"Along with Sacrifice, Voivod and Razor, Annihilator is credited as one of the 'Big 4' of Canadian thrash metal. Formed in Ottawa by Jeff Waters and John Bates in 1984, they named the band after the tank that Eddie Murphy's character rode on in the 1984 film 'Best Defense'. Waters and Bates then recruited drummer Paul Malek and bassist Dave Scott. This lineup lasted a year, producing a demo titled "Welcome To Your Death" during their time together. The demo received worldwide recognition and became highly sought after.After John Bates and Dave Scott left the band before its release, citing artistic differences and personality conflicts, Jeff Waters and drummer Paul Malek recorded another successful demo titled Phantasmagoria in 1986. This was said to be the third most traded metal cassette tape in the 1980s, behind Metallica and Megadeth's demo tapes. Waters relocated to Vancouver in 1987, where he assembled a new line-up, including drummer Ray Hartmann and former D.O.A. bassist Randy Rampage on vocals. They went on to become the highest-selling thrash metal group in Canadian history, selling more than three million albums worldwide. Waters is the only remaining original member left, and usually assembles session musicians to perform and tour with him."
MT-2 > HM-2...
