Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Watchtower - Control and Resistance (1989)
Why haven't I fully discovered this masterpiece yet!? This is masterful wizardry made by early prog-thrashers Watchtower! Control and Resistance is where they add jazzy elements to their sound, something absolute original at that time. I've been in a marathon of reviewing albums from technical death metal bands like Atheist, Death, and Pestilence, and this is the album that inspired those bands and many more to mix tech-death with pieces of progressive jazz. I think we can thank two talented masterminds here for that brilliant idea, starting with the amazing guitarist Ron Jarzombek. He can handle time signatures and tempos in an impressive way that barely anyone else can with technical riffs and jazzy solos. The audible bass playing of Doug Keyser is PERFECT!!! Standing by with the guitar like a 3-legged race. What a duo of geniuses!
Of course we can't ignore the other two band members, including vocalist Alan Tecchio. His high vocals are a usual part of progressive thrash, performed so d*mn well. It's impressive how high he can go while following the music. It sounds like he can do it normally with no struggle. Excellent! And finally, there's Rick Colaluca, whose style is very much the same as you would hear in jazz fusion. Imagine have an octopus drummer who's a fan of jazz and Megadeth, that's Rick right there! He has to make all those intricate time signature patterns, and yet it's all performed flawlessly.
Keyser wrote and co-wrote all of the songs in this album, starting with "Instruments Of Random Murder", where the instrumentation is killer and can be deadly for those who can't perform the complexity. Luckily, Keyser performs his bass perfectly and survives. He would later encounter "The Eldritch", so strange and otherworldly for most people to catch up, and yet he can! If he ever needs help in "Mayday in Kiev", Jarzombek has helped with the writing assisting him with the jazzy guitar progression as usual.
The shining highlight of this album is the epic "The Fall of Reason", with insane jazzy soloing from Jarzombek as Keyser continues his amazing bass journey. The title track is where Keyser really needs to control his pace in order to play the higher-level complexity smoothly.
For "Hidden Instincts", Jarzombek joins the writing journey once again, and this time, he's assisting Keyser throughout the remainder of this album, as they both conquer hidden surprises. That cycle continues in "Life Cycles". And finally, "Dangerous Toy" is the most dangerous ending for anyone who has made it that far. With the amazing bass and the strong guitar of Jarzombek, BOOM!!!! They've vanquished the terror with their impressive skills. They reign victorious in this excellent adventure, no fails at all!
So yeah, Control and Resistance deserves a perfect 5 stars for being able to add jazz into prog-thrash without messing anything up, with all that inspiring technicality and masterful writing. I might just dig further into more of the prog/tech-thrash of bands like Sieges Even and Toxik, but maybe another time. This is a jazzy metal treat to love!
Favorites: "Instruments Of Random Murder", "The Eldritch", "The Fall of Reason", "Hidden Instincts", "Dangerous Toy"