Watchman is back.
Created in the United States by Roy Waterford (all instruments/vocals), the project offers us its first EP in 2020, followed by an album in 2021. The End of All Flesh, his second album, is announced for 2022.
The album starts with Pour Out The Vials, a quite slow and melodic track which reveals a dark and heavy groove, which lets some heady vocal parts come out from these haunting waves. The harmonics are perfectly combined with the impressive bass, just like on Fire and Brimstone and its dissonant accents. The Old School mix allows for the inclusion of worrying and psychedelic Stoner/Doom roots coupled with a catchy sound before Death is Coming offers up its massive riffs. The mysterious and mystical sounds slowly move on between these pessimistic vocal interventions, even letting hysterical laughter accompany us on the final, then to Divided Kingdom and its intriguing introduction. Bass dominates the mix again, but the surprising sweetness of this composition peacefully mesmerizes us before Righteous Indignation offers us its raw and abrasive melodies. The sound is heavy and catchy, but it always keeps darker and more disturbing accents, creating a contrast we have in the style’s roots, just like on The Smoke which combines a ritualistic atmosphere and catchy easiness. If the track takes us back to the origins of Doom, the piercing final takes us slightly out of it, leaving The End of All Flesh to give us another taste of it with an oppressive atmosphere and much darker vocals to close the album.
Watchman draws inspiration from the early creations of Stoner/Doom to build their slow and haunting universe. With The End of All Flesh, we also find heady sounds, melodious harmonics and a really special atmosphere you will for sure appreciate.
80/100