Whoa! The Watchtower -- SA sound-alikes from 1982...
- Thread starter aPinecone
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progmetaldan
Member
This is an excellent thread! I pretty much agree exactly with everything Tom C said...
I also agree that people have gone a bit soft in their definition of Prog-metal. I think:
Prog-metal: Dream Theater, Symphony X, Zero Hour etc.
Tech-metal: Spiral Architect, Watchtower, Spastic Ink etc.
Tech-Death: Atheist, Cynic maybe
It's a shame many power-metal bands get lumped in with Prog now...
Anyway, thought I'd add my two cents worth
I also agree that people have gone a bit soft in their definition of Prog-metal. I think:
Prog-metal: Dream Theater, Symphony X, Zero Hour etc.
Tech-metal: Spiral Architect, Watchtower, Spastic Ink etc.
Tech-Death: Atheist, Cynic maybe
It's a shame many power-metal bands get lumped in with Prog now...
Anyway, thought I'd add my two cents worth
progmetaldan
Member
...And back to the original question... I'd be almost certain they were
In fact I'm sure it says on their website they were influenced by them (I think???), and in the liner notes of 'A Sceptic's Universe' they thank Ron Jarzombek, who was the guitarist of Watchtower and the main creative force in that band...
Watchtower and Spiral Architect 
nicosanchez
Crazy Tech Prog Member
Actually, I think Billy White was the "main creative force" of WT, at least in the first album. When Ron got into WT, some of the songs of the second cd were already composed. Of course, he had a lot of influence in that cd, but not the "mcf".
progmetaldan
Member
Oh. The songs in Control And Resistance definately have that signature Ron Jarzombek sound imo... Either way, C&R is an awesome album!!! And I'm sure Ron was an influence on SA in one way or another, either in songwriting or at least playing...
vessal1
vessal1
well alot of this topic really deals with chemistry between like-minded musicians. any "decent" player can get guys together and say 'lets be prog' but to have the talent to feed off anothers idea within a circle of musicians in a sort of free form jazz metal feel proves to be the key in really pulling off something amazing musically. for instance I read in another thread that Asgeir doesnt really write his parts- he just hits 'record' and GOES that in itself shows that SA has the chemistry to reveal themselves much better than their influences. ANd to lump certain sounding bands into classifications is our human nature trying to define something quite possibly we cant.
progmetaldan
Member
^ Very true. That's pretty impressive how Asgeir records his parts then... And I also read that Steinar doesn't listen to what he's playing while he's recording it! It think it was NK who said that, but that's pretty cool as well... Obviously how ever they do it works, because the end result was stunning!
vessal1
vessal1
noble savage
Member
That is usually how it works, at least that is how I am hoping it does. Planet X is a great example. Album after album gets better and more complex.
hibernal_dream
A Mind Forever Voyaging
Spiral Architect is what I wanted Watchtower to sound like when I first heard them (Watchtower). I always tuned out when they went on all the guitar detours.
vessal1
vessal1
for me, it was the VOCALS -watchtowers vocals always made me cringe and
I am a fan of melodic voicings more than death growl. Spiral has the vocals I always wanted watchtower to have. Imagine if John Arch had taken that gig when they offered. but regardless Oyvinds vox are icing on one delicious cake.
Im very much excited for the SCARIOT release!
I am a fan of melodic voicings more than death growl. Spiral has the vocals I always wanted watchtower to have. Imagine if John Arch had taken that gig when they offered. but regardless Oyvinds vox are icing on one delicious cake.
Im very much excited for the SCARIOT release!
progmetaldan
Member
Absolutely! Can't wait to get the new one (For both Spiral Architect and Planet X)!
I actually kinda enjoy guitar detours...
I love Oyvind's vocals, I also enjoy them heaps more then Watchtower's vocals...
RedinTheSky
Member
Its true that Ron's playing stands out on the Control and Resistance disc, and it'd be hard for you to find a bigger RJ fan than me, but the other members of WT definitely deserve a lot of credit for what they did. Ron himself admitted that WT was crazy chaotic while Spastic is more of a planned chaos. Which is just saying that Ron put his style in the chaos of WT rather then directed its flow himself.
Too bad it's impossible to find anything with the other members of WT anymore.
progmetaldan
Member
I reckon! If only they'd gone ahead with that planned reunion and album release...
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