Watchmen - Generation (1989)

hudební novinky 1989 / music news 1989
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Watchmen - Generation (1989)

Príspevokod užívateľa Horex » 01 Máj 2020, 10:31

Watchmen - Generation (1989)

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Year : 1989
Style : Melodic Hard Rock , Christian Heavy Metal
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 155 mb


Bio:

Watchmen is a Hard Rock and Christian Heavy Metal band from Seattle, Washington who formed in 1984 by Greg Sweet and Kevin Anholt. Originally the band was called 'Crosswalk' but shortly after forming, they changed their name to Watchmen. The meaning behind the name is found in Ezekiel 33... 7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me. 8 If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked one, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to warn him about his way, that wicked person will die for his iniquity, yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. 9 But if you warn a wicked person to turn from his way and he doesn't turn from it, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have saved your life." Also the bands gives reference to Isaiah 52:88 "The voices of your watchmen they lift up their voices,shouting for joy together;for every eye will see when the LORD returns to Zion." Watchmen changed their name to 'Impact' and re-released "Generation" as "Generation Of Change" soon after this the band split up.Watchmen released two full-length albums the first being 1987-Demo 'Fear No Evil' and their sophomore album being 1988- 'Generation'.What we get on the "Generation" album is pure 80's metal that is radio friendly due to some additional instruments. The band softened its image ,on this release, with the use of the Organ, the Saxophone and the use of the Piano. Furthermore, Dave Van Liew incorporates a bluesy sounding guitar in various tracks which also brings out a softer more radio friendly sound.I really think that vocalist Greg Sweet hits the mark with some fine vocals for this type genre and era. You can sense his passion to reach the lost with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ as the lyrics are overtly Christ centered.Kevin Whisler does a nice job on the kit keeping time for the band as he hammers it out with the right style for each song. Kevin brings star qualities to the band where he played drums for Bloodgood on the following albums (Out of the Darkness, Alive in America, Shakin' the World, Dangerously Close).Watchmen has released a newer album with an even heavier feel to it with the band going by the alias 'Torque' (Not Christian) with one release in 2008 "Direction of Rotation".There seems to be a new interest in 80's sounding metal as we have new bands like Desyre, Messenger, and Harmony making modern day renditions of 80's inspired music. If you like bands like Barren Cross, Sacred Warrior, Recon, Shout, or Angelica and you find yourself wanting to relive the glory days of this marvelous era then pick up a copy of Watchmen's albums and Rock on!

Album:

With the meaning of its name taken from Ezekiel 33, Watchmen formed in the Seattle, Washington area in the mid-eighties before releasing an eight song demo entitled Fear No Evil and placing the tapes title track on the Underground Metal compilation. Following up in 1989 with its full length Regency Records debut entitled Generation, Watchmen plays a commercially accessible form of melodic hard rock certain to appeal to fans of Angelica, Guardian, Bloodgood (All Stand Together era), Stryper and Shout. The exceptional lead vocal abilities of Greg Sweet bring to mind other talented vocalist such as Tommy Keifer (Cinderella), Les Carlson (Bloodgood) or even Ronnie James Dio. Guitarist David Van Liew proves equally talented, adorning the album with an abundance of sharp sounding and blues influenced lead guitar work. Keyboardist Kevin Anholt does a good job adding just the right amount of texture to the bands sound. The top notch rhythm section of drummer Kevin Whisler and bassist Doug Larson, however, end up being held back by the albums production problems.A muddy production job with slightly bass heavy sonics prevents Generation from reaching its potential. The rhythm guitar comes across thin and transparent. The rhythm section more often than not gets buried in the mix. Only the lead guitar rises above the instrumentation as it should.An effective mix of rhythm guitar and keyboards drives "Turn" forward until vocal harmonies enter the mix as it approaches a chorus with a good catchy hook. After the song stops dead in its tracks, Van Liew follows with twenty seconds of bluesy lead guitar work. "Turn" talks about turning from the darkness to the light:

Turn from the night
And all fears that bind you
Will drop like chains behind you, in the Light
Turn to the Light, leave the world behind you
And all the pain that hides you, in the night

Commencing to a drum solo, "Stand Strong" advances at a mid-tempo pace to a crisp sounding rhythm guitar before it peaks for a smooth sounding chorus backed by vocal harmonies. A bass guitar solo opens an instrumental passage ending to several seconds of flashy lead guitar work. "Stand Strong" deals with spiritual warfare:

