The penultimate progressive technical thrash band, Watchtower ushered in a new era of extreme metal with the masterpiece that is their debut album, Energetic Disassembly. Featuring an array of chaotic time changes, aggressive vocals, and possibly the most accomplished rhythm section in metal, this was one of the highlights of metal in the 80s the band had changed three years later when the followup, Control And Resistance, was released, but the quality did not diminish, though the overall atmosphere was a bit more reined in compared to the wildness of the debut. There aren't enough adjectives to truly describe how powerful and influential this band was -- they are truly pioneers in the realm of progressive /technical metal.

Since the release of Control the band has been on hold while the various members pursued other projects, amongst them Ron Jarzombek's solo project Spastic Ink and Doug and Rick's venture called Retarted Elf. At various times work had been in progress on a third album, entitled Mathematics, but the chances of a new release appeared slim until the summer of 2000, when the band (McMaster, Jarzombek, Keyser, and Colaluca) reunited to play a few festivals in Germany and some local gigs. The band is still alive, playing the occasional gig/festival, and a November 2004 report stated that actual recording for Mathematics had begun, so perhaps the album may yet be completed.

Also see

• Heavy metal music
• Progressive metal
• Thrash metal