Financial insolvency prevented the scheduled Jan 2010 release of this DVD/CD combo from SPV. Economic outlook brighter for the German label, this ’08 outdoors performance in the Czech Republic sees the legendary Canuck thrashers run through 14 career spanning tunes. Basically a low budget deal: 80 minutes, no extras, one still photo of each band member in the two panel booklet: pretty spartan by today’s standards. The CD follows the visuals exactly, the first notes heard are the pre-recorded twin acoustic intro (actual concert sound is nowhere as crisp), directly into the Waters sung ‘King Of The Kill’. A festival crowd montage accompanies the DVD during the intro. The set starts a little slowly, but the final half (largely comprised of tracks off the debut) is searing and infallible, even the concluding AC/DC tribute, ‘Shallow Grave’.

Hey, I love these guys, but what remains problematic for Annihilator anno 2010 is frontman/second guitarist Dave Padden, who at best, features a dry, spoken word delivery (not sung) and is completely incapable of the high end on the likes of ‘Fun Palace’. He appears to be a graduate from one of those Japanese schools which reportedly teach you how to be a rock star: drop a few F-bombs, demand the crowd clap, sing, form a circle-pit, etc. ‘Clown Parade’ might be more socially relevant than ‘Kraft Dinner’ (off the debut, absent here), but it’s hardly earth shattering lyrically.

Annihilator has always been Jeff Water’s baby, a showcase for his guitar, rarely played horizontally (and voice, ‘Operation Annihilation’, ‘WTYD’ also delivers most of the between song raps as well). To that end, there’s Padden’s fretwork on ‘Operation Annihilation’, an otherwise Megadeth circa "Risk" outtake "caliber" tune. Waters gets most of the face-time on the twilight darkened stage (seemingly spot lit throughout), although the mustache-goateed guitarist’s visage is oft obscured by his frequent headbanging. An overhead crane is of limited value since riding over the crowd at night proves to be blank blackened space. The intro to ‘Never Neverland’ is edited on record, but seeing Water’s illuminated guitar makes the "That’s so metal" quote and reference to turning off lights to save batteries more understandable. Overall, one of the few packages, where CD alone will suffice.