Watchtower
Energetic Disassembly

Of semi-unknown or almost legendary bands that have not managed to carve out a space in the world of metal, there are far too many, but this is a band (believe it or not) that represents the embryo of an entire movement: progressive metal. If you think of technique combined with metal, the first group that almost everyone (at least for popularity) thinks of is Dream Theater, but long before them, exactly in 1982, in Austin (Texas), WatchTower was born. Let's call them by their name, i.e., pioneers; because they were the first to make “techno, jazz, speed metal” as their genre is defined by singer Jason McMaster or more simply the embryo of progressive metal. A bolt from the blue, a frightening technique of the 3 instrumentalists, guitarist Billy White, drummer Rick Colaluca, and bassist Doug Keyser, combined with a singer with great qualities who uses a constant screaming vocal style for almost 90% of the songs. At times, his style resembles Rob Halford, his great inspirer, but in fact, the similarity disappears to the listener who is captivated by the speed and the onslaught of the compositions of this album, which marks a historic year for metal, 1986.
Let's start with the title Energetic Disassembly, which is none other than a U.S. government term to indicate the detonation of a nuclear warhead and the title track, as obvious, focuses on nuclear issues and the fact that a tiny mistake could trigger a nuclear war that would lead to the mass destruction of the entire human race and ensure a future immersed in greyness and darkness with permanent damage to populations. All the other lyrics deal roughly with the same topics, emphasizing the dominant role of power (government) and the real possibility of a nuclear holocaust. In those years, relations between the USA and the current Russia were not the best, and bringing up certain topics was certainly not easy due to their topicality (for the time), plus they stand out from the typical “topics” of the typical speed/thrash metal bands, such as sex, drugs, death, blood, etc. Speed/thrash is practically the initial musical classification that naturally comes to mind for this band, during a first superficial listening one would immediately be thrown into a fierce headbanging, but already at the second listening, one begins to realize being in front of something more than just a thrash album. What is that “something”? It is a chaotic, infinite series of time changes and impossible rhythmic parts with overlays of the three instruments that give you chills for the skill and precision in the passages. Passages so technical that they hold up only in comparison with those bands that have made technique (never an end in itself) one of their reasons for living. The already mentioned Dream Theater are just one example (and they came later), but one could also mention Rush, from whom our musicians often carve out much of their rhythmic parts and, sped up, insert them into their compositions. One of the most allegorical definitions of the era was “What if Metallica recorded 2112” or "Rush at 200mph". That’s the idea. The rhythm section draws heavily from the early works of Rush, and the speed of the compositions is often comparable (if not superior) to Kill’em all. Despite this fusion (or perhaps due to this fusion) at the limits of the possible, WT did not receive the deserved success from this unique way (for the '80s) of playing metal. Even now they would encounter many barriers, in fact, their hyper-technical intertwined guitar/bass/drums solos, each on their own, make listening very problematic. I don’t hide that it took me many listens to digest this dish, despite being a big fan of extreme thrash as well as constantly searching for super-technical and experimental bands (like Celtic Frost, to be clear). Of course, purists of the prog metal genre would say that WT play so technically for a sterile and cold demonstration of skill, but at the time they were young guys and their only goal was to go as fast as possible in the most aggressive way, everything else came out of their heads (and their music studies) spontaneously.
The aggressive uniqueness of the compositions makes this album have no stop or tranquility moments. It starts with Violent Change, and you're immediately overwhelmed by a very fast and relatively “simple” thrash outburst technically compared to the rest of the album; however, it already makes us understand what tracks we will run on for the next 37 minutes. Tight riffs and aggressive vocals with a great rhythm section, the appetizer is presented well, but it’s just the beginning.
After a brief crescendo introduction, Jason's screams take us to one of the best compositions on the album, a fabulous initial riff supported by the rhythm section takes us immediately to the speeds already explored with the opener, the voice is always in controlled screaming; shortly after the halfway mark, we hear the first bass break that disrupts the rhythms only to bring Asylum back to the high initial speeds and then close in a flash.
Here we are at a pearl of technique. One of the most exciting song beginnings I remember; nothing heard before, with ours beginning to show their great skills as musicians with a very marked jazz technique that denotes years of study of their respective instruments (among other things Keyser was a guitarist then converted to bass). But halfway through the song, we are overwhelmed by a guitar solo, with bass and drums as a “carpet,” that leaves us stunned. As with the previous ones, also in this Tyrants in Distress, we have more than one musical break followed by accelerations.
Let's move to Social Fears, which seems to start slow and paced, and albeit not as fast as the previous ones, it stays on the same standards as far as execution technique, and like the previous ones, gives us another solo executed with great skill by the usual White (albeit not at sidereal speed) and an indefatigable rhythmic section.
We arrive at the title track already accustomed to what awaits us, but here's what you don’t expect: ours put on the field in the first minute a "jam" introduction (which will return at the song's end) of great artistic value second only to the rest of the song, which takes us even higher in technical level and makes us begin to doubt whether these monsters are human. All the way to listen to the bass solo and the following guitar solo at 3/4 of the song. The time changes are no longer countable, but now we move on to something truly unique.
Argonne Forest is what I consider the best song (purely personal level) of the 8, it starts with another unmatched "jam" of value (this too repeats towards the end of the song). The body of Argonne Forest is the “(un)usual” chaotic sequence of time changes and absurd rhythms, guitar and bass solos, with the drum grinding out dizzying rhythm changes.
The rhythms slightly drop with the next Cimmerian Shadows, but the Texans' skill reconfirms itself. The guitar riff is compelling, and the singing much more “normal” and less scream (at least at the song's start), for a moment we touch more human shores, but halfway through the song we hear another chilling jam and another memorable guitar solo, and in the end again the bass dominates, still brilliant.
Here we are at the end of this race, Meltdown takes us to the highest speeds of the album with even more frantic rhythms and always meticulous time changes, with the usual bass/guitar/drums phrasings, usual breaks, and subsequent accelerations and the usual spectacular guitar solo (in fact, two of equal value). Certainly the most “listener-friendly” of the batch (as much as a song of this kind can be listener-friendly).

In conclusion, we are faced with an album unique in its genre and a band that has inspired the entire techno thrash movement, as well as the great Death and many others. A rhythm section with one of the best drummers ever heard as well as one of the best bassists ever heard, a guitarist (not the best in the world) who could easily stand in that corner where the various Satriani, Vai, Malmsteen, Petrucci, and a few others rest, and a singer with great qualities that perfectly match the aggressive style of the band. The only flaw of this work of absolute value is a decidedly deficient production, a symptom of little money in the Texans' pockets. This is one of those albums destined for a niche audience, an album to listen to and listen to again to fully appreciate it. An album unfortunately relegated to the worldwide historical underground, but undoubtedly the first example of prog metal.
At the end of all this, the only question is: “where have they gone?”