Hi guys! It’s truly an honor to be speaking with such legends of prog! To get us started, how did you experience the 80s metal scene at large as a young band playing at the same time as Slayer, Celtic Frost, Venom, and Death? I figure that you have better insight than anybody! What are some of your favorite memories from the olden days of metal?

Jason: Our young minds were overblown with excitement, as we somehow got the call for the opening slots for a lot of the up and coming groundbreaking bands. Celtic Frost, Voivod, Trouble, King Diamond, Anthrax and more. We were having a blast. We just did our thing and then loaded out and enjoyed witnessing bands that rose to staggering heights throughout the years. Fun times for sure.

Ron: I remember lots of gigs with WatchTower, Helstar and S. A. Slayer. I was in S. A. Slayer at this time. We had the infamous Slayer vs. Slayer gig in San Antonio. That was probably the highlight for me.

Doug: For sure, some of our mid-1980s shows in Texas at long-gone but iconic venues like the Ritz in Austin and the Cameo in San Antonio are great memories. Going back to the beginning, we had a blast playing local parties, with a mix of some of our very early original songs and a lot of cover tunes by Rush, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Saxon, Raven and all of the incredible bands from that era.

I’ve seen you refer to your vocals as “pissed off Geddy Lee” before: were Rush a big influence on you, and, if so, what’s your favorite Rush album? Which other progressive bands inspired you to break the boundaries of metal at that point in 1984/85?

Jason: I love the first six records by Rush; 2112 might be my “go to” Rush record, but the things they were doing that were even just a bit more ‘rock n roll’ I still enjoy to this day. By the time they reached Moving Pictures, another great record that jumped the line between prog metal and radio friendly rock, I was already starting to get into weirder and heavier metal. By the time 1983 came, it was more about Euro metal and, above all, Bay Area thrash. The new wave of British Heavy metal encouraged me to stick to the rock n roll vibe in my voice, but also to go beyond and try things. Venom and then Raven, with guttural punk throaty stuff and then super high twisted screeching, I tried to mix. 

Ron: Rush is my favorite band of all time. Just like Jason, the first albums all the way up to Moving Pictures. Signals had a bit too much keyboards, so that’s when I drifted off. My favorite Rush albums are 2112, All The World’s A Stage, A Farewell To Kings and Hemispheres. Rush was also the band that introduced me to writing music with Morse Code (“YYZ”) which led to writing with all the alphabet, phone numbers, names, street addresses, etc… and later all 12 notes (12-tone). So that all pretty much destroyed my way of musically thinking LOL. I also listened to Al Di Meola quite a bit.

Doug: Rush was definitely the biggest influence for me. I remember listening to A Farewell to Kings for the first time and it was life-changing, pretty much what made me start playing. The period between All The World’s A Stage through Exit…Stage Left was just unmatched, an incredible band at the top of their game. I’d probably choose Hemispheres as my all-time favorite album. Some other progressive bands like King Crimson, UK, and the Bill Bruford solo albums with Jeff Berlin were also influential.

I have also seen critics hate your “pissed off Geddy Lee” vocals. Have any creative insults been directed at Watchtower? And are there any creative compliments that have stayed with you?

Jason: The “insults” were rather expected. I was barely singing at that early point, it took a bit to figure out how to do what I was trying to do with any real power. So, then to get spit at for how crazy I wanted my vocals to be with the crazy riffs I was writing melodies over, I took it with a grain of salt. I still listen to John from Raven and lots of old Geddy Lee. It’s wild how those guys just took what Plant, and Halford and Ian Gillan and the like, to a crazy psychotic new level. So, if I got thrown out, maybe they dealt with some haters, too.Ron: That all goes with the territory. Do something that’s not too common and you get crucified for it. Since I love Geddy’s voice, anybody who says Jason sounds like a pissed off Geddy, I’d take that as a compliment. I remember the first time I heard Jason’s vocals on the Energetic Disassembly songs, I pictured this demented looking gigantic rat with humongous balls screaming his ass off while holding a microphone. And yes, that’s a compliment. I remember some magazine reviews of WatchTower mentioned that we couldn’t write songs, that it was just a bunch of notes. I guess since we didn’t have common structures for songs, they had a hard time grabbing on to something.

Doug: It definitely seemed to be a “love it or hate it” thing. There are a couple of one-star reviews of Control and Resistance on Amazon that are pretty funny. I think one of them said something like, with that album progressive metal had hit an evolutionary dead-end like a two-headed fish, LOL.

WatchTower’s influence has been instrumental to the formation of the progressive metal world, inspiring big names such as Dream Theater, Symphony X, Cynic, Atheist, and Devin Townsend and continuing to inspire new bands. How does it feel to look upon an entire genre and hear your influence on its development?

Jason: That part of the story is, was, completely unexpected. Discovered early by a few folks, Chuck Schuldiner, Gene Hoglan, Tom Warrior and Mike Portnoy, who are some of my heroes who truly have helped create and keep alive the ideas of keeping heavy music/ loud rock music from becoming stagnant, they all carry or carried the flag for us. Mind blown again. We were just kids.

Ron: It’s really cool for me when I see so many kids on youtube playing songs that I’ve written and/or recorded, whether it’s songs by WatchTower, Blotted Science, Spastic Ink or solo material. I also totally dig it when a younger band comes to town and I sometimes end up on their guest list and I get to hang out with these kids.

Doug: It’s not at all anything we could have expected when we were writing those songs! 

Where’d the band name come from? It’s snappy and memorable.

Jason: I believe Doug came up with that, if memory serves me correct. I love it. There is the idea of an observation post, and the reports cannot always be good. Usually the lyrics and music were all together attempts to destroy mediocrity. It also had the message that art should be fun and wild and not just a painting of some fruit in a bowl.

Doug: I saw the word watchtower in a book at school, and it just kind of stuck in my head, and when we needed a name it just fell into place. It’s a little unusual but it goes along with the idea that even in the early days we observed and wrote about things going on in the world.

Do you prefer hyper-technical music in your daily listening as a contrast to what you perform yourself, and/or do you prefer playing it? Who do you all listen to regularly?

Jason: I listen to everything, and then again, I listen to nothing. Music is a life for me that never ends. So, after working on music, teaching music, or mixing, etc, I do not want to hear much. I have to change gears often. So, to be truthful, I listen to lots of classic rock. Maybe yacht rock.

Ron: Same here. I listen to all sorts of things. Since I teach guitar, I have to learn and play all different kinds of music. Some of the newer/current guitarists and bands are doing some really creative things, I just wish there was more focus on bands rather than all of these individual accolades, especially with guitarists. I recently saw Entheos live and they blew my socks off.

Doug: I’m all over the place with the music I listen to. There are good songwriters and good musicians in every genre and it just depends on whatever mood I’m in. Sometimes it’s stuff I grew up with like Rush, sometimes it’s newer bands like Knower.

