View source for Jeff Waters

{{Use Canadian English|date=May 2023}}
{{Short description|Canadian guitarist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2020}}

{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Jeff Waters
| image           = Annihilator Rockharz 2016 13.jpg
| caption         = Jeff Waters at Rockharz Open Air 2016 in Germany
| image_size      =
| birth_name      =
| alias           =
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1966|2|13}}
| birth_place     = [[Ontario]], Canada
| genre           = [[Thrash metal]], [[speed metal]], [[progressive metal]], [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]], [[groove metal]]
| instrument      = Guitar, bass, vocals
| occupation      = Musician, record engineer & producer, songwriter, studio owner
| years_active    = 1984–present
| current_member_of = [[Annihilator (band)|Annihilator]]
| website         = {{URL|annihilatormetal.com}}
}}

'''Jeff Waters''' (born February 13, 1966) is a Canadian guitarist and the founder, bandleader and producer of the [[Heavy metal music|metal]] band [[Annihilator (band)|Annihilator]]. He was born in [[Ontario]] and resides in the UK. Waters has owned Watersound Studios since 1994 (where it was in [[Maple Ridge, British Columbia]]) and from 2003 until 2018, in [[Ottawa]], Ontario, and now in the UK.

==Early life==
Waters's father was in the military and his mother was a teacher. His family had houses in [[Ottawa]] and [[Camp Borden]], Ontario as well as London, England. He took some classical and jazz guitar lessons at a young age.

Waters has referred to [[Van Halen]], [[Randy Rhoads]], [[Michael Schenker]], [[Judas Priest]], [[Iron Maiden]] and [[Black Sabbath]] as his early influences.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiometal.com/article/annihilator-interview-with-jeff-waters-2,1573|title=Annihilator, interview with Jeff Waters|publisher=radiometal.com|date=April 13, 2010|access-date=August 19, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/jeff_waters_of_annihilator/|title=Jeff Waters of Annihilator|publisher=songfacts.com|date=September 25, 2014|access-date=August 19, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metalmasterkingdom.com/interviews-20182017--2016/michael-schenker-metal-master-kingdom-interview|title=Michael Schenker - Metal Master Kingdom Interview|publisher=metalmasterkingdom.com|date=January 17, 2018|access-date=August 19, 2018}}</ref> In a 2013 interview with photogroupie.com, he said, "I started listening to [[Elton John]], [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]], [[The Sweet|Sweet]], [[AC/DC]] then it evolved from hard rock with electric guitar to Black Sabbath and the heavier stuff, Judas Priest, Maiden, [[Loudness (band)|Loudness]], Van Halen was coming in. Then I get turned on to the thrash stuff, so then it was [[Razor (band)|Razor]], [[Exciter (band)|Exciter]]... Those first albums were a huge influence on metal bands."<ref>{{Cite web|last=photogroupie|date=August 13, 2013|title=JEFF WATERS INTERVIEW|url=https://www.photogroupie.com/post/2013/08/13/jeff-waters-interview|access-date=February 8, 2021|website=photogroupie}}</ref>

==Career with Annihilator==
Waters formed the band Annihilator in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1984. He wrote and recorded the song "Annihilator" (not to be confused with their 1994 song of the same name) with singer [[Big John Bates]]. This original version of Annihilator was released on the special edition of the 2005 album, ''[[Schizo Deluxe]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3558/biography|pure_url=yes}}|title=AllMusic bio|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=February 28, 2010}}</ref>

Waters has frequently changed Annihilator's line-up over the years. During the early era of the band, his goal was to produce a stable line-up. However, members left for a multitude of reasons such as family issues, substance abuse and work commitments. Due to these rapid line-up changes, Waters has taken on the role of bass player, engineer, producer and writer as well as guitar player. After some time, Waters began to embrace the idea of working with many other musicians, and recruited vocalist [[Dave Padden]] for 12 years (2003 - December 2014) as well as a revolving touring line-up. Jeff Waters has performed lead vocals for six of the band's studio albums and on the songs "Holding On" from 2004's ''[[All for You (Annihilator album)|All for You]]'', "Too Far Gone" from the 2005 album ''[[Schizo Deluxe]]'', "Operation Annihilation" from 2007's ''[[Metal (Annihilator album)|Metal]]'', and "Demon Code" on the 2013 album "[[Feast (Annihilator album)|Feast]]".

