Released on April 17, 1989, Alice in Hell was the first studio album by Canadian thrash metal band Annihilator. It was the band’s sole record with Randy Rampage on vocals for ten years, until his comeback in 1999.
The three-piece band Annihilator recorded an album in 1988 with Randy Rampage, Jeff Waters, and Ray Hartmann. With the exception of “Crystal Ann”. Waters composed all of the album’s tracks, produced it, and performed guitar, bass, and backing vocals. Anthony Although they joined after Alice in Hell was finished, Brian Greenham and Wayne Darley were incorrectly identified as the album’s bass and guitar performers on the insert. On the album, Darley contributed background vocals. Roadrunner had Greenham and Darley put in the credits, according to Waters.
Former singer John Bates co-wrote several tracks on the debut Annihilator album, Alice in Hell, including “Alison Hell,” “W.T.Y.D.”, “Burns Like a Buzzsaw Blade,” and “Human Insecticide.” In addition, Bates co-wrote the tracks King of the Kill, Refresh the Demon, Never, Neverland, Remains, and Criteria for a Black Widow.
To promote Alice in Hell, Annihilator and Wrathchild America backed Onslaught on their In Search of Sanity tour and Testament on their Practice What You Preach tour in the US. The band used the title track “Alison Hell” from Never, Neverland, their upcoming album, as a warm-up after the tour.
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Double reissues of the album occurred in 1998 (with bonus tracks) and 2003 (as a two-disc compilation package titled Two from the Vault). Annihilator used one demo track, “Powerdrain,” as the foundation for their 1999 song “Sonic Homicide.”
The Canadian band Annihilator’s debut album, Alice in Hell, has gotten good reviews. Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic rated it a three-star album, calling it a technical, thoughtful man’s thrash metal record that attracted a large following. Adam McCann of Metal Digest called it a “classic thrash metal album”. Pointing out that songs like “Alison Hell”, “W.T.Y.D. (Welcome to Your Death)” and “Human Insecticide” are thrash metal anthems. Thanks to the guitar skills of Jeff Waters and the unstoppable screams of Randy Rampage, Alice in Hell has been a mainstay on MTV’s heavy rotation.
- Welcome to Your Death is what W.T.Y.D. stands for.
- With over 250,000 copies sold, Alice in Hell was Roadrunner Records’ best-selling debut release at the time.
- John Bates, the founding singer of Annihilator, is listed as a co-writer of Alison Hell, W.T.Y.D., Burns like a Buzzsaw Blade, and Human Insecticide, despite his departure from the band in 1985.
- “Fuck the Dead” was the initial title of Schizos (Are Never Alone) Parts I & II.
- The sleeve features a lineup of five players. Jeff Waters, who really played the guitars and bass himself, stated in interviews that this was done at the record label’s request.
- The insert credits Wayne Darley as a bassist, however he didn’t play any bass on this record; instead, he sings as a guest.
Track listing
- “Crystal Ann”
- “Alison Hell”
- “W.T.Y.D.” (Welcome to Your Death)
- “Wicked Mystic”
- “Burns Like a Buzzsaw Blade”
- “Word Salad”
- “Schizos (Are Never Alone) Parts I & II”
- “Ligeia”
- “Human Insecticide”
