CONTROL AND RESISTANCE

This is the second album from Watchtower where they get a new vocalist. Their original singer joined the not-quite-hair metal-but-close-enough band Dangerous Toys. I'm not sure why the last song on this album is called "Dangerous Toy", but it is. The first Watchtower album from 1985 I have not heard yet, but if it's as groundbreaking as I hear it is I should investigate it. I'm really curious as to what a 'technical metal' album sounds like being released at a time when thrash metal was going through puberty. On Control And Resistance this band from Texas both sounds like the contemporary thrash of California as well as the future death metal of Florida. Although I haven't heard the debut, this album is itself ahead of it's time. The music features lots of time and tempo changes. Some finger-tapping and fast runs on guitar. Generally you can hear the bass which is not always the case with a lot of late 1980s thrash and extreme metal. A noticeable Rush influence is present. The instrumental parts are usually more interesting than the vocal sections. I don't like the vocals too much, they sound like a singer from some Judas Priest or Iron Maiden tribute band. The vocal parts remind me at times of the thrash bands Exodus and Overkill. "Instruments Of Random Murder" is generally in thrash mode but there are hints of more technical metal here as well. "The Eldritch" is one of the more traditional metal sounding songs, very much of it's time.

"Mayday In Kiev" starts off as an almost Atheist/Cynic type of jazzy metal. When the vocals arrive the song starts to sound like Overkill. Features some Metallica style start/stop playing. Nice bass playing during the guitar solo. "The Fall Of Reason" is more extreme technical metal than the previous songs. Some complex playing before the vocals start. The instrumental parts are very technical while the vocal parts are more traditional thrash with some nice melodic harmony vocals in places. A cool part with bass harmonics before it goes into a very Rush sounding section that could have come from Hemispheres. Later on gets more Overkill sounding for awhile. This is a standout track - there wasn't a lot of metal that sounded like this in 1989.

You can listen to the title track here on PA. It opens with a jazzy bassline and some chorused guitar along with a sci-fi sound on synth. Then it goes into some great tech metal...almost sounds like a mix of Anthrax and Return To Forever. The vocal parts sound like Exodus/Overkill. This track keeps changing and is one of the highlights of the album. The vocal parts of "Hidden Instincts" are again in Exodus/Overkill territory. The instrumental sections are much more technical and interesting. The bass work really stands out here. "Life Cycles" is more melodic than the other tracks. Features some nice chorused guitar. Parts of the song foreshadow what Death/Atheist/Cynic would be doing in the early 1990s.

That's the only song where I actually like the vocals (sometimes). Speaking of vocals and vocalists, here comes that "Dangerous Toy" song, sounding nothing like the band it shares its name with. Great thrash meets technical extreme metal although the vocal parts still have a Exodus/Overkill vibe to them. Control And Resistance is sort of a 'missing link' between what came before and what came after when it comes to the more extreme and non-mainstream side of metal. It sounds dated and current at the same time. Maybe not the best tech/extreme prog metal album but one of the more important ones. 4 stars.