Never, Neverland is the second album by heavy metal band Annihilator. It was released on September 12, 1990, under the label Roadrunner. The album was re-released twice: in 1998 with three demo tracks as bonus tracks and again on September 9, 2003, in a two-disc compilation set along with Alice in Hell, entitled Alice in Hell/Never Neverland (as part of Roadrunner Records Two from the Vault series).[2]
| Never, Neverland | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 12, 1990[1] | |||
| Recorded | February–April 1990 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:59 | |||
| Label | Roadrunner | |||
| Producer | Glen Robinson, Jeff Waters | |||
| Annihilator chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Never, Neverland | ||||
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Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Classic Rock |  [3] |
| Rock Hard |   [4] |
| Select | [5] |
Nick Griffiths of Select gave the album a two-out-of-five rating, and described it as a "patchwork of half-fulfilled promises, it threatens more than it delivers." He noted that "only when the lead axe spits caterwauling speedplay and the thrash rhythm do Annihilator finally wash their true colours in public" and that "elsewhere there's a tendency to steer into formularised ruts, escaping occasionally like on the ghoulish riffs of 'Sixes and Sevens'."[5]
Alex Henderson of AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, calling it "one of 1990's strongest metal releases".[1]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Jeff Waters
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Fun Palace" | 5:51 |
| 2. | "Road to Ruin" | 3:42 |
| 3. | "Sixes and Sevens" | 5:20 |
| 4. | "Stonewall" | 4:50 |
| 5. | "Never, Neverland" | 5:29 |
| 6. | "Imperiled Eyes" | 5:27 |
| 7. | "Kraf Dinner" | 2:41 |
| 8. | "Phantasmagoria" | 3:59 |
| 9. | "Reduced to Ash" | 3:09 |
| 10. | "I Am in Command" | 3:34 |
| Total length: | 43:59 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Kraf Dinner" (demo) | 2:32 |
| 12. | "Mayhem" (demo of Reduced to Ash) | 2:54 |
| 13. | "Freed from the Pit" (demo of Road to Ruin) | 3:45 |
Personnel
edit- Band members
- Coburn Pharr – vocals
- Jeff Waters – guitars, bass, drum writing and arrangements, cover concept
- Wayne Darley – bass
- Ray Hartmann – drums
- Dave Scott Davis – guitar solos on tracks 1 and 8
- Production
- Glen Robinson – co-producer, engineer, mixing
- Jeff Waters co-producer
- Steve Royea – engineer
- George Marino – mastering
- Victor Dezso, Mark Van Der Wielen – photography
- Nick Gilman – artwork, cover design
- Len Rooney Creative – artwork
- Len Rooney – cover concept, cover design
- Monte Conner – executive producer
- Recorded February–April 1990 at Vancouver Studios, Vancouver, Canada
- mixed in April 1990 at Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec, Canada
- Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York City, U.S.
- Chris Gehringer – remastering
- Satoshi Kobayashi – reissue design
References
edit- ^ a b c Henderson, Alex. "Annihilator Never, Neverland review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
- ^ "Annihilator - Never, Neverland". Encyclopaedia Metallum. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
- ^ Ewing, Jerry (July 2000). "Déjà Vu". Classic Rock. No. 16. Future plc. p. 78.
- ^ Holger, Stratmann. "RockHard: Review anzeigen" (in German). Rock Hard.
- ^ a b Griffiths, Nick (July 1990). "Reviews - The New Discs". Select. p. 86.