In a new interview with 69 Faces of Rock’s Mark Kadzielawa, Watchtower singer Jason McMaster opened up about what fans of the legendary Texas progressive metal band can expect in 2024. The band’s lineup now includes McMaster alongside bassist Doug Keyser, guitarist Ron Jarzombek, and drummer Ric Colaluca. And together, they’re working on a mix of fresh releases that nod to their legacy.
"Behind the scenes, we have been working on a four-song video presentation that was filmed at Keep It True Rising festival last year, a year ago," McMaster said. "And we hope to release those four songs as a 12-inch EP, like the old-school days where you had Iron Maiden’s Live at the Marquee, two or three songs on either side, still a 33 RPM kind of thing or a 45 sometimes, but a 12-inch. I wanna do that as a 12-inch live Watchtower four-song EP with a piggyback DVD."
For long-time followers, another milestone approaches: Energetic Disassembly, Watchtower’s seminal debut, turns 40 next year. McMaster explained, "The 40th-year-anniversary of Energetic Disassembly is coming soon. It's next year, the 40th-year anniversary. So, we have been working on that. And we've been remixing. We have the original tapes, which a lot of bands can't say that. 40 years later, we have the original tapes. And we were able to digitize those a few years back, and a friend of mine has remixed the whole record."
McMaster revealed even more surprises from the archives. "The original recordings of 'The Eldritch' and 'Instruments Of Random Murder' [from Watchtower's second album, 1989's Control And Resistance], with my vocals, the original versions of those were also recorded at Cedar Creek studio, where the bulk of Energetic Disassembly was also recorded, in the same cutting floor, the same microphones, the same studio, and those were on the Energetic master tapes, and we didn't even know that until we opened up those sessions. It was two sessions on one reel. So we've remixed and mastered all of that, and I will say this: there's a couple of Easter eggs, there's a couple of bonus things, like the intro to 'Argonne Forest' is completely different and it was chopped from the record to make space for other songs on the vinyl. So that's gonna be available now, as well as a couple of things that I'll keep under my hat. There's two little things that were recorded in the Energetic Disassembly sessions that were not on the record when it came out. So we're excited about that."
While some labels insist on preserving the original recordings, packaging, and sound for reissues, the band is hopeful for a remix release that captures the updated mix.
As McMaster explained, "We don't know exactly what label will take that because a lot of labels just like to go, 'No, we want the original recordings. We want the original packaging. We just want it to look and sound' — 'cause it's a reissue, celebratory kind of a thing, they wanted to be legitimately, you know, the purists. And I get that. I'm one of them. I come from that. But it's really hard for all of us in the band, in the Watchtower camp, and it's a small camp, to listen to the original mixes of Energetic Disassembly because there's so much reverb and so much high end, and it's just really hard for us to listen to. So to be able to go in and calm down those mixes a little bit… The EQ on it alone, the guitar tracks alone were just fairly noisy, and to be able to go in and take a lot of the effects off and actually hear every note cleaned up is exciting."
As for live shows, the band has only one scheduled for January, while they continue to work on both the live EP and the Energetic Disassembly reissue. It’s a thrilling time for those Watchtower fans who have waited this long for the band to resurface.
