UMUR "Bag of Tricks" is a compilation album by Canadian thrash/heavy metal act Annihilator. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in October 1994, only a few days after the release of the band´s fourth full-length studio album "King of the Kill (1994)". The latter was released through Music For Nations, after Annihilator was dropped by Roadrunner Records following the commercial failure of "Set the World on Fire (1993)". Apparently Roadrunner Records still had the rights to release archive material, because "Bag of Tricks" features a combination of rare and unreleased demo and live recordings from the years 1986-1991. Jeff Waters is credited as producer, so "Bag of Tricks" was probably, at least to some extent, released by mutual consent.

"Bag of Tricks" features three tracks from the 1986 "Phantasmagoria" demo ("Ligeia", which was the fourth track on the demo was left off because of CD time restraints). The "Phantasmagoria (1986)" demo was the demo which secured Annihilator their recording deal with Roadrunner Records, and it features guitarist Jeff Waters on vocals, but "Bag of Tricks" also features pre-production demos of tracks from both "Never, Neverland (1990)" and "Set the World on Fire (1993)", some varying a great deal from the final studio versions. Especially because the pre-production demo tracks for "Never, Neverland (1990)" feature Randy Rampage on vocals (among them the tracks "Back to the Crypt" and "Gallery", where only sections of the songs ended up being used on the title track for the final album) and the pre-production demo tracks for "Set the World on Fire (1993)" feature Coburn Pharr on vocals (among them a track titled "Fantastic Things", which didn´t make the final cut for the album). Both vocalists had been replaced by other singers on the final studio versions of the tracks. As bassist Wayne Daley handles vocals on "Fantastic Things" and Waters handles the vocals on the early demo tracks, there are actually vocal contributions from four different vocalists on the compilation.

In addition to the 1986 demo tracks and the pre-production demo tracks from "Never, Neverland (1990)" and "Set the World on Fire (1993)", "Bag of Tricks" features a remastered version of "Alison Hell" (from the band´s debut full-length studio album "Alice in Hell (1989)"), an extended mix version of "The Fun Palace" (which is 30 seconds longer than the album version on "Never, Neverland (1990)"), and four live tracks. "Human Insecticide" features Randy Rampage on vocals and was originally featured on the 1990 Roadrunner Records compilation album "Thrash The Wall", while "W.T.Y.D.", "World Salad", and the AC/DC cover "Live Wire", feature Coburn Pharr on vocals. The two former were previously released on the April 1991 "Stonewall" single, while the latter is previously unreleased.

Stylistically the music is melodic thrash metal/heavy metal, delivered by technically skilled musicians. The sound production varies from relatively lo-fi on the early demo tracks, to pretty good sound quality on the remaining tracks (including the live tracks). Needless to say that a compilation of rare and unreased demo and live material is usually a hardcore fan item, and that goes for "Bag of Tricks" too. The overall quality of the compilation is relatively high, but it´s not a good starting point for the uninitiated. A 3.5 star (70%) is deserved.

Vim Fuego Quite an appropriate title, this. The biggest trick is getting you to part with more money than it's actually worth. It's one of those "previously unreleased and rarities" type collections, and while some of this stuff might have been rare and unreleased, there was a good reason for it- it wasn't very good.

Back in 1990, Annihilator could have become one of the biggest names in metal. The band had released the killer debut `Alice In Hell' and the reasonably solid follow up `Never, Neverland'. However, by 1994 when `Bag Of Tricks' was thrown together, the band and its reputation were in tatters. Jeff Water's revolving door policy meant the band could not cement a stable line up, and third album `Set The World On Fire' crashed and burned through a combination of poor songs, weak production and a changed musical climate. `Bag Of Tricks' could possibly have been Annihilator's swansong. We know now that it wasn't, and as an epitaph of the band's career, `Bag Of Tricks' would have been about as fitting as wearing a clown costume to a funeral.

Most of this is worthless filler. Witness "The Fun Palace (Extended Mix)". It is "extended" by 30 seconds. I'm sure Jeff Waters can hear the added parts, but I sure as hell can't, and it's not like it's a particularly strong song in the first place. Then there's the remastered version of "Alison Hell". So it's "thicker and punchier". It's still the same fucking song! There are also production demos of "Phantasmagoria", "Knight Jumps Queen", "Bats In The Belfry", and "Evil Appetite", (which later became "Don't Bother Me"), which are all apparently special because they have different vocalists to the album versions.

A little more worthwhile are the production demos of a few songs which never made it to a full album. "Back To The Crypt", "Gallery" and "Fantastic Things" were all omitted from the first three albums, and quite rightly so. There are a few familiar riffs, but the songs were poorly conceived or badly constructed.

There is some good stuff on the album though. Four live tracks are included. "Human Insecticide (Live)" was originally released on the `Thrash The Wall' compilation, and shows Waters could actually reproduce live the insane riffing of that song. Manic renditions of "W.T.Y.D." and "Word Salad" demonstrate why Annihilator were rated so highly as a live band, while the cover of AC/DC's "Live Wire" is quite faithful and shows the song due respect.

Annihilator's 1986 demo `Phantasmagoria' was sought after in underground tape trading circles, and the tracks "Gallery", "Alison Hell" and "Phantasmagoria" are great. For a demo recorded in a basement (and obviously cleaned up in the studio a little), the sound quality is very clear, especially Jeff Waters' rhythm guitar. The vocals are a surprise, as Waters performed them himself. Instead of the clean, melodic sound of the singers generally employed by the band, Waters' voice is harsher, comparable to Slayer's Tom Araya. The embryonic "Alison Hell" and "Phantasmagoria" are instantly recognisable, but "Gallery" is a surprise. It was never released on an album, but much of the song is familiar, as Waters stripped the best riffs from the substandard song and used them elsewhere. Then inexplicably (or as Monte Conner says in the liner notes "because of time restraints"), the final track from the demo "Ligeia" was left off this album.

There are some gems on this incomplete and patchy compilation, but would have been far better put together in a different format without the filler. It does have extensive liner notes, explaining the motivation and significance of the tracks included. More live tracks, the complete pre- "Alice In Hell" demos and fewer "alternative" versions of album tracks would have made this album far more appealing.