Triumphant first full-length from emerging Massachusetts doom-tinged heavy metal outfit for fans of Iron Maiden, Pentagram, Trouble and Satan! Nearly four years removed from their cult Your Turn to Die EP, The Watcher return with their highly anticipated first LP, Out of the Dark! The 2021 release of The Watcher’s debut Your Turn to Die EP was the culmination of delays, false starts and good, old-fashioned patience. The 2016 creation of guitarist/bassist Max Furst, The Watcher was not intended to have such a prolonged gestation for its first release into the metal world, but the wait proved to be worth it: Physical copies of Your Turn to Die sold out upon its release, signaling to Furst, vocalist Paden Reed and drummer Chris Spraker that there would be demand for their distinctive brand of NWOTHM with elements of doom. Alas, that moment has arrived in the form of the eight-song Out of the Dark. Out of the Dark was recorded in the autumn months of late 2023 with engineer Sasha Stroud at Artifact Audio in Maspeth, Queens, New York. The Watcher went to great lengths to ensure that the songs worked within the context of the album format with an organic flow of ideas and intentional peaks and valleys to ensure listener engagement. As a result, Out of the Dark expands on what The Watcher started on Your Turn to Die. From urgent, heads-down ‘bangers to festival-ready chorus all the way to the climatic closing track, “Thy Blade, Thy Blood,” the band’s growth is readily apparent. The album artwork was created by Austin, Texas-based artist Burney, who crossed paths with Furst in early 2024. Furst wanted a cover that was dark but was also representative of the overarching themes and concepts of the songs that detail the human journey through a doomed world and the struggles humankind faces. Burney captured exactly that—in Furst’s estimation, the cover “creates an evocative mood that is reminiscent of the many classical artists that he takes inspiration from.” The Watcher will be gigging around the East Coast and parts of Canada in support of Out of the Dark (ex-Malleus guitarist Nelson Ribas and Demon Chrome guitarist Dylan Kulpa have since completed The Watcher’s live lineup.) More importantly, the band hopes to arrive on European shores sometime in the near future. For the present, though, Out of the Dark emerges as a compelling LP that unifies classic metal and the darkness of doom, fortified through the spirit of three metallic diehards who never say die.
