Review by Alex on October 14, 2024.

After the success of "Alice in Hell", it was only logical that Annihilator did not waste much time. 17 months later, its successor hit the market. Perhaps due to this short period, "Never, Neverland" has much in common with the debut of the Canadians. The A side is more experimental, the B side rather straightforward and the closer is once more among the highlights. Yet there are differences between these works as well. "Never, Neverland" displays the first signs of commerce, although the majority of its material is still rooted in the soil of the speed and thrash territory. Nevertheless, let's start in alignment with the arrangement of the tracks with the ambivalent songs.

"The Fun Palace" marks an unspectacular and relatively disappointing opener that lacks speed and aggression. Things don't get better with "Stonewall". It avoids gently any kind of sharp rims. Calling these titles pretty harmless seems to be the best one can do. But it boggled my mind, that these representative tracks - the opener and the single - featured a mild side of the band. The last prominent piece, the title track, also did not strive for speed records, but its gloomy aura matches the artwork and does not kowtow to the mainstream radio stations. Be that as it may, the entire A side is not as energetic as the debut was. Only the lively "Sixes and Sevens" picks up the dominating sound of "Alice in Hell".

Fortunately, the B side speaks a different language. Annihilator returns to their former glory. Direct, mostly pretty short songs wallow in velocity and thrashing vibrations. "Kraf Dinner" is not just a good speedster with a memorable chorus; it also conveys a funny touch in view of the lyrics. The band praises the existence of cheap food in an original way ("Macaroni maniac, a cheddar cheese heart attack"). Yet this humorous way of proceeding remains an exception. Tracks like "Phantasmagoria" deal with darker issues. But the combative direction of the songs of the B side is their connecting element. Leitmotif straight attack, so to say. By the way, the more simple configuration has not led to a less sustainable impression. All these powerful eruptions have withstood the test of time. Especially "Kraf Dinner" and "I Am in Command" still make my day from time to time. Their excellent riffing proves evidence that Waters has a good instinct for effective details. No doubt, the B side delivers the reason why the moderately starting album exceeds the 70% mark.

Production-wise, Annihilator did not head for a softer result. "Never, Neverland" has a vigorous sound, less polished than the debut and maybe minimally non-transparent. Coburn Pharr, the new lead vocalist, does a solid job and his voice meets the needs of the material, while Jeff Waters resists the temptation to bore the audience with excessive technical gimmicks. The rest of the line-up does its duties accurately and therefore I have no reason to lament about any details. Annihilator were still on track. It was clear from the beginning that they would never reach the level of vileness that was reflected in the debut of Exodus or the early albums of Slayer, but they did not reveal a greed for commercial success as well. Speed and the first signs of commerce shaped this work - precisely in this order.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10