Artist
Annihilator
hardcore gabber artist Scott Brown
United Kingdom
Annihilator is a musician from United Kingdom. Their discography on Gatefold includes 11 records.
11
Albums tracked
37
In collections
—
Since
Biography
Annihilator is a Canadian thrash metal band founded in Ottawa in 1984 by Jeff Waters. Waters has been the band’s only constant member and has served as guitarist, bandleader, primary songwriter, producer, engineer, and at times bassist and vocalist. Annihilator has released seventeen studio albums and has experienced numerous lineup changes, with Waters frequently recruiting touring and session musicians. Alongside Sacrifice, Voivod, and Razor, the band has been described as part of the “Big Four” of Canadian thrash metal.
The Arc of Annihilator
The pivots — what forced Annihilator to reinvent.
The Evolution of Hardcore
Between 1994 and 1996, Scott Brown used the Annihilator moniker to test how much punishment a listener could take on the dancefloor. Starting with 'I'll Show You My Gun,' he moved away from the breakbeat-heavy sounds of the early nineties toward a four-on-the-floor kick drum that sounded like a pneumatic drill. The production is thin and biting, relying on high-frequency distortion and horrific vocal samples rather than the lush synth pads he’d eventually adopt. It was the sound of a producer refining the Scottish 'Bouncy Techno' blueprint into something much darker and more menacing.
Influences
- The Prophet — Brown has cited the early Dutch gabber scene as the primary catalyst for his harder productions. You hear the influence of Dov Elkabas in the way Annihilator uses heavily distorted 909 kicks as a melodic instrument. It's the blueprint for the entire Evolution Records sound.
- Joey Beltram — The 'Hoover' sound Beltram pioneered on 'Mentasm' is all over the Annihilator discography. Brown took that industrial techno texture and sped it up to 180 BPM to fit the Glasgow warehouse vibe. It’s the DNA of the 'Ye Shall Die' era.
- Lenny Dee — The Industrial Strength Records founder was a massive influence on the distortion levels Brown used in his mid-nineties output. The red-lined, clipping audio on 'Realm of Darkness' is a direct nod to the New York hardcore aesthetic. It’s about making the speakers sound like they’re actually breaking.
- Public Enemy — Brown frequently sampled the aggressive, confrontational vocal snippets from the Bomb Squad’s productions. On 'I'll Show You My Gun,' he uses that hip-hop grit to provide a rhythmic counterpoint to the relentless kick drums. It adds a layer of street-level tension to the electronics.
- Human Resource — The aggressive synth stabs on 'Dominator' set the stage for how Brown approached lead lines in Annihilator. He took that Belgian techno staccato and sharpened it into something more violent. It turned a club sound into a weapon.
Discography
Their records — most-collected first.
Around the web
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