Watchman: Doom of Babylon

Watchman is a one-man project, that man being Roy Waterford, someone who appears to have dabbled in the hip-hop, jam band and reggae genres in the last few years before turning to doom metal. Such a CV could lead to expectations of some jack-of-all-trades band-wagon jumping, but metal seems to be Waterford’s first love and it comes across in the eight tracks assembled here. In the promotional material influences such as Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard and Sleep are cited and it is true that echoes of these bands permeate the grooves here. Opener "Behold A Pale Horse" gives the listener a good idea of what to expect: A slow, hypnotic riff repeated over and over, topped by some alternately twisting and scything lead guitar work, with Waterford’s tortured voice sitting slightly apart from the music. The tempos do change from track to track but the formula is largely set; the two songs which deviate the most are "Wormwood", which has a lighter, less oppressive feel and some psychedelic and trippy moments, and "Blood, Fire & Pillars of Smoke", which sounds like Sabbath playing in a Middle Eastern bazaar.

Overall, there’s nothing particularly new or earth-shattering about this release, and it doesn’t usurp the bands who’ve influenced it, but if you are a keen doom fan on the lookout for good new material, this is definitely worth checking out.

Tracklist:
1.Behold a Pale Horse
2.Bowls of Wrath
3.Doom of Babylon
4.The Second Death
5.Wormwood
6.Come and See
7.Blood, Fire, and Pillars of Smoke
8.Pestilence

Added: October 30th 2021
Reviewer: Tom De Val
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 949
Language: english

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