UMUR
"Annihilation Principle" is the 4th full-length studio album by US thrash/heavy metal act Lääz Rockit. The album was released through Enigma Records in February 1989. It´s the successor to "Know Your Enemy" from 1987. The lineup who recorded "Know Your Enemy (1987)" is intact on "Annihilation Principle".
Lääz Rockit started out playing heavy metal with thrash metal leanings on their early releases but on "Know Your Enemy (1987)" the percentage was 50% thrash metal and 50% traditional heavy metal. It was obvious that the band were moving in a harder edged direction, so it´s not surprising that "Annihilation Principle" is first and foremost a thrash metal release and only secondary a traditional heavy metal release. The scale has definitely tipped on this one.
The material is hard pumped and riff oriented with Michael Coons strong vocals in front. He can sound really raw, but still maintain a melodic sensibility. The fact that the material is well written and generally quite catchy, is only further enhanced by his vocal performance. The rest of the band are very well playing too. A great tight yet organic playing rhythm section, and two guitarists who churn out one deadly riff and solo after another. "Fire in the Hole" opens the album in great energetic style and the band never let go from there, so although there are one of two more mellow moments featured on the album (even an attempt at clean singing on "The Omen"), this is first and foremost an aggressive yet uplifting thrash metal release. The Dead Kennedys cover of "Holiday in Cambodia" is also delivered with respect for the original and the right amount of fierce energy and sarcastic wit.
So all in all "Annihilation Principle" is a high quality release by Lääz Rockit. In addition to the high level musicianship, and the well written and memorable material, the album also features a powerful and raw sounding production, which suits the material perfectly. Therefore a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.