Jeff Waters has been cited by a vast majority of metal musicians worldwide as an influence on their own music. Artists from bands as diverse as 3 Doors Down, Slipknot, Nickleback, Megadeth, Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God, In Flames, Danko Jones, H.I.M., Children Of Bodom, Trivium and many more acknowledge either being influenced by Waters’ writing or guitar playing or simply just being a fan of the band or his guitar playing. Most all agree that Annihilator and Jeff Waters have had a huge influence on the metal scene while receiving little credit in the USA and Canada for this.
The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists is a best-seller book by British author Joel McIver, released in 2009. It cites Jeff Waters as the 3rd best guitar player. Jeff Waters is also commonly described on the internet as the most under-rated guitar player and metal songwriter of all time. These are mostly from North American media outlets and postings however European and Asian metal fans, press and metal forum’s have been very familiar with Annihilator and Jeff Waters’ work since the 80′s to present. He is also compared often Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters as being a genius multi-instrumentalist and writer.
Jeff Waters is reported to have written many “hit” songs for other artists, under an assumed name, in the country ballad and pop ballad genre.
Waters has frequently changed Annihilator’s line-up throughout its run. In the early days of Annihilator, a stable line-up was a goal of Jeff Waters, however members leaving due to family issues, substance abuse and work commitments left Jeff Waters seemingly always searching for replacements. In fact, Waters had taken on the role of guitar player, bass player, engineer, producer and writer, almost from the very first years of the band. After some time, Waters decided to embrace the idea of working with as many other musicians as possible, attracting the likes of some of the world’s greatest musicians (ex. Mike Mangini -drummer for Annihilator, Steve Vai, Dream Theater, Extreme) and Waters performed all the bass guitar on all Annihilator cds as well as guitars, vocals and engineering, mixing, producing and mastering duties. Jeff Waters performed as lead vocalist for 3 cds and on the songs “Holding On” from 2004′s All for You, “Too Far Gone” from the 2005 album Schizo Deluxe and “Operation Annihilation” from 2007′s Metal.
Watersound Studios Inc. has been Waters’ studio since 1994, recently (2003) relocated from Maple Ridge, BC to Ottawa, ON. A well-known and sought-after mixing engineer, engineer, producer and mastering engineer, Jeff Waters continues to thrive with Annihilator in Europe. The latest Annihilator cd, 13th studio release and self-titled, has been the band’s biggest selling cd in a decade. Touring and audience attendance has grown dramatically for Annihilator in the last 4 years, bringing the band in front of massive crowds at summer festivals and headlining tours.
Annihilator has “returned” to Canada for 2 live shows; the first time the band has played live in North America since 1993. On July 10, 2011, Annihilator headlined the Quebec City Imperial Theatre to a sold-out crowd and there was close to 700 people that could not get in the packed venue. Annihilator played the main stage (along with KISS and Motorhead) on July 24, 2011 at Montreal’s Heavy MTL Festival.
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