Cities were a heavy metal act from New York, USA. Today they might be best know for the band that featured Twisted Sister drummer, A.J. Pero, but back in the 80's, they were an underground favorite in the US.

ANNIHILATION ABSOLUTE (1986) METAL MASTERS

  1. Stop The Race
  2. Fight For Your Life
  3. Burn Forever
  4. Not Alone In The Dark
  5. Cruel Sea
  6. In The Still Of The Night
  7. Innocent Victim
  8. Shades Of Black
  9. Deceiver

Line-up:

A.J. Pero - Drums

Mayne - Bass

Steeve Mironovich - Guitar

Ron Angeli - Vocals

In the world of heavy metal there are so many obscure bands you never got to hear back in their day, as they were never plugged worldwide. But thanks to the internet, people are now getting to hear about tons of great bands they never even knew existed. Thus we have more and more cult bands that people are getting interested in. Then a need for re-releasing material from such bands is getting demanded. Unfortunately this will be a goldmine for bootleggers, but there are also some serious acts around, trying to preserve a certain quality on such re-releases. I'm not quite sure whether or not this Cities re-release is a bootleg or not, as I've heard that both exists. Honestly though, I'm leaning towards the first option. This band might be better known as the band A.J. Pero joined after leaving Twisted Sister. They play straight forward heavy metal, with hints of speed and thrash. I'd say they sound pretty similar to the first Warrior album, 'Fighting For The Earth'. The singer has a clean, yet strong voice that fits the music perfectly. 'Annihilation Absolute', while the title suggest a thrash metal album, is filled with anything you'd expect from a metal album recorded in the 80's. The sound is a bit thin, but the music is played with the heart. The songs are for the better part very strong, but there are some misses present to. I really like what this old school, by today's standards, band had to offer though, and it is a shame they only released this one album.

'Annihilation Absolute' was originally released as a 6 track EP, but after getting picked up by Metal Blade, it was re-released with a altered cover painting (now including Mr. Pero), and extra tracks. The re-release (or bootleg) I own contains both covers.

Killer tracks: Stop The Race, Fight For Your Life, Cruel Sea, Deceiver

Related artists:

Twisted Sister