Lineup:
Jason McMaster - vocals
Billy White - guitars
Doug Keyser - bass
Rick Colaluca - drums
Label release: (Originally by) Zombo Records Matrix
The tracks
1. Violent Change 03:22
2. Asylum 03:48
3. Tyrants In Distress 05:59
4. Social Fears 04:41
5. Energetic Disassembly 04:39
6. Argonne Forest 04:38
7. Cimmerian Shadows 06:35
8. Meltdown 03:59
There is no doubt in the mind of the modern progressive metal listener that Watchtower's Energetic Disassembly birthed technically proficient classic metal into the progressive metal as we know today, in its most elemental form. During the days of Watchtower, there were no bands that demonstrated such artistic tyranny as did the band when they released the album Energetic Disassembly in 1985. From Violent Change to the title song, hefty – almost arrogant artistry – did Billy White and Rick Colaluca, Jason McMaster and Dough Keyser demonstrated. By any standard of classic 1985, Watchtower’s debut album was a pointer to the revolution that was to come a decade later – not that anyone cared a hoot when Watchtower released it!
Tyrants in Distress, Social Fears, Cimmerian Shadows and on and one and on – Watchtower was truly laying down a groundbreaking style so incongruous to the poppy, melody, 1-2-3-1-2-3 pattern which the great-hair bands were playing during the colorful 80s.
Energetic Disassembly claims of all the signature ingredients that would later reverberate in modern day Spiral Architect to Spastic Ink, Dream Theater to Cynic. The energetic and random but compositional complexity metal style which Watchtower’s second album Control and Resistance (1989) showed would reverberate through a generation of progressive-minded musicians. And the Demonstration in Chaos (2002) album was only a reminder to the latter Prog heads about who started the thing. The progressive or “technical metal” (Ugh. I really abhor this term) style as we know today can be traced to Energetic Disassembly – the fantastic high pitched, clear and keening singing of Jason McMaster even Geoff Tate would ascribe to, the random time signatures and technical finesse of Billy White and the almost maniacal, varied and arrogant base-work of bassman Doug Keyser and drummer Rick Colaluca; the rapid (almost what I personally call the “guesswork-like” energetic style) that set Watchtower apart from the other hair-spray-lot during that early era. Every thing about the album was new. And dazzlingly brilliant.
The Progressive ‘qualities’
Another important aspect of Energetic Assembly to be considered is that the album lays down the foundation for the understanding of how progressive metal evolved – the compositional complexity of instrumentation, skilled musicianship translated into palpable expression, the technical finesse and delivery and the top-notch personal artistry to make the genre what it is today. What more can you say? Incredibly brilliant.
Today, when one listens to Watchtower’s albums and make comparative assessments on the technicality bands like, say, Dream Theater or Spiral Architect create, Watchtower was more progressive than technical, more metal than progressive. I have no doubt at all that Energetic Disassembly is the era-defining classic that remains unchallenged on its progressive metal pedestal to this day.
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