WATCHTOWER — Control And Resistance (review)

WATCHTOWER — Control And Resistance album cover

Album · 1989 · Technical Thrash Metal

3/5 · 2015-01-01
Nightfly

I hadn't listened to this album in years until recently but I remember at the time of it's release being enticed to buy it as the idea of a band combining Metal with the more technical Progressive elements of music sounded too good to be true. I don't think the term Prog Metal had been invented then but that is the best way to describe this band and they were certainly one of the first to do it. However I was disappointed with Control and Resistance, not least by the screeching Vocals of Alan Tecchio which I found totally irritating and tuneless. It's not that I disliked his particular style of singing as such; Geoff Tate from Queensrhyche for example sang in a similar histrionic style but still had strong vocal melodies. To be fair to the guy though, it can't have been easy coming up with melodies for the music here, which is equally lacking in melody. There's no doubting that the band are excellent musicians but it all comes across as a bit soulless and they seem to put a greater importance on technique and making the music as complicated as possible at the expense of a good memorable hook.

I'm not going to talk about tracks individually as none come across as memorable and each one seems to segue into the next without fanfare due to the aforementioned emphasis on technique over song structure. Once it is finished it is instantly forgotten. Perhaps I'm totally missing the point here, but as many others have proved since you can still have incredibly complex musical structures without losing a sense of melody.

Anyone wanting to check out the roots of Prog Metal may be interested to listen to this and full marks to the band for an innovative idea but unfortunately it falls short on musicality.

more than 2 years ago
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siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Yep. Just listened to it on youtube. Guess i don't agree with that. Nothing techy at all. Watchtower wins :)

https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/blind_illusion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKGmv6e-1gU

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

The Les Claypool Blind Illusion?

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I've read that the demos by Blind Illusion were the first tech metal released but i haven't heard them. Watchtower definitely holds the crown for the most famous early pioneers of tech prog metal

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Considering the fact that their debut album was released in 1985, that´s an even more influental and important album for technical/progressive music. Probably the earliest tech metal album that I can think of.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I like this too. As with a lot of unique progressive music, it's an acquired taste. There is a proto feel to this one. I can also understand why some would find this irritating. Very influential

Unitron wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Listening to them, I really enjoy it, I hear a lot of Rush and early Helstar influence

Time Signature wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Check out the one-track release called "The Size of the Matter" first. It's probably the most accessible one (but also the lease thrashy one).

Unitron wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I've never heard of this band, if they're a tech/thrash metal band I think I'll want to check them out.

Time Signature wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I'm on the same page as UMUR here, as I love this album. However, I can see how the vocals might turn a lot of people off.

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I think it´s an amazing album, if you take it for what it is, and don´t expect melodic oriented progressive metal. This is an insane tech metal fest with thrashy roots. It´s pretty over the top at times, but I like it.