The Watch

The Watch

The Watch are a neo-progressive rock band from Milano, Italy, active since 1997. They begin as a five-piece and form out of the earlier group The Night Watch. The line-up listed includes Cristiano Roversi, Marco Fabbri, Giorgio Gabriel, Mattia Rossetti, Simone Rossetti, Valerio De Vittorio and Fabio Mancini.

Style and influences

The band works in the neo-prog and Italian progressive rock tradition, with music shaped by 1970s progressive rock, especially early Genesis. Their sound combines classical progressive rock atmospheres with a more modern approach. Simone Rossetti’s voice is often compared to a younger Peter Gabriel, and this likeness becomes one of the band’s most noted features.

Career

The Watch begin to work in a more professional way with Ghost in 2001, the album that introduces them to progressive rock audiences. Vacuum follows in 2004 and receives strong reviews. After its release, The Vacuum Tour takes the band across several European countries and to the United States.

In 2007 they release Primitive, an album described as a return to the roots of progressive music. A European tour follows, and the band adds Genesis covers to its live sets. The response to these performances leads them to build a tour around early Genesis material such as Trespass, Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot.

In 2010 they release Planet Earth?, which features John Hackett on flute. That album is followed by a long tour that includes Europe, the USA and Canada.