08 April 2018

The Watchers - Black Abyss

Band: The Watchers
Title: Black Abyss
Label: Ripple Music
Release Date: 9 March 2018
Country: USA
Format reviewed: Vinyl

Following the praised 2016 debut EP, aptly titled “Sabbath Highway”, the San Francisco eclectic stoners The Watchers, formed of seasoned Bay Area underground scene veterans, bring  us  their  full-length,  dynamic  debut  album:  “Black  Abyss”.  Properly  released  on 9 March 2018, by Ripple Music - the album offers an amalgam of psych tainted doom, with  an  unmistakable  stoner  edge,  displaying  an  impressive  collection  of  heavy  riffs, soaring  vocals  and  a  spirited  rhythm  section.  The  band,  essentially  a  super  group, features: Tim Narducci on vocals (SpiralArms, WhiteWitch Canyon), bassist Cornbread (Vicious Rumors), Carter Kennedy on drums (Orchid) and guitarist Jeremy Von Epp (The Venting Machine, BlackGates) - the team’s vast musical experience clearly revealing it’s strengths.  Starting  with  the  prolific  song-writing  style  of  Narducci/Epp,  the  lyrically diverse and musically relevant set of songs on this release, is easily capturing the listener and driving new expectation to emerge from one track to the next! From the heavy doom leaden title track (Black Abyss), to the fluid psych and witty lyrics of “Alien Lust”, to the liberal  use  of  guitar  effects  on  “Oklahoma  Black  Magic”,  the  guitar  occupying  a  good portion of the audio spectrum and the vivid rhythm section of the radio-ready “Buzzard”, to  the  hard-rock  of  “Starfire”,  transitioning  into  the  elevated  tempo  of  “People  Of  The Gun”, followed by the beautifully accented intro into “Suffer Fool” with it’s bluesy hooks and solos, softly bridged by the acoustic outro into the abrasiveness of “Seven Tenets” and it’s epic guitar solo - the album‘s closer. This is a serious release that easily grabs listener’s  attention  along  for  the  journey.  From  a  technical  point:  the  quality  of  the material is matched perfectly by the flawless production provided by the knobs wizard, Max  Norman, responsible for producing an acclaimed  array of heavy metal albums for Ozzy, Megadeth, Savatage, Lynch Mob, among many, many others. Highly recommended for all music fans. 8.5 /10 UHF


Label


8.5/10 To Greatness and Glory!