Watchtower: Control & Resistance (reissue)

Ask most observers where progressive metal began and it’s a reasonably safe bet that you’ll be pointed in the direction of Fates Warning and Dream Theater - and quite rightly so. Yet, back in 1985 Austin, Texas technical thrash outfit Watchtower debuted with their Energetic Disassembly album, where the intensity of thrash, technicality of jazz fusion and dexterity of guitar-shred all smashed headlong into a poorly produced record that with singer Jason McMaster at the helm, still somehow sounded connected to the melodic hard rock scene. As an album it really should have set the world ablaze but as is so often the case in these circumstances, what actually happened was that everyone looked on in indifference. McMaster headed to Dangerous Toys and gained considerable success with much less interesting music, while Watchtower, after the arrival and departure of Mike Soliz, recruited Alan Tecchio (Hades, Mike LePond’s Silent Assassin, Heathen’s Rage) as their new singer and took four years to come up with a follow up, Control And Resistance.

The question, of course, was whether the band, now also and maybe more crucially, with guitarist Ron Jarzombeck taking the place of Billy White from the debut, could recapture their lightning in a bottle. Even with all the upheaval - and as confirmed in the (a little too gushing) liner notes - some poor career decisions by the band themselves, the answer was a resounding ‘YES!’ and then some - the same mixture of seemingly unrelated elements woven together to make what could on first visits feel like a completely bonkers concoction. Give it time however, and Control And Resistance all clicks into place. Admittedly, even with the usual Cherry Red/Dissonance treatment, the production here, while a massive step up from the debut, remains thinner than a guitar totting powerhouse such as the album’s title track deserves. Once that obstacle is overcome, suddenly the majestic beauty of what Watchtower achieved here shines through. Jarzombek, rather than feeling like a mere ‘replacement’ becomes the band’s driving force. As “The Eldritch� steamrollers all in its path, there’s also no denying that only a rhythm section with the forceful technical snazz of Doug Keyser (bass) and Rick Colaluca (drums) could explode with this nuclear powered detonation, while somehow still laying down a mile thick foundation from where the guitar can riff, tumble, howl, flurry and quite simply run amok. Don’t be fooled into thinking that “Mayday In Kiev� or “Life Cycles� are therefore prime examples of talent over substance, because with Tecchio utterly attacking the material, there’s an urgency and aggression added that the music itself doesn’t quite impart. That it can do so while running at you at full pelt, slamming on the hand break and then skipping jauntily off in the other direct and leaving a barrage of notes and time changes in its wake, illustrates the class that’s on show. And when you factor in that somehow all of this is neatly wrapped up in a thrash attack of real force you’re left wondering just exactly how “Instruments Of Random Murder� and “Dangerous Toy� make a much sense as they do.

Control And Resistance is no easy fix but it was never intended to be that way. Dig a little deeper and throw off initial impressions and what you’re left with is a ground breaking act who never quite got the recognition they deserved. A few new songs have come from the band in the decades between then and now, but in all honesty, good though they are, it’s this album and its predecessor that you really need to experience.

Track Listing
1. Instruments Of Random Murder 

2. The Eldritch

3. Mayday In Kiev 

4. The Fall Of Reason 

5. Control And Resistance 

6. Hidden Instincts 

7. Life Cycles 

8. Dangerous Toy

Added: October 29th 2021
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Watchtower @ Cherry Red
Hits: 695
Language: english

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