Carnival Diablos is a pure, bloodthirsty metal album that connects Annihilator's heritage to its present and re-affirms Jeff Waters' place in the thrash pantheon. From the frantic call-and-response of opening cut Denied to the mid-tempo, progressive-tinged swing of the title track, Carnival Diablos delivers heavy metal thrash that's as solid as it is satisfying, more heavy metal than thrash, yet 100% Annihilator, at one of its many peaks.