(1) The road to Annunaki's inception is a long and storied one, with many detours along the way. Hailing from Bayonne, New Jersey, four individuals with one voice - a vigorous outlashing of savage brutality. Rooted squarely in the extreme metal field, Annunaki extends beyond, delivering an intense thrash metal assault fused with elements of blackened death metal.
Beginning in late 2005, the trio of Kevin Kuzma, John Blicharz, and Karl Odenwalder, sought an outlet for their aggression. The band had a desire to transcend the restrictions of the thrash metal genre. With influences ranging from the extreme death metal and black metal fields, the band sought a vocalist who could make these influences felt in their music. The band recruited vocalist Tony Stanziano to achieve their desired sound, and Annunaki was born.
After demoing several tracks in early 2006, the material evolved simultaneously with the band. In a few short months, Annunaki had conjured a collection of brutal songs to be unleashed upon the masses. In June 2006, Sharing the stage with Metal Mike's Painmuseum, Annunaki made an impact immediately with their live debut. Since then, Annunaki has shared the stage with the likes of Carnivore, Deicide, Nachtmystium, Anal Cunt, Lair of the Minotaur, among others.
In late September 2006, Annunaki entered the studio to carve their creations in stone. Recorded with Eric Kvortek at Trax East Studios(God Forbid, Symphony X, Sinai Beach) and mastered at West-West Side Music with Alan Douches (Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, Krisiun, Nile), the relentless aggression conjured and crafted over the last year has been compiled and dispersed among thirteen tracks. A vicious onslaught from start to finish, "Throne of the Annunaki" takes metal to every extreme. Annunaki shall continue on their path in 2007, leaving no boundary uncrossed.
(2) The Annunaki is also the name of a psychedelic trance project from western North Carolina by Christopher Johnson (DJ Kri) and Alex Marano (The Fuzz). Writing music with conceptual themes of ancient Sumer and alien invasion stories, the Annunaki write psytrance strongly influenced by 1990s Goa trance sounds, as is evident in their bold synth melodies. They also draw influence from more modern psytrance in terms of percussion and bass programming.
Killer Instinct
Annunaki Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Kills off the silence
Silent agony so familiar
The mind perceives what the eyes must see
Concentrate
Killer instinct
Without thought
Killer instinct
To a battlefield of scarlet
Upon the landscape
A product of a two faced world
Concentrate
Killer instinct
Without thought
Killer instinct
Only words to be heard
Confessions on the deathbed
It shows in your stance
Sanity makes it's departure
Donning scars with pride
Not as fashionable as you'd thought
Now the mind perceives
That which human eyes will never see
Concentrate
Killer instinct
Without thought
Killer instinct
An omission of pride
For this victory leaves a man bereaved
A killer, a coward
An enigma to the real world now
Concentrate
Killer instinct
Without thought
Killer instinct
Only words to be heard
Confessions on the deathbed
It shows in your stance
Sanity makes it's departure
The lyrics of Annunaki's song "Killer Instinct" portray a harrowing scene of a battlefield, where all that is left is the sound of one's own heartbeat amidst the silence. The line "An echo of pulse kills off the silence" creates a vivid imagery of the intensity of the moment. The singer of the song acknowledges the familiarity of the agony and focuses instead on the mind's ability to perceive what the eyes must see. The lines "Concentrate Killer instinct without thought" reveal an inner turmoil that the singer is experiencing – a conflict between instinct and rationality.
The chorus, "Only words to be heard, confessions on the deathbed, it shows in your stance, sanity makes its departure," highlights the desperation of the situation. The turmoil within the singer grows as they acknowledge that scars on the body are not as fashionable as society may have led them to believe. The line "Now the mind perceives that which human eyes will never see" indicates a shift in focus from the physical presence to the psychological aspect of the battlefield. The ending of the song is particularly powerful as it acknowledges the bitterness of victory and how sanity departs in such intense situations.
Line by Line Meaning
An echo of pulse
The quickened beating of one's own heart is heard.
Kills off the silence
The silence is broken by the sound of the pulse.
Silent agony so familiar
The personal agony is a constant presence yet unexpressed.
The mind perceives what the eyes must see
One's mind can comprehend what the eyes witness.
Concentrate
Focus the mind and keep it undistracted.
Killer instinct
A natural-born skill of being emotionless when killing.
Without thought
With no emotional attachment nor cognitive interference.
Eyes reopened
The eyelids lifted after being closed before.
To a battlefield of scarlet
The surroundings filled with the redness of blood.
Upon the landscape
The scope of view revealing the entire area.
A product of a two-faced world
The result of a world with two conflicting aspects.
Only words to be heard
The confession is the only thing that is audible now.
Confessions on the deathbed
Admission of wrongdoing when nearing the end of one's life.
It shows in your stance
The way one holds oneself communicates a message or truth.
Sanity makes it's departure
The rational and reasonable part of one's psyche leaves them.
Donning scars with pride
Wearing one's physical and mental scars with a sense of honor.
Not as fashionable as you'd thought
The expected attention from others due to one's scars is not as desirable as first imagined.
Now the mind perceives
The mind is now cognizant of something new.
That which human eyes will never see
There are things beyond human understanding.
An omission of pride
A sense of shame or regret for an achievement.
For this victory leaves a man bereaved
The sense of loss surpasses the feeling of accomplishment.
A killer, a coward
The realization that one has taken a life and now labeled as both a murderer and someone who avoided danger or discomfort by doing so.
An enigma to the real world now
Incomprehensible to the larger society outside oneself.
Contributed by Caleb O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.