Being in and out of a band for decades I’m sure you’ve accumulated a handful of stories from the studio and on the road: any favorites?

Jason: Well, stories, I don’t know where to start, or how interesting they would be, and another way to say that would be, wait for my book!  I have learned about how to perform, record and write and teach music, from all of my experiences. Getting to work with some of the people I looked up to growing up, has been a cool trip and an honor.

Ron: That’s a loaded question but I guess a highlight (lowlight) for me was on the WatchTower European tour in ’90 we had a few gigs where we played in our underwear. The gig in Rotterdam is online. Another lowlight was my knee going out of place twice at my 3^rd WatchTower gig.  

Doug: A particular show that stands out for me was a show we played in Dortmund, Germany as we were finishing up recording Control and Resistance in Berlin. It seemed like everyone we met had driven a long distance to see us, mostly only knowing our music from the tape-trading scene. It was really mind-blowing to us that anyone even knew who we were, just some random band from Texas that had never been overseas before.

You guys have been a band for quite a while, and prog metal’s fanbase is more diverse than it’s ever been thanks to the internet. How do you view prog metal’s developments over the years—from Dream Theater to djent to whatever Polyphia’s doing, the genre has undoubtedly diversified. How do you view the development of progressive metal and of music in general?

Jason: Honestly, I feel a bit out of touch. Polyphia is incredible, and the fact that they came from something…what was that? I feel that the most barbaric thrash, or the sludgiest dirge metal, comes from something else. When it was created by a small group of players coming together to make noises that fit together so well is freaky and beautiful. So, It has to be my honest answer, that mind bending specifics of the genre, of what mean progressive, I am at a loss these days. Meaning, I just cannot keep up with the proggers!

Ron: Well, it’s definitely changing. I guess that would happen over a number of decades. Again, due to the internet I think there’s too much individualism happening. Some of these top players on the net aren’t even in bands, and that’s what it used to be all about.

Doug: Like Jason, I’m probably a little out of touch with all the latest hot prog bands, but I know I’ve heard some pretty crazy and impressive music over the years. There are some phenomenal young musicians and bands in the scene.

This one’s for Ron, but I’m curious what his musical background is to perform how he did in 1989 on Control and Resistance and then a few years later on legendary releases with Spastic Ink and Blotted Science. I’d also love to hear from the man himself if he can elaborate on how he has such a unique style in metal: any song with Ron is instantly recognizable. What’s the secret behind the tone? I also know he builds his own guitars: does he view himself as a tinkerer of a guitarist? What’s your process with regards to building your own instruments? 

Ron: Most of the stuff that I’ve written over the past few decades has been focused around writing with 12 note systems. I even have a few apps out that set up rows and progressions using all 12 notes and create backing tracks. I’m writing a book right now on my 12-note technique writing, hopefully done by the end of the year. As far as building my own guitars, I just got tired of playing the same shaped guitars that too many players play, and came up with my own design and specs. Would be cool to have my own line of guitars one of these days, but no sign of that as of yet.  

You all were not only the most technical and progressive metal ever at the point of your debut, and you were also mostly teenagers! Did Watchtower have aspirations/expectations on being career musicians or was your success a surprise?

Jason: It is [not] always easy to recall our plan, because I do not remember having one at all. Speaking for myself, I was so happy to just play loud music with people I adored, who were as happy as I was just rehearsing the same songs over and over. It did not even matter if it was a cover song, or an older original piece, or something we had just come up with. Just to be creating sound, creating something from nothing, by banging on wood and wire, was and still is, the attraction.

Ron: I think I’ve always wanted to be a career musician, but more of an artist who creates releases based on concepts, and evolving from album to album. That’s mostly due to Rush, who with every album went in a different direction. Spastic Ink was set up to have more albums based on the ‘Ink Complete’ and ‘Ink Compatible’ concept. Blotted Science was also set up with ‘The Machinations Of Dementia’ and ‘The Animation Of Entomology’. Too bad both projects lasted only two albums. I had so many more ideas for concepts that just never happened.

Doug: Honestly, I don’t think we thought super far ahead as teenagers, but it just seemed like something we’d keep doing since it was such a big part of our lives.  

Rick: I can’t say I ever really had a plan, beyond playing more gigs and keeping the momentum going as much as possible. Being a “path of least resistance” (pun intended) kind of person, and without any specific goals for the band or for myself musically, I never really had any big dreams. Just plugging away and enjoying the experience was enough. As I got older I realized that I wasn’t driven to become a career musician, being more of a dabbler than a serious student of the art.

How early did each of you pick up your chosen instruments given your abundant skill at such an early age?

Jason: I got my first bass guitar at age 12. As early as age 9, I was figuring out some scales on an old stand up piano. I never applied much of my discovery, until much later. I am still discovering. 

Ron: My first instrument was piano, which I took up in 2^nd grade. I switched to guitar a few years later when some football friends said that guitar was a much cooler instrument. My mom was kinda pissed about it, but she did get me a Les Paul and a practice amp. I had a few guitar lessons playing ‘Old Grey Goose’ and ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’,  but dropped them and started figuring out KISS songs.

Doug: My first instrument was violin which I played for a couple of years in middle school orchestra, but I wasn’t really serious about it. I started playing guitar around 8^th or 9^th grade and just jammed with other kids in my neighborhood. I knew Rick from those circles. When we met Billy [Billy White, guitarist from 1982-86], the original plan was to have Billy and me switching off between guitar and bass. But once I started learning a few bass lines, I immediately gravitated towards that instrument and realized my musical brain was more suited to bass, so Billy became our full-time guitarist, LOL. 

Rick: I joined my 6th grade school band as a means to get out of class one day, and when the band director asked each of us what instrument we wanted to play, I didn’t have a clue, so I blurted out “drums”. Turned out I kinda had a knack for it, so I kept going with it throughout middle and high school. It wasn’t until I heard “Cygnus X-1” when I was a freshman in high school that I really got excited about playing drums. It was the early Peart influence that set the initial direction of my style.

For Rick and Doug, how did your approach to songwriting changed between Energetic Disassembly and Control and Resistance? And then—probably more substantially—how did your songwriting develop over the decades? When you look back at the first two albums, is there anything you wish you’d done differently (we wouldn’t change a thing!)?

Doug: Some of the songs that ended up on Control and Resistance were written even before we recorded Energetic Disassembly, but the batch of songs on Energetic were from a slightly earlier period of our songwriting and seemed to fit together. There were a lot of songs from before the Energetic era that didn’t make the cut and were only recorded as demos or not at all. Many were part of our live setlist after we wrote them but eventually dropped off for newer songs that we liked more. When Ron joined the band, he was driving up to Austin from San Antonio so we had to be a little more efficient with writing, although there was quite a bit of bouncing ideas off each other. Probably the thing I would go back and change if a time machine existed would be the sound production on both records.

