WATCHTOWER To Release 40th-Anniversary Reissue Of Debut Album & Live EP

In a brand new interview with 69 Faces of Rock’s Mark Kadzielawa, Watchtower singer Jason McMaster opened up about what followers of the legendary Texas progressive metallic band can anticipate in 2024. The band’s lineup now contains McMaster alongside bassist Doug Keyser, guitarist Ron Jarzombek, and drummer Ric Colaluca. And collectively, they’re engaged on a mixture of recent releases that nod to their legacy.

“Behind the scenes, we now have been engaged on a four-song video presentation that was filmed at Hold It True Rising competition final yr, a yr in the past,” McMaster stated. “And we hope to launch these 4 songs as a 12-inch EP, just like the old-school days the place you had Iron Maiden’s Dwell on the Marquee, two or three songs on both facet, nonetheless a 33 RPM sort of factor or a forty five typically, however a 12-inch. I wanna do this as a 12-inch stay Watchtower four-song EP with a piggyback DVD.”

For long-time followers, one other milestone approaches: Energetic Disassembly, Watchtower’s seminal debut, turns 40 subsequent yr. McMaster defined, “The Fortieth-year-anniversary of Energetic Disassembly is coming quickly. It is subsequent yr, the Fortieth-year anniversary. So, we now have been engaged on that. And we have been remixing. We’ve got the unique tapes, which a number of bands cannot say that. 40 years later, we now have the unique tapes. And we have been in a position to digitize these just a few years again, and a pal of mine has remixed the entire document.”

McMaster revealed much more surprises from the archives. “The unique recordings of ‘The Eldritch’ and ‘Devices Of Random Homicide’ [from Watchtower‘s second album, 1989’s Control And Resistance], with my vocals, the unique variations of these have been additionally recorded at Cedar Creek studio, the place the majority of Energetic Disassembly was additionally recorded, in the identical slicing ground, the identical microphones, the identical studio, and people have been on the Energetic grasp tapes, and we did not even know that till we opened up these classes. It was two classes on one reel. So we have remixed and mastered all of that, and I’ll say this: there’s a few Easter eggs, there’s a few bonus issues, just like the intro to ‘Argonne Forest’ is totally completely different and it was chopped from the document to create space for different songs on the vinyl. In order that’s gonna be accessible now, in addition to a few issues that I will preserve underneath my hat. There’s two little issues that have been recorded within the Energetic Disassembly classes that weren’t on the document when it got here out. So we’re enthusiastic about that.”

Whereas some labels insist on preserving the unique recordings, packaging, and sound for reissues, the band is looking forward to a remix launch that captures the up to date combine.

As McMaster defined, “We do not know precisely what label will take that as a result of a number of labels identical to to go, ‘No, we wish the unique recordings. We would like the unique packaging. We simply need it to look and sound’ — ‘trigger it is a reissue, celebratory sort of a factor, they wished to be legitimately, , the purists. And I get that. I am certainly one of them. I come from that. But it surely’s actually onerous for all of us within the band, within the Watchtower camp, and it is a small camp, to hearken to the unique mixes of Energetic Disassembly as a result of there’s a lot reverb and a lot excessive finish, and it is simply actually onerous for us to hearken to. So to have the ability to go in and settle down these mixes somewhat bit… The EQ on it alone, the guitar tracks alone have been simply pretty noisy, and to have the ability to go in and take a number of the results off and really hear each word cleaned up is thrilling.”

As for stay exhibits, the band has just one scheduled for January, whereas they proceed to work on each the stay EP and the Energetic Disassembly reissue. It’s an exciting time for these Watchtower followers who’ve waited this lengthy for the band to resurface.