‘Ten years in Hell’ comes into two different pieces. The first one shows all kinds of stuff behind the band as well as some video clips. The second one is an interview with Jeff Waters in which he describes the development of the band.

 

This DVD starts with the clip of ‘Alison Hell’ and the release party of this video clip in which we see a lot of joy and laughter. The guys really seem to have a good time which has a positive reflection on me. I take an even better sit on my chair and continue. However, what follows is a bit of a disappointment. The sphere on the DVD remains very cool, backstage footage and some live material make the band accessible. Especially the tv media parts are hilarious, with a lot of stage-diving and a historical interview in some breakfast show. The host of the show asks questions like: ‘Do you like your kind of music?’ and ‘Why do you have to be so loud all the time?’ which is funny because he’s making way more noise than Waters. Also the solution ‘Ok, we’re gonna talk about kitchens when we come back’ brings a big smile on my face. Also, Randy Rampage does something really stupid in ‘Oh Canada’ which you should just see on your own.

On the other hand, this is the only part of the DVD that shows some live material, but with only a few songs. I would have expected some more because the material is there, even from a long time ago and I think a lot of people would really enjoy this. There are a lot of video clips, which is also great (Set the world on fire is an incredible song) but I would have preferred some live stuff, since that really attributes to the fact that it’s rare.

 

Like mentioned before, this part is totally reserved for Jeff Waters. The recording of all the albums before 2000 is explained and Waters tells something about how Annihilator got the attention of the public. He tells some nice trivia facts like ‘Never, Neverland’ being his all-time favorite, his divorce and alcohol problem, and the experience at the Dynamo festival in ’93. Actually, the documentary is quite interesting and also some former band members have a word, but the thing that bothers me is that it is Waters all over the place. Don’t get me wrong. I think that Jeff truly deserves all the credits for his work throughout the years and this is no offense, but Annihilator wouldn’t have been possible without the help of others. When talking about experiences about the band, it’s always ‘I did’ and ‘I decided’ instead of mentioning ‘we’ or ‘the band’. Jeff says that he doesn’t know that much about ex-members and what they’re doing now. In my opinion this is a mistake on the DVD and should have been kept out. It made watching it a little bit frustrating for me. When others actually do have a word, like Russel Bergquist, the great stories show up which emphasize what a great band Annihilator has been.

 

 

‘Ten years in Hell’ is a great piece of work for anyone who wants to know something about Annihilator and I’m sure the 230 minutes will have a lot of attributions to any music collection. However, I think that with a selection of different material, which should be available, this DVD would have been even better. But of course, I’m not the one to decide.