Rick: On Energetic, for me it was about playing fast and aggressive all the time, with lots of Peart style fills. That evolved somewhat as we continued writing for Control. I became less interested in just slamming out fast stuff, and more interested in writing and playing parts that had unique interplay with the rest of the instruments as well as leaving more space. In hindsight I wish that I had been more discriminating in the studio on both recordings. I really dislike recording so if it was half-ass decent I’d let it go just so I could move on to the next song. I guess you could say I’m an imperfectionist. 

There seems to be some discrepancy with the release date of Energetic Disassembly, and it’s important, not only because we’re nerds about cataloging release dates, but also because there’s a friendly rivalry between you and Fates Warning over having the “first” ever prog metal album. I’ve heard November 84, February 85, and November 85. Which is the real one?

Jason: I recall being in the studio (Cedar Creek, South Austin, TX) finishing up things in Nov. of 1984 and by October we were having a release party. Then I see it listed as a January 1985 official release because that is when our distributors had received the product and had put it in line at stores. November 1984 sounds a little bit early for us to call it an official release. We did have a cassette tape we shipped out all over the place with MELTDOWN and TYRANTS IN DISTRESS on it, because those were recorded first and in a different studio, engineered and mixed by Kerry Krafton. That is where the Nov. ‘84 timeline comes in.

You haven’t rested on your laurels and have been busy in various projects since the 80s. What are some of your favorites? I know several of us here particularly love Blotted Science and Howling Sycamore. Do these bands speak to a desire to play several styles of music? Does your Watchtower experience come out when composing for other projects?

Jason: I make it no secret that my earliest years in WatchTower were like school for me, as a full musician, a writer, a composer, all of it. All of it started with those guys. I find that composing and working with other artists, collaborations, has also shown me there is not one way to write a song. Any style of song, I can learn something. These guys showed me how to appreciate that part of music. And. I loved working with Davide Tiso and HOWLING SYCAMORE, a total blast singing those incredible songs. Davide let me just soar all over, anything I wanted to sing melody wise. His music and lyrics were a breath of fresh air for music. And for myself.

Ron: I do get involved in other projects, but they all pretty much center around proggy/tech rock/metal. Blotted Science was different for me because I wanted to get a lot heavier (blastbeats, drop A tuning, etc…) but Spastic Ink and my solo material is similar to WatchTower musically, it’s just more structured. When I write with WatchTower it’s different than other projects because it’s usually face to face bouncing ideas off of Doug and Rick, so musically everybody makes contributions whereas with Blotted Science it’s all long distance writing via emails and mp3s. It’s collaborative but just not the same as live interaction. The Blotted Science guys were never in the same room until 8 months after Machinations was released. I am currently working on another solo CD, which is a follow-up to my 2^nd solo CD Solitarily Speaking Of Theoretical Confinement.

Doug: After WatchTower went into hiatus after Control and Resistance, I was asked to join a funk/rock/rap band called Retarted Elf that traveled around the region and had a decent following. It was a completely different style of music, but when I started writing with them, there were certainly some things that carried over from my experiences with WatchTower.

Our site’s focus is underground progressive metal—who are some smaller bands you want to shout out? Friends, bands in the local scene, people who have opened for you, etc! We (and our readers) want them all!

Jason: I have not done a whole lot with these guys, as far as playing shows, I guested on a song on one of their releases, and would like to mention VESPERIAN SORROW. I do not know what kind of music it really is, but it is over the top. It skips over lots of genres, from symphonic proggy death metal [to] soundtrack music, with incredible musicianship that holds up against anyone. They are from around here in central Texas. Please look them up.

Ron: I don’t really have a Spotify and Apple account so I only hear what is on the net while I’m browsing around, or what students may bring in. As I mentioned before, most of what I see online is lots of guitarists doing their own thing, and not a lot of them are in bands. 

Doug: I’m a little out of touch with who are the latest hot bands, but I know I hear some pretty great stuff come up randomly through the algorithm on my music app.

Stick with me for a hypothetical. You’re packing your luggage to leave home for a tour from Texas, and you see a scorpion in your luggage. What are you doing? (I’m begging for advice as this recently happened to me in Tucson, and I haven’t opened my luggage since).

Jason: Immediately spot the creature, use a handheld vacuum cleaner to suck up the creature. It should not harm the creature too badly, then empty the chamber outside, a ways from your house.

Ron: I’d start singing ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’ and see if it responds. If it’s a beetle, I usually sing “She Loves You yeah, yeah, yeah.” Yes, that has happened before. No it didn’t respond.

Doug: Scorpion venom is one of the most valuable and expensive liquids on the planet, but I don’t think I’d be able to figure out how to extract it safely. Instead, I’d name the scorpion Uli.

Rick: Brush it away and let it go. Or stomp on it. I live in a rural environment and have been stung by scorpions many times, it’s a non event. Less painful than a fire ant bite.

Finally, when is Concepts of Math, Book II, are you doing the classic prog trope of titling a suite Part 1 and leaving out its sequel? ;).

I’m sure you’ve heard about the WatchTower album Mathematics that never happened. Well, that Concepts of Math EP is 5 of the 11 songs that were supposed to be on the full album. Will we ever get those last 6 songs recorded? Probably not. But if we ever did, I’d think that we’d put all 11 songs together as they were planned, with each first letter of each song title spelling out MATHEMATICS. Releasing a book 2 or part 2 just destroys the whole concept. 

Our thanks to Jason, Ron, Doug, and Rick for their time. All of us here at the Subway look forward to future projects of yours, WatchTower or otherwise!

Links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

The post Interview: WatchTower appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: progressive thrash metal, technical thrash metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Voivod, Crimson Glory, Coroner
Country: United States-TX
Release date: 6 November 1989

The four short years between Energetic Disassembly and Control and Resistance saw a changed progressive metal landscape. No longer were Watchtower alone: Fates Warning and Queensrÿche reigned supreme; USPM bands like Savatage and Crimson Glory picked up some flourishes from the prog thrash world, which, at the time, was being pushed to new levels of instrumental competence—undreamt of five years earlier—by groups like Voivod, Toxik, Coroner, and Death Row. Meanwhile, just eight months earlier, a little band from New York released their debut album When Dream and Day Unite. 

Beyond the drastically changed landscape, Watchtower were a new band with guitarist Billy White and vocalist Jason McMaster leaving to pursue other ventures. Alan Tecchio replaced McMaster, and his vocals, if anything, are more polished than McMaster’s while retaining that unhinged energy. The timbre of McMaster is missed, but Tecchio sings his heart out on Control and Resistance with a technical ability and wide range seamlessly fitting the infamous skill of the Watchtower family. More importantly, the man, the myth, the GOD of guitar in progressive metal Ron Jarzombeck joined the fray, a man I consider to be one of metal’s preeminent musical geniuses with his work in acts like Blotted Science and Spastic Ink, his mix of jazzy sounds and serialism techniques unlike anything else in all of metal. And this album right here is where he honed his progressive style. He has a distinct style and tone—nobody else sounds like Ron Jarzombeck with his bright jazzy spring—and it’s clearly at play here, upping the ante for Watchtower from mere technicality to a stunning display of the pinnacle of metal guitar-playing—all several years pre-Images and Words.

The songwriting and production dramatically improved between Energetic Disassembly and Control and Resistance, Watchtower reigning in their talents into a more controlled album. The group winds through seemingly dozens of tempos per song with perfect, stylish instrumental pyrotechnics. The clean bass tone provides the foundation, and then Jarzombek builds towering songs out of power chords, riffs, and crazy, indescribable solos. He does things on a guitar that nobody else that I’m aware of does even thirty-five years later: the break near the middle of “Mayday in Kiev,” for instance, utilizes some classic Jarzombek shenanigans, playing unpredictable notes that allude to his future forays into Serialism. The track’s lyrics meditate on Chernobyl, fitting since these guys were clearly hit by some radioactive amp feedback (à la Peter Parker and his spider) to achieve their superhuman abilities. The precise songwriting works in their favor, too, as Watchtower dazzle on tracks like “The Eldritch” which uses a drum fill to bridge the shreddy intro to the shreddier verse. Longer tracks like the titular “Control and Resistance” have clearer sections than songs on Energetic Disassembly had, switching from intro chords to thrash metal insanity with finesse that the unwieldy debut songs lacked. Across the album, the interplay between Keyser’s bass and Jarzombeck’s guitar is spot-on, the two soloing and riffing start-and-stop time-signature freakouts as if they’re an extension of each other’s brain and fingers from the first moments of “Instruments of Random Murder” to the last of “Dangerous Toy.” The biggest difference between the two albums is Jarzombeck’s increased propensity for soloing compared to White, and Watchtower benefited from it. 

Control and Resistance is a display of talent that, while not as important as Disassembly, is much more refined, cementing Watchtower’s legacy in progressive metal (and kickstarting the career of Jarzombek who has brought a range of new techniques to metal thanks to his nearly unmatched creativity). I’m still blown away by these Texans’ talent and vision in the present day; I don’t know many riffs that can rival the likes of 3:10 in “Hidden Instincts” or 3:10 in “Dangerous Toy” for their sheer swagger. Watchtower were frantically riffing circles around everyone else, in weird time signatures, too, and they knew it.

For those of you still doubting their importance, the following bands have cited direct influence from the classic band: Testament, Dream Theater, Death, Annihilator, Coroner, Atheist, Pestilence, Cynic, Symphony X, Devin Townsend, Toxik, Sieges Even, and Spiral Architect. With only two albums to their name, they managed to birth a genre and influence all your favorite bands. Of course, groups like Fates Warning were right in line and metal was on the brink of its technical and progressive breakthrough, but Watchtower did it first and, importantly, as well. Respect your ancestors and check out these legendary albums.

Recommended tracks: Instruments of Random Murder, The Eldritch, Mayday in Kiev, Control and Resistance
You may also like: Toxik, Blotted Science, Deathrow, Spiral Architect, Howling Sycamore, Dissimulator

Related links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Noise Records

Watchtower was:
– Alan Tecchio (vocals)
– Ron Jarzombek (guitars)
– Doug Keyser (bass)
– Rick Colaluca (drums)

The post Lost in Time: Watchtower – Control and Resistance appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: progressive thrash metal, technical thrash metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Voivod, Crimson Glory, Coroner
Country: United States-TX
Release date: 2 February 1985

Ask the prog metal obsessed and you’ll get a few different answers for the earliest band in our beloved genre. Queensrÿche debuted in 1984, but The Warning isn’t really progressive; King Crimson and Rush certainly had the progressive but only truly explored the metal beyond riffs here and there; The Spectre Within by Fates Warning is the obvious next choice, particularly as the band remains notably influential and active; Iron Maiden, Rainbow, and even Metallica had released proggy tracks by the mid 80s, though they clearly weren’t the progressive metal we know as its own thing; but depending on a not-well-documented release date discrepancy to beat out The Spectre Within by mere months, my champion is Watchtower, taking the mold of thrash metal light years beyond their peers to something that’s recognizably progressive metal. In February of 1985, these wizards changed the metal paradigm with their skill alone and birthed the genre that brings us all together (and tears us all apart, too).

Rampant time signature changes, driving bass, uniquely (at the time) technical riffs, and, of course, the blueprint-for-prog wailing mezzo-soprano; together with a thrash grit, we have the core of Energetic Disassembly, heaviness with an intricacy of playing lost since the heyday of progressive rock, even. This was a completely new dimension of metal: riffs like this were so far beyond any other band. Billy White and Doug Keyser on guitars and bass, respectively, pranced and shredded and bounced around their instruments like men possessed by the dancing plague of 1518, tirelessly racing through feverish, spidery riffs in several time signatures with seemingly endless range across the fretboard. Heck, even from a speed perspective hardly any other thrash up to then could  match the tempo of tracks like “Social Fears,” the almighty, riff-tacular title track, and “Meltdown”; grind was in its demo-phase infancy, and speed metal was pretty much just a name compared to the efforts of Watchtower. The riffs and acrobatics on every track, but particularly ones like on sections like near the start of “Asylum” and the hyper version of the classic heavy metal gallop on “Argonne Forest,” are as memorable as they are influential. Even when comparing their music to artists a decade and a half later like Spiral Architect who helped take the helm for purely technical prog metal, Watchtower hold their own—these boys from Austin, Texas were visionaries.

One must mention Jason McMaster’s iconic voice with his dramatic wails. While his style has only improved in the following decades (see: Howling Sycamore), his frenzied singing takes Watchtower’s energy from simply next-level to outright fanatical: just listen to that scream at the end of “Cimmerian Shadows.” Finally, Rick Colaluca’s work behind the kit is admirable, also pretty much unique for the time—you sure as hell didn’t hear Lars jumping around the kit like this. It simply had to be the fastest and most precise drum performance ever at that point in time. The level of intricacy while maintaining thrash grooves… Colaluca is underrated for his importance to developing progressive metal. All together, Watchtower were a well-oiled machine even on their debut with zero contemporaries. The next couple years would see the blooming of prog metal, but these guys broke the barrier.

I can only imagine what it would be like to walk into an Austin record store in early 1985, pick Energetic Disassembly up on cassette, and hear “Violent Change” come out of the speakers, distinctly thrash metal but so new: faster, more technical, and with a level of intelligent density not seen yet in metal’s fifteen-year history. It would be life-changing and truly mind-blowing—I’d probably have had to pick up pieces of my brain from across the street. Nearly forty years of prog metal releases later, and Energetic Disassembly does more than stand up or remain notable just for its early release: this is still great progressive thrash (although the production is rough even for this point of time), and the prog community should be shamed for allowing this one to be lost in time: rectify it.

Recommended tracks: Tyrants in Distress, Energetic Disassembly, Social Fears, Meltdown
You may also like: Toxik, Blotted Science, Deathrow, Spiral Architect, Howling Sycamore, Dissimulator

Related links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Zombo Records

Watchtower was:
– Jason McMaster (vocals)
– Billy White (guitars)
– Doug Keyser (bass)
– Rick Colaluca (drums)

The post Lost in Time: Watchtower – Energetic Disassembly appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Thrash metal, Progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Revocation, Decapitated, Gojira
Review by: Francesco
Country: Serbia
Release date: 10 May, 2023

Dobro jutro! Quasarborn‘s nigh-unpronouncable third full-length Novo Oružje Protiv Bola (am I saying that right?) is also their first entirely Serbian language release and, being a sucker for bands singing in their native tongues, I knew I had to review it. Truly, I haven’t been able to stop listening to it despite the fact that I well know I have other reviews to write- so engaging is this album that I am stocking up on slivovica and making a concerted effort to learn Serbian so I can be on the next flight out to see them play in Belgrade.

From the eponymous first track, they’re redlining already. Novo Oružje‘s riffing is complex, speedy, and melodic. With certain tech death sensibilities, a sprinkle of black metal stylings, some groove metal flavouring and sections that are decidedly more punk inspired, Quasarborn are experts at keeping the tracks distinct while maintaining a consistent sound. Vocalist and guitarist Luka Matković uses a shouty vocal that’s complemented by his clean singing prevalent in the refrains, and punctuated by the occasional harsh vocal phrase. Said choruses are by and large the most melodic parts of the album; even without speaking the language you can’t help but sing along to the crazy catchy hook in “Voz” or bang your head to the tongue-twisting “Ne možeš imati sve” (try saying that five times fast).

On songs like “U plamenu”, guitar players Dimitrije Čurutilo and Luka riff in short rapid-fire bursts while making rhythmic use of unorthodox sounds like pick scrapes, and the harmonic squeaking of half-muted strings- on “Od kolevke do roda”, they introduce black metal-inspired tremolo and drummer Marko Danilović premieres blast beats- the album instrumental “Ogledalo” is a gradually changing piece that begins with moody, chorusy clean guitars, giving it an almost shoegaze feel before evolving into a heavy reverberant piece with lots of dissonance and aggressive drumming before fading out again, and the album closer “Postor-vreme” starts with some of Milos Tomasović’s bass-driven heaviness before introducing interesting Balkan instrumentation towards the end.

Novo Oružje Protiv Bola is a solid thrash album that hits high peaks with its dichotomy of catchiness and ferocity. There’s nothing lacking on this release, but I do think Quasarborn might’ve played it a bit safe with their arrangements; the instrumental “Ogledalo” and the closer “Postor-vreme” being their most “experimental” tracks on the album; and as skilled as they are I have complete faith they can write with a bit more nuance. The album maintains a pretty break-neck pace overall, however, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to check out what’s thrashin’ over on the Balkan peninsula. It’s thrash metal with a distinctly European flair!

Recommended tracks: Voz, Ne možeš imati sve, Novo oružje protiv bola
You may also like: Anarchy, VENUS, Condemned AD
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives Page

Label: Independent

Quasarborn is:
– Luka Matković (vocals, guitar)
– Dimitrije Čurutilo (guitar)
– Milos Tomasović (bass)
– Marko Danilović (drums)

The post Review: Quasarborn – Novo Oružje Protiv Bola appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Technical/Progressive Thrash Metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Vektor, Coroner, Voivod, Megadeth
Review by: Andy
Country: United States-NY
Release date: 5 August, 2022

Progressive thrash metal is hard to review, and I don’t necessarily mean that actually scribing my thoughts is particularly difficult. No, basically two things happen: A new great tech thrash band immediately jumps over 20k listeners rendering it outside the scope of the blog, or Francesco scoops it up to review before the album is even on my radar. Toxik, too, at the time of Dis Morta’s release were over 20k monthly listeners and have only recently just barely dipped under the threshold, so not only do I get to review awesome tech thrash for the first time, I get to write about arguably my single favorite thrash metal album since Vektor’s untouchable Terminal Redux. 

Toxik are a classic name in old-school tech-y thrash, coming up alongside legendary acts like Watchtower, Coroner, and Mekong Delta, and the band came firing out of a thirty-year hiatus during the pandemic to relatively little fanfare. Thankfully, during that long pause from releasing new music, Toxik lost absolutely zero of their infectious, manic energy. Starting the second album in the comeback series, Dis Morta, with the title track, we’re treated to a cheesy sample into an insane riff where guitars overwhelm, simply shrieking with joy in sustained upper-register classic heavy metal glory. And then all hell breaks loose at just about a million beats per minute with Ron Iglesias’ stellar belting atop it all–the man can sing. With one of the most eccentric vocal performances I’ve heard since the Howling Sycamore debut, he brings an insanity to this album that the guitars seem to nearly struggle to keep up with; considering the guitars are genuinely some of the most technical I’ve ever heard in thrash, Iglesias’ commits quite the vocal feat. His piercing falsettos, crazed ramblings, and technical melodies are almost the star of the show, his timbre surprisingly reminiscent of Norwegian prog superstars Spiral Architect at points, too. 

Spiral Architect can also be heard in the riff-work, so technical as to boggle the mind, yet Toxik never once sacrifice catchiness and head-bangability. Dis Morta has more hooks than a tackle shop, and if every band could solo with as many noodles as tracks like “Feeding Frenzy,” the world wouldn’t need any more Italian restaurants. Take my favorite track on Dis Morta, for instance, “Chasing Mercury”: The guitars riff with a progressive, stop-on-a-dime cadence with endlessly entertaining bass licks providing counterpoint that verges on Archspire all while Iglesias screams, “LIKE CHASING MERCURRYYYYY.” Then, the song ratchets up the intensity and speed until we get a “DESTINYYYYY” shout, which turns into a solo; moreover, the solo section includes the classic Savatage “aah aah aah” vocal attack. Every second bites into the brain, and it’s the perfect pace to be in the conversation for greatest running song of all time. Nearly every track is similarly amazing at building riffs into more riffs with catchy chorus and mind-melting solos. Another track that stands out is “The Radical” with one of the most distinct spoken-word clips I’ve heard in an album ever. If the whole genre were as infectiously phenomenal as this song, I’d swear fealty to thrash like the old metal guard did in the 80s. 

Of course this is technical thrash metal, so we aren’t treated to many changes in tempo, but Toxik do have a couple tricks up their sleeve like on “Devil in the Mirror,” which begins with a clean, almost ballad approach not unlike Vektor’s “Collapse.” “Devil in the Mirror” evolves back into straight-edged thrash after the piano etude, but the dramatic, off-kilter lyrics–ranging from classic thrash metal themes like dissenting religious opinions to technology to rambunctious politics across the album–really keep the theatrical track intro intact. The production on this album is impeccable, making the most out of modern traits while still keeping the appeal of a more organic sound rather than the sterile sound of many modern bands. The drums in particular sound great, each blast beat and cymbal hit crystal clear. 
I really don’t have much left to say in way of concluding remarks except that if you like thrash in any capacity, you’ll love this. Toxik have achieved an all time genre classic in the conversation with the legends of all metal–this may well be the ‘20s Ride the Lightning or Rust in Peace. Controversial? Maybe, but I strongly believe it: If this album can gain more traction, a new generation of metal fans will convert to the church of thrash (instead of that -core those young-ins listen to nowadays). Go give this a spin on your next run or cardio day.

Recommended tracks: The Radical, Hyper Reality, Chasing Mercury
You may also like: Mekong Delta, Xoth, Watchtower
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Massacre Records – Website | Facebook

Toxik is:
– John Christian (guitars)
– Jim DeMaria (drums)
– Shane Boulos (bass)
– Ron Iglesias (vocals)
– Eric van Druten (rhythm guitars)

The post Missed Album Review: Toxik – Dis Morta appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Thrash metal, Progressive metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Voivod, Coroner, Vektor
Review by: Francesco
Country: USA
Release date: 20 October, 2022

Anarchÿ comes out swinging with their full-length debut Sentïence. There is little and less to find fault with in this release and Anarchÿ outdo themselves at every turn. With a blurring of genre boundaries and blending of musical influences, this album steps outside of the oft-rigid structures of thrash and metal, and coupled with lyrical themes touching upon the human experience and other enigmatic subjects, the whole package becomes an engrossing and mystical listen. 

One thing this album does really well is playing with its song lengths. The majority of Sentïence is contained in songs that vary in duration from the Napalm Death inspired, seconds-long “Ë”, to the more conventional 7-minute length of “The Greatest Curse” – and on the album, you’ll find various elements that include a quasi-baroque synthesized string piece, hand percussion, and a couple of short, instrumental shred tracks. But it is the 32-minute odyssey “The Spectrum of Human Emotion” that becomes the album’s highlight, comprising enough movements to make your head spin. The half-hour composition, a rock opera interpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is chock-full of twisting thrash metal riffs that accompany the song’s unconventional structure as it detours effortlessly into off-genre adventures, evolving into soft, finger-picked acoustic guitar passages; dissonant jazz chord resolutions; a cappella harsh vocal phrases; and even a cleanly sung denouement perhaps evocative of Bowie.

If there’s a downside to a release that incorporates this many moving parts, it’s only that it may not leave much room for expansion and elaboration. Clocking in at the nearly 1-hour mark, more than half the album plays out in their one epic, the aforementioned “The Spectrum”. What experimentation is present in that track is largely absent from the rest of the album outside of a snippet here and there, as in the classical piano outro of “The Greatest Curse”, or the brief rasgueado intro to “Waylaid”, but the rest of the track listing manages well to retain its progressive metal fashion with less genre-bending whimsy, opting instead for complex riffing and composition.

Anarchÿ shift frequently on this release from the more irregular and avant-garde to the straight-forward fast-tempo shred with as much influence from Megadeth as Vektor. Intense, exciting, and eccentric, Sentïence packs about as much into a thrash album as humanly possible. This is a must for any fan of technical, progressive thrash metal.

Recommended tracks: The Spectrum of Human Emotion, D.E.S.T.R.O.Y., The Greatest Curse
You may also like: Toxik, VENUS, Vorbid
Final verdict: 10/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Independent

Anarchÿ is:
– Fionn McAuliffe (vocals)
– Reese Tiller (guitars. bass, keyboards)

The post Review: Anarchÿ – Sentïence appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Thrash metal, Progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Vektor, Voivod, Coroner, Cryptosis
Review by: Francesco
Country: Greece
Release date: 29 July, 2022

Look up from the basin of Athens and you can see the rise of VENUS, a new name in the Greek metal scene, releasing their debut EP Project Lamda. It is an impressive first offering by this double-guitarist outfit that presents a variety of styles, changing moods, and a commitment to a riff-heavy performance that does well to speak of their influences. With a sound leaning towards the technical thrash metal spectrum, VENUS writes pieces that are sharp, aggressive, and complex, though still retaining melody and coherency. The four-track EP, clocking in at just under a half hour, is full of interesting movements and intricate guitar and rhythm work. While the arrangements never shy away from complexity, the ferocity of the thrash metal style usually takes precedence, and at times their sound is even coloured with melodic moments reminiscent of an aggressive, progressive power metal.

The guitar work is technical and full of catchy riffing, the vocals are mixed, with each style provided by one half of the duo – a clean vocal that borders on power metal and a harsh vocal that becomes a dominant force. The clean vocals in particular are a bit unpolished and could use work; within the songs they are an element that definitely works for some of the somber or desperate moods they are trying to express, and although the area of clean vocals within this style is kind of niche, the approach of singer Antonis lacks dynamic and mostly stays within a narrow range. The harsh vocals of Giorgos are visceral and reminiscent of Vektor‘s, a band that VENUS clearly draws inspiration from, and in this release are the more fitting of the two styles. The drums are programmed on this album and done suitably well. I reckon there is some familiarity with writing for drums between the two of them because they’re well done, suiting the style and also creating interesting moments.

Overall, Project Lamda is very consistent; the compositions are laid out in a way where they waste no time catching your interest, particularly the songs “Helios Abandoned” and “Multilingual Monstrosities,” which are heavy, upbeat and intricate thrash pieces that are your best headbangers on this release and well-supplied with catchy riffs and pounding percussion. I draw special attention to the outro of “Multilingual Monstrosities” which is sure to leave you humming and air drumming. The other two tracks, “Art of Illusions,” and the self-titled “Project Lamda,” are a little more experimental and progressive. The former transitions midway into a melancholic clean guitar with heavy delay and blowing wind sound effects before introducing another movement, and the latter’s extended intro features a dark and moody clean guitar passage, with harsh vocal narration and cleanly sung verses echoing the esoteric sci-fi themes of this album. And at nine minutes and change, “Project Lamda” is definitely the centerpiece of this release, really coming into its own at the three-minute mark when the thrash instrumentals kick in, replete with blast beats and murderous abuse of the ride cymbal.

