“It Was The Time To Do Something Outside Of The Heavy Metal Thing”

After 35 years fronting his iconic thrash band, Annihilator, Jeff Waters is stepping out on his personal, however not fairly in the best way you would possibly assume. As a substitute of launching one other steel assault, he is crafted a shocking love letter to traditional and laborious rock.

Chatting with The Metal Voice throughout final month’s NAMM conference in California, Waters revealed his most up-to-date inventive foray: “I have been doing this Annihilator factor for… Nicely, it is 35 years now since I put my little first album out referred to as Alice In Hell, and I am simply gonna do a present, a competition in Europe this yr. However I have been engaged on what all of us guys appear to wanna do after they wanna step away from a band they’re in, which is a solo venture. So I bought a solo factor I am doing. I completed three information within the final three years. And that is popping out.”

A sonic cocktail of The Knack, Kiss, and early Van Halen, with a splash of 70s and 80s laborious rock thrown in for good measure, is the world Waters invitations you into along with his upcoming solo venture, a three-album extravaganza.

“I dwell in England. I’ve had a studio with my spouse there for about six years. And simply earlier than the coronavirus pandemic hit, we introduced in SSL alternate consoles upgraded issues, and made it into one badass mixing studio. After which the factor hit. So I used to be type of caught with this stunning studio and devices and all this enjoyable stuff.

“And I assumed, ‘Screw it. Now’s the time to only get inventive and do one thing exterior of the heavy steel factor.’ So it is extra laborious rock stuff. It is the whole lot from disco to The Knack to Kiss to, like, early stuff — laborious rock, heavy steel, ’70s, ’80s, a little bit of Van Halen, after all. So it is not groundbreaking, superb new stuff that is gonna come out for me. It is extra like a tribute in a approach, in my very own approach.” Waters added.

Now, the discharge would possibly shock you as a lot because the music itself. Overlook conventional document labels; Waters is taking an revolutionary method, partnering with a online game firm. He is providing them the entire bundle – music, paintings, branding – in alternate for a one-time fee. It is a daring transfer, one which landed him extra money than his final 5 Annihilator albums mixed!

“I feel the primary album begins popping out, I feel, in summer season. I do not know loads of info as a result of I made a decision to do one thing just a little totally different. I attempted to go along with the primary album to a couple document corporations, and it was, like, ‘Oh, boy, this is not the outdated days.’ So as a substitute of simply attempting to only let it go and let it get on the market and know that nothing was actually gonna occur, I attempted a distinct concept, and I went to online game corporations.

“And I assumed, ‘Hey, what if I did an album, or three, and gave you the album covers, gave you the booklets, gave you the trademark, the title of the band, the emblem, and now you’ll be able to have all three of them. It is gone. I do not get royalties, I do not get something if it does properly, however I need one paycheck.’ And the second firm I went to — with out being a dick, we bought extra money from the online game firm than I did in 5 or 6 Annihilator information. So any individual paid me to do a solo album greater than my actual band. They simply paid the payments and it helped pay for that console I used to be telling you about.”

To convey this musical metamorphosis to life, Waters enlisted the vocal abilities of Stu Block, a powerhouse singer identified for his work with Iced Earth and Into Eternity. However neglect the growls and screams – Block is unleashing his inside Michael Jackson and George Michael on this venture, exploring an entire new vocal vary that can depart you stunned.

“I bought actual singers. Stu Block, who was in Iced Earth and Into Eternity and all that, a fellow Canadian and a terrific singer, I tapped him. The cope with Stu was, that I knew he was an unimaginable steel singer. And I do know Iced Earth tapped him in a number of different issues, however I may hear in him that he had the whole lot from Michael Jackson, George Michael, into some bluesy stuff. However no person’s ever tapped him on that as a producer or a author. So I mentioned, ‘Would you be focused on attempting one thing totally different?’ He was, like, ‘I do not know. What do you imply?’ And principally, you will not have the ability to know it is him. It is improbable… He did a few the albums with me.”