Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Ascension of The Watchers - Numinosum

13th Planet Records
Feb. 19th 2008

Skillfully crafted by Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory, G//Z/R) and John Bechdel (Killing Joke, Ministry), Numinosum is designed to be a spiritual journey. At times the album can put you in a trance, particularly on Evading, with repeating melodies that move forward with a lulling cleanliness. The lyrics themselves are heavy, written from a personal place: the loss of self through tragedy. Canon For My Beloved is about losing the love of one’s life. The band reverently asks: My God, Hear My Prayer/ Can you hear me?, but by the end of the song the mantra becomes a frustrated scream. At times the album verges on pure ambience, like abstract Massive Attack, but the lyrics are very straight-forward. By the end of Numinosum, there is a peace and new relationship with reality. Depending on the current state of the listener, this album could be revelatory or else just a soundtrack to a long winter night.

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