ANNIHILATOR’s mainman Jeff Waters, recently revealed he will be stepping down as the longtime Thrash Metal band’s lead vocalist for future performances, choosing instead to focus solely on guitar playing.

Jeff Waters embarked on a re-recording adventure as he signed off on re-releasing nearly the entire ANNIHILATOR catalog through earMUSIC, and the first record to undergo this treatment will be 2007’s “Metal”.

Named “Metal II”, the album features INTO ETERNITY’s Stu Block on lead vocals and drummer virtuoso Dave Lombardo (ex- SLAYER) behind the kit. Dedicated to Eddie Van Halen – who he cites as his “guitar father” – and friend and collaborator on the original “Metal” track “Downright Dominate,” Alexi Laiho of CHILDREN OF BODOM, the re-worked record is thought to be a more focused effort than the original effort from 2007, which spanned over 12 guests over its runtime.

Waters said regarding his choice for kicking off the catalog re-works (via Metal Injection): “There’s one album where the three guys that recorded it, all three of us were distracted. We were all distracted at the time, and that made for the perfect storm of lack of feel and lack of creativity on our part. And I wish I could redo that one again because it had 12 killer guests on it. Release the first one and release this one called Metal II and do a different take on it. Find a singer you like and a drummer you like and get them to redo it. Have someone else remix it for you, some fresh ears, and that’s what I did.“

“Metal II” is due out February 18, and below you can watch the official videos for “Romeo Delight” (Van Halen cover) and “Downright Dominate” respectively: