Watchmaker; another band I had only heard whispers of but never actually heard. Thanks to Willowtip and Earache, now I can. Watchmaker play an remarkably violent and aggressive mix of crust, punk, hardcore, grind and death. Think of the punk and metal tendencies of Converge mixed with the intensity of Napalm Death and the crustiness and misanthropic rage of Dystopia.The riffs are very crust, thrash and punk orientated. They are all designed to be as abrasive, noisy, fast and aggressive as possible. There is nothing overly technical about them; they just scream sheer aggression through abrasiveness. That isn't to say there are some killer riffs in there, because there most certainly f**ken are! Like Converge, many riffs are original and unique, and mostly f**ked up beyond belief.
The drums vary from frenetic punk beats, to segments of pummeling double bass more akin to death metal, to very short bursts of blasting like a more metal, up-tempo Converge. The vocals are literally nothing more than layer upon layer of screams, shrieks and yells. There is very rarely a single audible word or syllable. The song structures are just as f**ken crazy, random and frenetic, and the riffs, those are always thrashing out in all directions in a spastic fit of rage.
The production is massively crusty, and while some reviewers have whined about it being 'too muddy' I'll have to disagree. I found the riff stills definable beneath the waves of screams, double bass and blasting. The guitar tone is also one of the most aggressive I've heard; very thrashy, sharp and noisy. This isn't crustiness for the sake of it; every aspect of this album emphasizes rage and aggression.
The overall effect is something like the flaming exorcism of a soul filled with pure hatred, anger and pain in musical form and the song names reflect this; Nuked to Ashes, Oncrushing Advance, Lice Crawling Humanity. The guitar is like a razor sharp buzz-saw amongst a crust ridden hail of brimstone and caustic flame. This is pure f**king aggression and while it certainly won't appeal to you pseudo-hardcore types (like you, yeah you, in the f**king Bury Your Dead Shirt) it will appeal to fans of grindcore and hardcore filled with apocalyptic rage and venom.
Do not expect to throw this CD on and enjoy all the fine social commentary and political views. Expect a raw, excruciating, and absolute mauling of your eardrums. I must warn you, if you are pissed off and walking around with this album playing in your ears, it'll make you want go home, grab your axe and just recklessly plough straight into the nearest crowd of people swinging like a f**king madman, then jump onto one of the screaming victims and rip a big chunk of his bleeding raw flesh out with your teeth all while screaming until your lungs form acidic blisters with your eyes wide and blood shot. Well, I know I got that urge anyway.
Great album guys, I'll definitely check out more of their releases if I'm not incarcerated. You know how some people commit violent crimes then go on and place the blame on Metallica and Marilyn Manson and Satan and all that bulls***? I seriously believe if you just played this to the courtroom, they would understand your violent blood lust and acquit you. Just putting it out there for all you seppos.
Genre: Powerviolence