Ultimately, it could be that with the thrash resurgence of late VENUS stand to make a name for themselves if they manage to solidify a full line-up. Maybe a dedicated singer would help as well, if clean vocals are to be a staple of their style (which seems to be the case.) Project Lamda is aggressive, progressive, definitely melodic, and delicately mixes together elements of thrash and progressive metal to create a high-adrenaline cocktail of high-speed technical metal with cosmic themes. I think these guys show promise for the future and I’m looking forward to a full release with a bit more polish. 

Recommended tracks: Helios Abandoned, Multilingual Monstrosities
You may also like: Paranorm, Distillator
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Independent

VENUS is:
– Giorgos Verginis (guitars, harsh vocals)
– Antonis Avtzis (guitars, clean vocals)

The post Review: VENUS – Project Lamda appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Experimental Metal, Post-Hardcore, Technical Metal (Mixed vocals)
Review by: Christopher
Country: US-IL
Release date: 18 March, 2022

When you think about it, flamingos are really bizarre birds: a species famed for standing on one leg, building little mud-pile nests in shallow water, and using their oddly bent beaks to sift upside-down for small crustaceans in the water, the pigments within giving them their striking pink plumage. They’re like an experiment-gone-wrong that sort of worked out anyway. And on that note, it’s time to review Without Waves’ new album Comedian!

Illinois experimenters Without Waves have carved out a curious niche for themselves. They sound like a band whose first forays into heavy music were more on the post-hardcore, metalcore and alt-metal side of things—think The Safety Fire, 36 Crazyfists, and Deftones—before finding bands like Car Bomb and The Dillinger Escape Plan who blew their minds. As a result, Comedian has a clear post-hardcore sensibility, but the actual composition is in the extreme/experimental camp: tempestuous dissonance, time signatures to confuse maths PhDs, eight-handed drumming, and whiplash inducing changes in tempo and style.

This makes for an appealing range; at their most frenetic you get songs like “Good Grief” with its manic vocal performance and schizophrenic riff changes, or the dissonant harmonic-laden noise of “Animal Kingdom”; while at the more accessible end you find the Deftones inspired languor of “Sleep Deep” which feels like you’re helplessly nodding off into a waiting nightmare, or the post-hardcore anthem “Sleight in Shadows” which is sure to satisfy fans of The Safety Fire. At the same time, “.algorithm” and others seem to incorporate a nu-metal influence that sits a little uncomfortably but is nevertheless yet another feather in the band’s plumage-laden cap. Suffice to say, Without Waves are a welcome change from experimental and extreme metal outfits that lean too heavily on the Meshuggah or The Dillinger Escape Plan influence.

However, there is a “but”, and it’s a pretty important one. The multiplicity of styles simply doesn’t blend, or, it does but only occasionally. The overall album feels like it was written by three different personalities: the post-hardcore one, the extreme metal one, and the experimental one that blends the two. Every member is clearly superbly talented and there are some compositional through lines, but even individual songs can feel as though they lack cohesion. Perhaps that’s a silly criticism to level at an experimental band, but experiments don’t always go according to plan and this one hasn’t had as thorough a stirring as it needs.

It’s the third personality, the one that successfully blends the two styles, that excels. As a result, Comedian has a clear trajectory: beginning on the extreme end of their style, blending the two styles in the middle, and giving way to creative post-hardcore in the final third. That middle third, from “Set & Setting” through to “Sleight in Shadows” comprises much of the best work on this album. Many prog groups could benefit from expanding their focus; these guys might do best to narrow theirs. There’s a lot of potential here, a truly exciting amount, but the focus is somewhat scattershot; by the end you’re listening to a rather different album from the one you started with. That could well be by design, but I’m not convinced it is.                              

Stylish, talented, unique, and undeniably great fun to listen to, Without Waves are superlative musicians and Comedian is an engaging and accomplished listen, replete with all the accoutrements of extreme metal and post-hardcore. But, like the majestic flamingos that adorn the album’s cover, this collection of disparate features adds up to a distractingly inconsistent beast whose various facets ultimately end up somewhat at odds with one another. A flamingo is perfectly adapted to its strange lifestyle and so are Without Waves, but they’re both just a bit too weird and jumbled to be accepted as is. Unfortunately, flamingos are stuck like that until a few million years of selection pressures transform them. Without Waves, on the other hand, could adapt and go far. 

Recommended tracks: Good Grief, Sleight in Shadows, Set & Setting
Recommended for fans of: Car Bomb, The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Safety Fire
You may also like: The Offering, Pathogenic, Pangaea, NORD, Torrential Downpour
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Prosthetic Records – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook

Without Waves is:
– Anthony Cwan (vocals, guitar)
– Zac Lombardi (guitar)
– John Picillo (bass and vocals)
– Garry Naples (drums)

The post Review: Without Waves – Comedian appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: traditional/technical progressive metal (clean vocals)
Review by: Sam
Country: Norway
Release date: 11 June, 2021

Some styles of progressive metal are rarer than others. This is one of those styles that died off as the genre evolved beyond its initial stages. In the early days (around 1990) there were a good amount of bands playing a drier, guitar-driven brand of progressive metal that was strongly influenced by the tech metal movement at the time. Fates Warning pioneered this style with Perfect Symmetry, and a good amount of bands followed suite (Psychotic Waltz most notably). Albeit later than most in the movement, one of them was Spiral Architect. They took the technical aspects to extreme levels, to the point of often being criticized for sounding like robots. Back to the present, Terra Odium has two SA members on board and looks to continue that earlier style but in a modern setting. Oh, and they have Steve DiGiorgio (of Death and Testament fame) on bass, which is nice.

The tech metal influences are noticeable immediately as the record opens with a whirling odd-time riff after a brief orchestral intro. It’s a banger song to open up the album with and it sets the tone of what is to come. The modern sheen is a huge improvement over 90s production, adding some much needed beef to well… just about everything that it’d be folly to point to individual elements. The song reminds me of “…And the Devil Cried” on Psychotic Waltz’ debut in how it takes no prisoners and instantaneously transforms your facial expression into one of pure stank. And speaking of PW, if you told me Buddy Lackey did the vocals on this album, I would have believed you, because the first few verses on the song sound exactly like something he’d have done. Øyvind Hægeland sounds eerily much like him with a similarly nasal tone. Later in the song he distinguishes himself more though as he starts putting in the high notes. It’s a fantastic vocal performance. He’s got a very commanding presence. The song goes through a bunch of different sections and riffs, largely eschewing the typical verse-chorus structure. And on top there’s a neat layer of orchestration giving some extra dramatic oomph.