After a couple of weeks of decision sometime in December 2014, Waters made a return to lead vocals for the band on their 2015 album, "[[Suicide Society]]" following former bandmate Dave Padden's departure. Padden cited he wasn't at all happy playing in the band over the past five years and the decision to leave was not caused by anyone in the band but by a general discontent with the lifestyle and constant touring.

Annihilator has been touring prominently Europe and Asia since 1989. Despite not touring and receiving virtually no press or label interest in Canada and the US, Annihilator has become one of the biggest selling Canadian Metal band of all-time,{{Citation needed|date=April 2017|reason=Incorrect}} yet the majority of their sales have been generated from Asia and Europe. Most of Annihilator's discography is hard to find in the band's home country of Canada.  Waters has been quoted as saying: <blockquote>"I live a few blocks from the Ottawa Citizen newspaper. One day, a few years ago (2005) I contacted the Entertainment editor by email and introduced myself, gave him links to our web site and info, and asked if he might spare a few minutes to talk with me about the band, as I live a few minutes walking from his office. He told me to mail him a CD and he would consider reviewing it. He didn't. It actually made me a bit sad, as I have been waving the flag for Canadian metal and Canadian music for over 21 years abroad and also have sold more than any other metal band from this fine land. Yet I could not even get a review or interview with our nation's capital newspaper, when local artists with no deal and no CD releases, were actually getting full page or front page stories. The last thing I needed was coverage in Ottawa but I thought, out of principle, I should try. Shot down in flames! Ha!"</blockquote>

==Legacy==
Waters is well respected in the metal community for his technical skill and versatility on the guitar. In Annihilator, he plays extremely difficult passages on rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, and classical guitar. Even when he is playing challenging material, he does so with speed, fluidity and precision.  He has also arranged some Annihilator songs into [[Acoustic music|unplugged]] versions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/c/AnnihilatorOfficial|title=Annihilator Official - YouTube|website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>

Waters has been cited by many metal musicians worldwide as an influence on their own music. Artists from many bands such as [[3 Doors Down]], [[Slipknot (band)|Slipknot]], [[Nickelback]], [[Megadeth]], [[Killswitch Engage]], [[Lamb of God (band)|Lamb of God]], [[In Flames (band)|In Flames]], [[Danko Jones]], [[HIM (Finnish band)|HIM]], [[Children of Bodom]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://amazingguitar.blogspot.com/2008/06/guitar-master.html|title=Amazing Guitar: Guitar Master|access-date=June 1, 2017}}</ref> and [[Wolf (band)|WOLF]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rebelstraps.com/newscontent.html|title=Rebel News! Interview Retrieved August 1, 2011|access-date=June 1, 2017|archive-date=December 2, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202062427/http://www.rebelstraps.com/newscontent.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> have either cited Waters as an influence or have revealed themselves as a fan of Annihilator or his guitar playing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/jeff-waters/1506|title=Jeff Waters|first=Electric & Acoustic Guitar Gear, Lessons, News, Blogs, Video, Tabs & Chords -|last=GuitarPlayer.com|access-date=June 1, 2017|archive-date=January 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107114752/http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/jeff-waters/1506|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epiphone.com/news.asp?NewsID=1814|title=Epiphone Magazine interview, retrieved August 1, 2011|access-date=June 1, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928151835/http://www.epiphone.com/news.asp?NewsID=1814|archive-date=September 28, 2011}}</ref>

Music writer [[Joel McIver]] identified Waters as the third-best metal guitar player in his 2008 book ''The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists''.<ref>{{cite book |last=McIver|first=Joel|title=The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists|isbn=978-1-906002-20-6|publisher= Jawbone Press|date=December 15, 2008}}</ref> Waters has been compared to [[Dave Grohl]] of [[Foo Fighters]], due to being a multi-instrumentalist.

Watersound Studios Inc. has been Waters' studio since 1994. In 2003, he relocated his home from Maple Ridge to Ottawa, where he continues to be a sought-after mixing/mastering engineer and producer. Watersound Studios Inc. is now based in Durham, England.

