Anihilated

/Anihilated

Band

Anihilated

Details

Genre
Thrash/Speed
Year Formed
1981
Town/City
Ipswich
Country
UK

About

Anihilated evolved from their early Punk roots into a Thrash Metal band in the early 1980's around the same time that Metallica and Slayer were making their mark on the brand new American Thrash scene.

After inclusions on various successful Punk compilation albums, Anihilated turned towards a much faster and metallic sound. The early gigs with this new material bemused their then mainly punk audiences, as back then, many people had not seen a thrash band before and thought that they were selling out to Heavy Rock. However, the realisation that Anihilated had not abandoned their social conscious, maintained their credibility within the punk community and they continued to develop their heavier, thrash sound.

In spring 1984 Si Cobb - Guitar/vocals, Lee Hitman - Bass, Mark Beuchet - Guitar, and Bod - Drums, disappeared into the studio for a week and emerged with what became known as the "Speedwell Sessions" which was their first release of Punk/Metal/crossover.

Positive reviews expanded the bands audience which saw a growing number of Metalheads attending their gigs and after another period of creative writing, they returned to the studio to record and release their renowned "Path To Destruction" EP, an early example of raw, British, thrash/metal/hardcore. The EP completely sold out, even knocking Madonna off the number one spot in the East of England record charts.

Although their musical style had changed, Anihilated upheld their punk ideals and beliefs. This put off many record labels at first as they wanted bands with "Heavy Metal" persona's. This frustrated the band but they defiantly refused to give in to corporate pressures to change. Despite this initial setback, Anihilated's popularity continued to grow, features in fanzines/magazines and bootleg recordings around the world secured a huge international following and after a number of high profile gigs, they achieved the recognition they deserved, emerging as one of the main forerunners and innovators of Thrash Metal in the UK. Their first full thrash album "Created In Hate", was described by Metal Forces Magazine as "the most important UK Thrash Metal release to date".

The band spent the next year out on the road before returning to the studio to record "The Ultimate Desecration. This is widely regarded as their best studio album and is deemed by Marquee Records, to be "one of the finest UK Thrash Metal releases ever".

Anihilated, recently described as a thrash cult phenomenon, were always better known on foreign soil than in their own home country. Even with no new releases or gigs in over 19 years, interest in the band remained strong, particularly in Japan, the Ukraine, the South America's and across mainland Europe.

In 2008 the demand from fans to reform became too strong to resist and with backing from two record companies, Anihilated are back together again and writing material for a brand new album. They are re-connecting with their old faithful following, and building a brand new army of fans via the net, and through the media.

Created In Hate and The Ultimate Desecration albums have been re-issued under license to Brazilian label Marquee Records, they have been completely repackaged and remastered and include live bonus tracks. The Path To Destruction EP was re-issued through Japanese label In Crust We Thrash via Aktiva//Protesta Rekordo. This version included the "Speedwell sessions" of 1984 and has again, completely sold out of all pressings. In 2009 it was released by Chinese label Area Death Productions with a run of limited edition box sets.

2010 has seen a return to the stage for the band including the metal merchants festival in Norway along with some shows in and around London , with the promise of more to follow later in the year. The band has also signed deals with Killer Metal Records of Germany and Marquee records of Brazil for the release of their new album 'Scorched Earth Policy' due out in the spring of 2010.

Anihilated have also been featured in a new book about the history of UK Thrash Metal and Hardcore by highly acclaimed British author Ian Glasper. Click here for more info.

Current line up :
Si Cobb - Vocals Bass
Bod - Drums
Mark Beuchet - Guitar
Todd Manning - Guitar