Warning ‘Watching
From a Distance’
The Band:
- Patrick Walker | vocals, guitar
- Marcus Hatfield | bass
- Stuart Springthorpe | drums
Review:
Possibly metals most depressing album of all time,
Warning’s 2006 release ‘Watching From a
Distance’ is capable of reducing the burliest of men to a whimpering wreck.
The band gained interest from the metal underground from their early demos and
release of their full length debut ‘The
Strength to Dream’; however ‘Watching
From a Distance’ became their most significant release.
Lyrically introspective and sung with the utmost of
emotion, vocalist Patrick Walker bears his heart and soul for our listening
pleasure. The vocals are somewhat unique and take a moment or two to get on
board with, but the vulnerability and sentiment in the way he sings is what
makes this album what it is.
Down tuned, distorted, dense guitar riffs form the
backbone of each song, opening track ‘Watching From A Distance’ begins with a
long dawdling doom drenched riff, before Walkers mesmerizing vocal stylings
seize our attention and demand it for the entirety of the album.
The highlight of the album for me is undoubtedly ‘Footprints,’ which in essence is seven minutes of
total heartbreak. Melancholic from the get go, harsh guitar tones set the bleak
atmosphere as the song builds to a heart wrenching epic conclusion. Anyone
familiar with this record will understand the impact of the following lyric: “Yet here I stand, a broken soldier,
shivering and naked, in your winter light.”
Never have I heard something so hugely emotive, the
final two minutes of ‘Footprints’ are
without question one of the most moving sections of music I have ever experienced.
Continuing with the notion of utter gloom, ‘Bridges’ is immersed with bleakness
and despair. The slowest track of the album, the guitars crawl along at an
almost painfully slow tempo escalating to an uncharacteristic euphoric end.
Final two tracks ‘Faces’ and ‘Echoes’ continue the unrelenting melancholic
assault, delving into the depths of desolation that Warning do so well.
‘Watching
From A Distance’ is a timeless album that will forever be a firm
favourite of mine. Warning disbanded in 2009, however Walker
Words &
Recommendation by: Heather Blewett
Album Details:
‘Watching
From a Distance’ was the second full length record by Warning, released in 2006
originally on The Miskatonic Foundation label.
It was subsequently on vinyl via Metal Supremacy in 2008, CD again on
the Cyclone Empire Label in the same year and finally on vinyl in 2012 via
Kreation Records, although members have deemed this as an unofficial
release.
‘Watching From A Distance’ track listing:
1).
Watching From a Distance 12:06
2).
Footprints 07:31
3). Bridges
11:30
4). Faces
08:31
5). 10:16
Recorded at
Rosenquarz Studio, Lubeck , Germany
Additonal Info:
Official Statement from Patrick Walker from 2012 re reissued vinyl on
Kreation Records
It was recently brought to my attention by a Warning fan that my 2006 album, Watching from a Distance, was being reissued on vinyl. ‘Would I be receiving any copies?’ he asked, ‘and would I have any for sale?’
I felt rather embarrassed to say the least as this was certainly the first I had heard of it. After a brief online search I came across the website of
It was recently brought to my attention by a Warning fan that my 2006 album, Watching from a Distance, was being reissued on vinyl. ‘Would I be receiving any copies?’ he asked, ‘and would I have any for sale?’
I felt rather embarrassed to say the least as this was certainly the first I had heard of it. After a brief online search I came across the website of
Kreation Records in America
advertising pre-sales of a vinyl reissue of the album.
I immediately telephoned the label and asked who the record was licensed from and what the deal was; to my knowledge Cyclone Empire had exclusive rights to the album.
I immediately telephoned the label and asked who the record was licensed from and what the deal was; to my knowledge Cyclone Empire had exclusive rights to the album.
It transpired that Cyclone Empire had been licensed the album for CD
release only. Miskatonic Foundation had licensed the record to Kreation for a
vinyl reissue (the first vinyl release was the attractive but hard-to-find
Metal Supremacy release in 2008).
I was angry and upset that this record has been reissued without my
band’s knowledge and consent, without our involvement in its conception and
design, and that no offer has been made to us to participate in the profit of
this release.
This morning I received a shipment of the reissued album from Kreation
Records (our share of the deal, apparently) and I was heartbroken and utterly
deflated. Everything from the bastardised cover art, badly photoshopped and
redesigned text layout, bad quality packaging and even a new “thanks list”
penned by The Miskatonic Foundation is reason enough for me to ask you that if
you care about Warning and its music then to consider this statement before
investing.
While it is not in my nature to vent publically, I feel I have no choice now other than to offer an explanation and an apology of sorts for the poor-quality release which, regrettably, bears the name of me and my band.
While it is not in my nature to vent publically, I feel I have no choice now other than to offer an explanation and an apology of sorts for the poor-quality release which, regrettably, bears the name of me and my band.
I was hoping to one day produce an “official” vinyl reissue of this album
that we could be proud of. We have a small handful of bonus materials that I’d
like to have been used, and would like to have overseen the release from its
conception right through to the finished article.
The bottom line is, I want it to be known that Kreation Records’ reissue of Watching from a Distance is, as far as I am concerned, unofficial, does not reflect myself or Warning and is not something that we are profiteering from in any way. The shipment of records I received this morning are going to be returned.
Thank you for reading.
Patrick Walker
