Never, Neverland
Occupation
- Vocals: Coburn Pharr
- Guitar: Jeff Waters
- Guitar: Dave Scott Davis
- Bass: Wayne Darley
- Drums: Ray Hartmann
Never, Neverland is the second studio album by the Canadian thrash metal band Annihilator. It was released in September 1990 on Roadrunner Records. It is the only album with Coburn Pharr ( formerly of Omen ) as a singer.
Formation and style
Musically, the album is similarly like its predecessor, some pieces are created something more melodic. It is the last album in thrash style, after which the band turned increasingly to the Power Metal. Also in Never, Neverland Jeff Waters was able to draw on finished songs of the previous demos as its predecessor from its fundus. So Phantasmagoria comes from the eponymous demo of 1986. I Am in Command, a song that tells of a person who is freed from their dependence on a television preacher, comes from the demo Welcome to Your Death. So the pieces were already in autumn 1989, during the tour to Alice in Hell, largely finished except for some lyrics and song titles. At this point the drive should still hot In Command or Annihilator in Command. This name was later given a live album.
The other songs are again explained in detail like Alice in Hell in the booklet. The title track takes as already Alison Hell from the previous album again on the true story of a young girl. Never, Neverland is about a girl who was imprisoned for several years by his grandmother because she had watched a young man. In the middle of the song it is freed by the police and social workers against the resistance of the grandmother, what songwriting -driven, inter alia, is illustrated by a break and correspondingly hard riffing. Named after the industrial site at Winnipeg Stonewall Stonewall turns against pollution, Road to Ruin against drinking and driving. The Fun Palace tells the story of a murderer who is plagued by years of guilt and nightmares and therefore admits. Sixes and Sevens is based on an English phrase that means a time of disorientation in life. The piece Kraf Dinner is a fun song that is about a 99 cents costing finished dish of macaroni and cheese. At Stonewall, there was also a music video that was often shown in the early days of the European edition of Headbangers Ball. The long tour to the album led the band in the fall of 1990, among others, Xentrix and Despair by Europe.
Reception
Rock-Hard reviewer Holger Stratmann said a total of a " super panel ", but looked at times some weaknesses in the songwriting. He assessed Never, Neverland with nine out of ten. On Allmusic.com called Alex Henderson Never, Never Land " a sparkling diamond " and " one of the strongest metal releases of the 1990s ." Musically and lyrically the band doing " no prisoners ". 4.5 out of five stars and the award " AMG Album Pick" were awarded.
Title list
The music is by Jeff Waters, the texts also, unless otherwise indicated. * With the demo pieces are marked, which appeared on the 1998 version as a bonus. From Mayhem was Reduced to Ash, Freed from the Pit was to Road to Ruin. Another re-release appeared in 2003 as a double CD with Alice in Hell.