Waters shares the same name as Jeff Waters, an independent alternative musician based in Baltimore, Maryland, but their music is unrelated and the two are unaffiliated.

==Equipment==
[[File:Jeff Waters live in Oslo 2007 02.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Waters performing in 2007]]
In the early stages of his career Waters used a [[Hamer Guitars|Hamer]] [[Flying V]]. Around 1994, he began to experiment with other guitars and over the next few years used classic models such as a [[Gibson SG]] and [[Gibson Les Paul]] to achieve the diversity of sounds in Annihilator's music during this time period. He would also use a [[Fender Stratocaster]] from time to time in the studio and a Gibson Flying V Gothic when playing live. Waters has been known to use an [[ESP Guitars|ESP]] [[Dave Mustaine]] signature Flying V that he owns and it was this guitar that he used to record [[Schizo Deluxe]] as mentioned in the video section of annihilatormetal.com. Waters currently plays [[Epiphone]] Annihilation-V Guitars (his own model, available in Red or Black, with a [[Floyd Rose]] FRX Tremolo System, custom pick-ups, kill switch and other modifications), previously endorsing Ran Guitars. On a tour in Europe in November 2009, Waters used a prototype of the Epiphone Annihilation-V Flying V, which he has since sold. The new Annihilation-V shape is very similar to the original flying V, but has a smaller body and four cosmetic lines cut into the center of the V as well as a rubberized patch on the lowest edge of the V (to stop the guitar from slipping). It comes in "Annihilator Red" and Pitch black. For amplification, he used the [[Hughes and Kettner]] Coreblade head and is now using the EVH 5150III amplifier.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.evhgear.com/blog/2012/09/jeff-waters-of-annihilator-qanda/ |title=EVH Q&A with Jeff Waters Of Annihilator |publisher=EVH Gear |access-date=December 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130201132/http://www.evhgear.com/blog/2012/09/jeff-waters-of-annihilator-qanda/ |archive-date=November 30, 2012 }}</ref> He has also had his own signature overdrive pedal called the Jeff Waters Devil Drive by SolidGoldFX,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.solidgoldfx.com/jeff-waters-devil-drive |title=Jeff Waters Devil Drive |publisher=SolidGoldFX |access-date=December 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027121145/http://www.solidgoldfx.com/jeff-waters-devil-drive |archive-date=October 27, 2012 }}</ref> however this is no longer in production.

==Personal life==
Waters married Angie in 2018 and lives in [[Durham, England|Durham]], England, where he runs his recording studio Watersound Studios.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holmes |first=Richard |date=2019-10-01 |title=EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: JEFF WATERS - PART ONE |url=https://rushonrock.com/2019/10/01/exclusive-interview-jeff-waters-part-one/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Rush on Rock}}</ref>

==Discography==
===Annihilator===
{{Main|Annihilator discography}}
* ''[[Alice in Hell]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Never, Neverland]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Set the World on Fire (Annihilator album)|Set the World on Fire]]'' (1993)
* ''[[King of the Kill]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Refresh the Demon]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Remains (Annihilator album)|Remains]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Criteria for a Black Widow]]'' (1999)
* ''[[Carnival Diablos]]'' (2001)
* ''[[Waking the Fury]]'' (2002)
* ''[[All for You (Annihilator album)|All for You]]'' (2004)
* ''[[Schizo Deluxe]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Metal (Annihilator album)|Metal]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Annihilator (album)|Annihilator]]'' (2010)
* ''[[Feast (Annihilator album)|Feast]]'' (2013)
* ''[[Suicide Society]]'' (2015)
* ''[[For the Demented]]'' (2017)
* ''[[Ballistic, Sadistic]]'' (2020)
* ''[[Metal II]]'' (2022)

===Amerikan Kaos===
* ''Armageddon Boogie'' (2024)

