''Energetic Disassembly'' is the debut album by American

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

band

Watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

, released in 1985. This is the band's only album to feature vocalist Jason McMaster and guitarist Billy White, who were replaced by

Alan Tecchio Alan Tecchio is an Italian-American singer, who sang for Seven Witches, Watchtower, Hades and Non-Fiction. He is also the lead vocalist on Symphony X Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey. Founded in 1 ...

and

Ron Jarzombek Ron Jarzombek is an American guitarist best known for his work with WatchTower, Spastic Ink, and Blotted Science, featuring Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse. His most recent project is Terrestrial Exiled. He released a brand new song, "Beyon ...

respectively for their next album ''

Control and Resistance ''Control and Resistance'' is the second and final album by progressive metal band Watchtower, released in 1989. This was the band's last album before disbanding in 1993 while working on its never-released third album ''Mathematics'', and their fi ...

''. ''Energetic Disassembly'' has been recognized as one of the first albums in the technical

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

genre, and

Chuck Schuldiner Charles Schuldiner (born May 13, 1967 – December 13, 2001) was an American musician. He founded the death metal band Death in 1983, in which he was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter and only consistent member until his death in ...

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

had cited the album as a significant influence on the band's transition from traditional

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

technical death metal Technical death metal (also referred to as tech-death) is a musical subgenre of death metal that began and developed in the early- to mid-1990s, with particular focus on challenging, demanding instrumental skill and complex songwriting. Techni ...

on their 1991 album ''

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

''.

Overview

An earlier version of ''Energetic Disassembly'', recorded at B.O.S.S. (short for Bob O'Neill Sound Studios) for Rainforest Records (home to

S.A. Slayer S.A. Slayer, originally known as Slayer, was an American heavy metal band formed in San Antonio, Texas, in 1981 by the former Blitzkrieg (not to be confused with the UK band Blitzkrieg) guitar duo Robert "Bob Dog" Catlin and Art Villarreal, ba ...

), was scrapped when the label closed its doors. These "lost" recordings have since been released as part of the 2002 '' Demonstrations in Chaos'' archives release. The album also contains a re-recording of the song "Meltdown", first recorded in 1983 for the ''Cottage Cheese From the Lips of Death'' compilation. ''Energetic Disassembly'' was originally released on the band's own label, Zombo Records. Zombo was the name of the band's then-manager's mute dog. Financed by drummer Rick Colaluca, 3,000 LPs and 1,500 cassettes were pressed up at the time. In 1993, Germany's Institute of Art label issued ''Energetic Disassembly'' on CD for the first time. A further IoA reissue with slightly altered artwork followed in 1997. San Antonio, Texas-based Monster Underground, formerly Monster Records, would reissue ''Energetic Disassembly'' in October 2004. The album was re-released for a fourth time in 2008 via Rockadrome, formerly Monster Underground. ''Energetic Disassembly'' is also known to have been bootlegged both on vinyl and CD.

Track listing

All songs written by Doug Keyser. # "Violent Change" – 3:22 # "Asylum" – 3:48 # "Tyrants in Distress" – 5:59 # "Social Fears" – 4:41 # "Energetic Disassembly" – 4:39 # "Argonne Forest" – 4:38 # "Cimmerian Shadows" – 6:35 # "Meltdown" – 3:59

Band lineup

* Jason McMaster – vocals * Billy White – guitars * Doug Keyser – bass * Rick Colaluca – drums

References

1985 debut albums Watchtower (band) albums {{1980s-metal-album-stub