Ascension Of The Watchers’ Apocrypha: Burton C Bell rises from the ashes of Fear Factory

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.