===Guest appearances===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Artist
! Album
! Song/s
|-
| 1989
| [[Defiance (metal band)|Defiance]]
| [[Product of Society]]
|  Lead guitar on "Deadly Intentions"
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2003
| Merendine Atomiche
| Walk Across Fire
| ''Game Over''
|-
| Soulscar
| Python
| ''Anti-Faith''
|-
| 2005
|  Galloglass
| Heavenseeker
|  Lead guitars on "Banished from Eternity"
|-
| 2005
| [[Roadrunner United]]
| The All-Star Sessions
| ''The Dagger'' and ''Independent (Voice of the Voiceless)''
|-
| 2005
| Reckless Tide
| Repent Or Seal Your Fate
| ''Self Destruct'' and ''Misery''
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2006
| Legen Beltza
| Dimension of Pain
| ''War of Wars''
|-
| [[Memorain]]
| [[Reduced to Ashes (Memorain album)|Reduced to Ashes]]
| ''TV War''
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2007
| [[After Forever]]
| [[After Forever (album)|After Forever]]
| ''De-Energized''
|-
| Reckless Tide
| Helleraser
| ''Vicious Circle''
|-
| 2007
| [[Dew-Scented]]
| Incinerate
| ''Perdition for All''
|-
| 2007
| [[Dimension Zero (Swedish band)|Dimension Zero]]
| [[He Who Shall Not Bleed]]
|  Lead guitar on "Way To Shine"
|- 
|rowspan="4"| 2008
| [[Destruction (band)|Destruction]]
| [[D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.]]
| ''Urge (The Greed of Gain)''
|-
| Dustsucker
| Diabolo Domination
|  Lead guitar on "Land of the King"
|-
| Heavenwood
| Redemption
| ''Bridge to Neverland''
|-
| Outcast<ref>"[http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Outcast/Self-Injected_Reality/184141/ Self-Injected Reality]", ''Encyclopedia Metallum'' (2009).</ref>
| Self-Injected Reality
| ''Autonomy In Progress''
|-
|  2008
| [[Bob Katsionis]]
| [[Noemon]]
|  ''Athenian Light''
|-
|rowspan="1"| 2009
| Evil One
| Evil Never Die
|-
|  2009
| Winters Dawn
| The Winter Is Dawning
|  ''Raptors''
|-
|rowspan="1"| 2010
| Evil One
| Militia Of Death
|   Lead guitar on "Militia Of Death"
|-
|  2010
| [[Fozzy (band)|Fozzy]]
| [[Chasing the Grail]]
|  ''Martyr No More'' and ''God Pounds His Nails''
|-
|rowspan="1"| 2010
| Lord Volture
| Beast of Thunder
|  ''Pure Evil (Hides in the Dark)''
|-
|rowspan="1"| 2010
| Rhemorha
| I
|  ''Сжигая Дни''
|-
|rowspan="1"| 2011
| Freedomination
| Power of Nightmares (Demo)
|    Lead guitars on "Hide Yourself"
|-
|  2012
| [[Hell:on]]
| Age Of Oblivion
|  ''My Doll''
|-
|rowspan="1"| 2011
| Boarders
| R-Existence
|  ''4th Reich''
|-
|rowspan="1"| 2016
| Enemy of Reality
|   Arakhne
|    Nouthetisis
|-
|  2016
| Freedomination
| Tales from the Vault (EP)
|   Guitar solo on "Hide Your Self"
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
* {{official website|http://www.annihilatormetal.com/}}
* [http://www.uberrock.co.uk/interviews/61-october-interviews/1548-jeff-waters-annihilator-interview-exclusive.html www.uberrock.co.uk - Jeff Waters exclusive interview]
* [http://ranguitars.com/artists/annihilator Ran Guitars - Jeff Water's Signature Guitar]

{{Annihilator}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Jeff}}

[[Category:Annihilator (band) members]]
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Singers from Ottawa]]
[[Category:Canadian heavy metal guitarists]]
[[Category:Canadian rock guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian guitarists]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian guitarists]]
[[Category:Progressive metal guitarists]]
[[Category:Thrash metal musicians]]
[[Category:Canadian heavy metal bass guitarists]]
[[Category:Canadian male bass guitarists]]
[[Category:Heavy metal producers]]
[[Category:Canadian record producers]]
[[Category:Canadian heavy metal singers]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian male singers]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian male singers]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian singers]]
[[Category:Canadian male songwriters]]