Stand strong...fight for the Lord
See His power come down
Stand strong...Fight in His name
See those released who were bound

"Straight", with its restrained mix of rhythm guitar and commercial melodic rock feel, comes across sounding flat and uninspired. While the song gives prominence to a noteworthy chorus, the lack of energy in the bands performance prevents it from always bearing up under repeated play. "Straight" talks about how God comforts us in our time of need:

Still searching for the answer
To you it seems, no one's there at all
But, He hears your calling
He see's you cry
The Father longs to wipe the tear from your eye

The bluesy "Best Friend" slows the album to a near crawl. Set in motion by a saxophone solo, "Best Friend" progresses to a mix of organ, piano and more saxophone before soulful vocal harmonies buttress its slowly moving and laid back chorus. "Best Friend" holds up quite well musically, but it can sound a bit out of place in a mostly hard rock environment. The songs lyrics, on the other hand, are quite good:

Though the road's been rough
You've always lent Your hand
I love You Lord, You're my best friend

Watchmen return to their top notch hard rocking form on "Breakin' The Chains". Kicking in at a fast paced tempo, a ton of energetic momentum pushes the song ahead until it reaches an infectious non-stop hook filled chorus. Van Liew's excellent lead guitar work comes across reminiscent to that of Joshua Perahia.

The bass guitar solo introducing "United" gives way to a blend of rhythm guitar and keyboards. Once the keyboards fade from the mix, the song smoothly moves on to a terrific groove flavored chorus that, with repeated listening, will refuse to leave your head. One of the albums finest moments occurs when the rhythm guitar drops from the mix as Sweet delivers a passionate message about the Kingdom of God:

The time has come, to raise our fists and yell
With His power, we'll storm the gates of hell
Call back His people, take back His land
Taking His Kingdom, to every man

The bluesy melodic rock of "I Will Be There" begins in laid back fashion to a saxophone. Proceeding to move through its verse portions at a mid-tempo pace, a blend of rhythm and acoustic guitar enter the mix in time to reinforce the songs strong commercial flavored chorus. An instrumental break showcasing a bluesy but razor sharp guitar solo accentuated by a bluesy but razor sharp guitar solo helps put the song over the top.

Opening to an upbeat mix of rhythm guitar and keyboards, "Defenders" slows to a combination of bass and acoustic guitar upon reaching its first verse. After picking up in pace, the rhythm guitar propels the song to a catchy chorus that will pull you in on first listen. Van Liew complements the song with a nice aggressively played guitar solo. "Defenders" is about being a defender of the faith:

For in the name of Jesus
All dominion is given to Him
Jesus, O Jesus has broken your bondage of sin
We're defenders of the faith and were coming to get you...

The power ballad "One Day" fades in to a mix of keyboards and strings until a piano carries its first verse, an acoustic guitar interweaving with the piano as the song reaches a very fine melodic flavored chorus. Van Liew tops things off with twenty seconds of crisp lead guitar work. "One Day" points to the person of Christ:

The blood flowed down His cheek
His body torn, bruised and week
He cried out forgive them
One day, we will see Him face to face
His ways, we will be like them
One day, we will feel His tender grace
As the Fathers hand is reaching out to you

I might characterize Generation as a strong album musically that showcases the bands first-rate musicianship and affinity for writing a song with a good catchy hook. While tracks like "Turn", "Stand Strong", "United" and "Defenders" all stand out with noteworthy melodies, others such as "Straight" and "Best Friend" display the bands lack of experience. The albums weak production, at the same time, proves a significant detracting factor. Give Watchmen ten good songs and put a capable producer in their corner like David Zaffiro (Bloodgood) and I can see it recording a standout sophomore effort. Unfortunately, it never happened in that following the release of Generation Watchmen was never heard from again.

Line Up:

Greg Sweet - Lead & Backing Vocals
Kevin Antholt - Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Dave Van Liew - Guitars, Backing Vocals
Doug Larson - Bass, Backing Vocals

Additional Backing Vocals - Les & Joyce, Kelee Gates, Mark Thornberg, Rene Woc Scott
Additional Keyboards - Brook Lizotte
Additional Guitar on "Best Friend" - Ross
Drums And Percussion - Kevin Whisler
Computer Programming & Sampling - Antholt

Tracklist:

01. Turn 3:29
02. Stand Strong 3:43
03. Straight 3:21
04. Best Friend 4:17
05. Breakin' the Chains 3:06
06. United 3:29
07. I Will Be There 4:11
08. Defenders 3:45
09. One Day 3:53


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