The next song “The Road Not Taken” leans even further into the dramatic orchestration than the opener, sounding almost like there’s a symphony backing the band. The guitar work is stellar throughout the song, giving some delicious chunky riffs and melodic solos. I barely noticed it at first, but almost half the song is instrumental. Its structure is quite intricate, yet retains enough simplicity for easy absorption. I didn’t enjoy some of the verse much though as Øyvind’s delivery felt a bit off, making him fall behind on the instrumentation. Sometimes his singing sounds like he’s talking. And more generally, there were more spots on the album where his vocals felt off. When it’s about power and aggression he does really well, but he struggles with the softer, more emotional parts. Not that music like this needs to pull on your heartstrings all the time, but a bit more variety would have come a long way.

I find this also rings true for the instrumentation. As heavy and technical as bands like Fates Warning and Psychotic Waltz could get for the time, they always made sure to include a couple of softer, more touching songs. This album on the other hand tends to just go through various shades of riff and dramatic orchestration for almost its entire duration, which gets somewhat tiring near the end, which is unfortunate because “The Thorn” is a very well-constructed epic in itself. Luckily right after the acoustic “It Was Not Death” does give a bit of a reprieve from the metal onslaught. It reminds me a ton of post-reunion Manilla Road’s acoustic tracks. In fact, I would not be surprised if it was meant to be a homage to Mark Shelton (RIP) because it’s that close. The atmosphere, the style of acoustic picking, the nasal vocals all sound heavily like MR. It was only the epic orchestral explosion near the end that I was reminded that this was not, in fact, Manilla Road. It’s a cool song for sure, though I don’t think it’s quite as pretty as MR could pull off. The final track “The Clouded Morning” returns to the metal onslaught again, but now with extra guitar solos, making for a more melodic track than most. However around the four minute mark they settle into this groovy midtempo riff, which they ride out for three whole minutes till the song ends in a fadeout. I can see the appeal of it for some people, but I am not one of those people (“groove” has never appealed to me much), so it was a bit of a bummer.

On the whole though, I’m positive about Ne Plus Ultra. The main draw of this album, namely riffs and technical, yet tight songwriting is delivered in spades. These are all very fine, dynamic metal tunes. For those who could never get into 90s progressive metal due to production issues, this is a great starting point. And for those who miss representation in that style in the modern scene (like me), this is also an excellent record to keep around. I’m not sure how much music this band is intent on making since it seems to be somewhat of a supergroup, but I certainly look forward to hearing more from them in the future.

Recommended tracks: Crawling, The Thorn, It Was Not Death
Recommended for fans of: (early) Psychotic Waltz, Spiral Architect, Fates Warning, Watchtower
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Metal-Archives page

Label: Frontiers Records – Website | Facebook

Terra Odium is:
– Øyvind Hægeland (vocals, lead guitars)
– Bollie Fredriksen (lead/rhythm guitars)
– Steve DiGiorgio (bass)
– Asgeir Mickelson (drums)
– Jon Phipps (keyboard, orchestration)

The post Review: Terra Odium – Ne Plus Ultra appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Technical Thrash Metal (Harsh vocals)
Review by: Andrew
Country: Chile
Release date: January 29th, 2021

It’s fast.

That’s usually how I feel about thrash metal. 

With the notable exception of Vektor’s magnum opus Terminal Redux, there really isn’t much in the way of thrash metal, progressive or otherwise, that I find particularly interesting. Fast riffs, shrieky vocals, & blistering chromatic solos, i.e. all the things typically present in any archetypal thrash metal album, just don’t do it for me in that combination. That’s how it usually goes.

Enter Demoniac, Chilean thrashers who, while unfortunately sharing a name with now-defunct prior band of the two DragonForce guitarists, have carved their own unique identity in the metal sphere. Let me start by saying Demoniac without a doubt plays thrash metal. So It Goes includes every single aspect of thrash listed above. But what sets So It Goes apart from most other music of the style is how Demoniac incorporates these tropes. Beyond that, Demoniac also shakes things up by twisting in some outside influences which in themselves add an entirely new dimension to their sound. These two factors combine to make So It Goes not only engaging and interesting, but also fresh throughout.

Coming in at just about 40 minutes on the dot, So It Goes absolutely does not overstay its welcome. It begins with a roar with the track “RSV – Fools Coincidence – Testigo”: seven minutes of metally goodness. The guitar here is quintessentially thrash while simultaneously incorporating other sounds to remain varied and engaging. Singer Javier Ortiz comes in with vocals reminiscent of Tom Araya in his heyday but with better enunciation. The first track does not relent, ending with a flashy solo over a frenetic, pulsating rhythm guaranteed to make you bang your head. 

From the moment 2nd track “The Trap” began, I knew this album was special among its peers of its genre. A piano line comes in constantly rising and falling, establishing a ridiculous amount of tension. The piano quickly gives way to the thrash sound seen in the first track, segueing effortlessly from verse to chorus to solo much in the way the first track did. For someone who doesn’t typically enjoy thrash metal all too much, So It Goes was off to a really good start.

Then comes in “Extraviado.” Is that… clarinet???? Demoniac take the uniqueness one step beyond normal by incorporating clarinet — and it works fucking wonderfully. “Extraviado” is merely a glimpse at what Demoniac are able to accomplish with the clarinet; it comes in again in an immensely satisfying way in nearly-20 minute title track “So It Goes.” By the way, I like this trend of bands having one song be half an album’s runtime. It’s bold, but pays off enormously when it works. For So It Goes, it absolutely works. The title track manages to bring together every independent thread from the former four songs and weave them into a magnificent tapestry of technical proggy thrash goodness. Riffs out the wazoo, ripping solos, a bit of lead bass(!), and more of the clarinet I’ve come to love so much. These all come together to truly create a masterpiece of a track. If there’s anything about “So It Goes” I’d change, it would simply be more clarinet — it’s such an underutilized instrument in metal in general and I would love to see more of it.

Demoniac not only avoid the sophomore slump, but they beat it over the head with a crowbar until it begs for mercy. As relative newcomers to the scene, they’ve managed to carve themselves a spot among the great technical thrash bands and I cannot wait to see where Demoniac take their sound next. 

Note: So It Goes initially released on CD in 2020 but came out on streaming services in 2021 so for the purposes of this blog, we are considering it a 2021 release.

Recommended tracks: RSV – Fools Coincidence – Testigo, Extraviado, So It Goes
Recommended for fans of: Vektor, Kreator, Cryptic Shift
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Edged Circle Productions – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook

Demoniac is:
– Javier Ortiz (vocals, guitars)
– Nicolas Young (guitars)
– Rodrigo Poblete (drums)
– Vicente Pereira (bass)

The post Review: Demoniac – So It Goes appeared first on The Progressive Subway.