOULD have crossed a long time ago, but we are here now!”

“So I got a hold of them both,” Waters continues, “and they both loved the tunes and both said ‘FUCK YES’! And I said to Stu, ‘you’ve got three takes’, so there’s blemishes and warts and fuck-ups everywhere. And I said the same to Dave, ‘get it done’. And watching pros do this is mind-blowing because you don’t have the best sounds, but you have the best players.”

Out on February 18, you can pre-order Metal II via the links below:

- Ltd. Orange Vinyl
- Ltd. Blue Vinyl
- Black Vinyl
- CD Digipak

Tracklisting:

"Chasing The High" (ft. Willie Adler, Lamb Of God)
"Downright Dominate" (ft. Alexi Laiho, Children Of Bodom)
"Army Of One" (ft. Steve ‘Lips' Kudlow, Anvil)
"Couple Suicide" (ft. Danko, Danko Jones and Angela Gossow, Arch Enemy)
"Heavy Metal Maniac" (ft. Dan Beehler, Exciter and Allan Johnson, Exciter) – Cover Song
"Haunted" (ft. Jesper Strömblad, In Flames)
"Romeo Delight" - Cover Song
"Detonation" (ft. Jacob Lynam, Lynam)
"Clown Parade" (ft. Jeff Loomis, Nevermore)
"Smothered" (ft. Anders Björler, The Haunted)
"Kicked" (ft. Corey Beaulieu, Trivium)