CoC : Watchmaker - Crush.Kill.Destory : Review

Watchmaker - _Crush.Kill.Destory_
(Dream Catcher, 2002)
by: Xander Hoose (9 out of 10)

I can't even begin to tell you how often biographies are made by people who have no idea what music is all about. Case in point: Watchmaker. According to the biography, I am listening to something Kreator/Voivod-related right now. Oh? Really? Could somebody point out the reasons for that to me? It's almost like saying Slayer sounds like Britney Spears. Well okay, that comparison is a bit extreme, but I'm sure you catch my drift. So what is it then? Watchmaker is a thrilling voyage through the world of grindcore, thrash and hardcore with experimental bits here and there. If you want a comparison, I'll stick to Brutal Truth meets Agathocles meets Botch, or something mildly fucked up like that. Eleven songs on this album, without as much as a momentary drop of the intensity level as Watchmaker rampages through them, occasionally relenting on the accelerator ("Salt Fertile Earth") only to shift a couple of gears higher on a song like "Arise in Might". The razor-sharp riffs will tear you apart and shred your brains to a bloody pulp, while your body pounds and spasms involuntarily to the beating of the drums. If you're able to decipher the frantic vocal style of Brian Livoti, then you might figure out most songs approach the "destruction-rebirth" theme from different angles and different perspectives -- but lyrics are definitely not Watchmaker's key selling point: if there is one album this year that just downright provokes extreme physical aggression, then it must be _C.K.D_, with Converge's latest coming in as a close second.

(article published 31/3/2003)