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
