When Fear Factory singer Burton C Bell released Numinosum, the haunting debut from his vampiric side-project Ascension Of The Watchers, it hinted that a long exploration of his main band’s more ambient sensibilities lay ahead. Instead, it’s taken 12 years for the follow-up to finally arrive. Amid former Ministry/Killing Joke man John Bechdel’s spectral instrumentation, Burton’s eerie drone is the perfect embellishment for the mournful soundscapes of Ghost Heart and the title track, which opens with a spooky recording of an unexplained sound recorded in the vocal booth. Dark and glacial, A Wolf Interlude and Cygnus Aeon build on the velvet giants of the 80s goth scene – a sumptuous treat.
Ascension Of The Watchers’ Apocrypha: Burton C Bell rises from the ashes of Fear Factory
Ex-Fear Factory frontman Burton C Bell ventures into the shadows once more on Ascension Of The Watchers’ belated second album

(Image: © Dissonance)
You can trust Louder
More about metal hammer

“We were heartbroken. The world had lost a big talent. But as a band we had lost much more”: The rollercoaster story of AC/DC’s Back In Black, the 50-million selling album that emerged from tragedy

“A fan said the teaser was 36 seconds long and already better than The Astonishing… another said they already knew they wouldn’t buy it. You’ve got to love that stuff”: When Dream Theater slimmed down for Distance Over Time