ALBUM REVIEW: Apocrypha – Ascension of the Watchers

Amidst all the drama between former FEAR FACTORY frontman Burton C. Bell and his former bandmate, one fact still remains abundantly clear: the man’s voice and melodic style still remains one of the most instantly recognisable in metal, and his boundary pushing tendencies with his former band played influence to an incredible amount of talent to follow. With the second release of Bell’s now main project with John Bechdel, also of FEAR FACTORY and MINISTRY fame, ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS, Apocrypha sees Bell showing a new degree of vulnerability, experimentation, and melodic and soundscape painting than ever before. As Bell now finds himself at his most vulnerable on this record, what is the result? Well, it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

Lead track Ghost Heart is one of the strongest on the record. It’s perhaps the most straightforward melody wise with a chorus hook and swelling guitars and synths that complement slick production. Bell’s voice and its sweeping, drawn out quality works quite well here and it’s an epic rocker that highlights the best of what he can do with his clean singing. The End Is Always The Beginning goes even further to establish that this project is a very different side of Bell from his FEAR FACTORY material. Dense synths courtesy of Bechdel and tribal drums courtesy of Jayce Lewis, who also backs Bell on vocals, set the stage for a track that ultimately doesn’t feel like it goes much of anywhere. It sounds great and well played, but unfortunately it’s mostly uninteresting, and it’s not the only track on the album that falls prey.

Title track Apocrypha begins with an eerie recording of a ghostly EVP actually captured during the recording of the song, and its foreboding guitars set the tone for a song that hangs in the aether and takes on this sort of nostalgic quality. It’s a haunting track that doesn’t jump out and grab, but puts out a vibe that certainly is hypnotic in quality. A Wolf Interlude unfortunately also falls into the meandering category, as it feels a bit repetitive and there’s not a lot going on instrumentally or vocally that’s interesting. Honoré features heavy autotune throughout, which adds an interesting effect to the song, but again, its plodding pace and lack of variety doesn’t serve the song well. Most of the songs on the record serve to present a vibe rather than a direct punch, which works on tracks like Key To The Cosmos, which features an almost dance-like synth tone and pleasing melodic passages from Bell. It’s easy to get lost in, as is a track like Stormcrow, a cinematic instrumental that crafts an epic soundscape befitting of a classic sci-fi action flick.

Also to be commended and critiqued is Bell’s lyricism here. These songs reflect deeply personal and very straightforward feelings of love toward people in Bell’s orbit, which is a new and very refreshing side to see from him. However, the craftsmanship and construction could use a bit of touch up, with a song like Sign Your Name, where Bell lilts along with an acoustic guitar and sings “sign your name across my heart, I want you to be my baby”. Though certainly touching, a bit more poetic construction could have served the song well. On top of this, this song certainly isn’t one of the more powerful vocal performances on the record, though it does feature some cool synth tones in the back half.

The remaining tracks on the record, Bells of Perdition, Cygnus Aeon, and Wanderers unfortunately also don’t catch the ear that much. There’s nothing particularly sticky or ear grabbing on these tracks, though Wanderers in particular does take on a bit of a beachy, progressive quality that touches on tones that an artist like STEVEN WILSON would use. There’s a lot of meandering synths and drawn out passages from Bell that just don’t hit the same way as earlier tracks on the record.

Ultimately Apocrypha is music to vibe to, rather than digest in a traditional way. Whether that’s a successful trait certainly depends on the listener, but it is most certainly very different from the Burton C. Bell most listeners know. It’s certainly welcome to see him branch out and take risks and show a very vulnerable side of himself, as well as compose lyrics and soundscapes that feel intensely personal. And it does succeed at times and on certain tracks, especially towards the first half of the record. On top of that, this is a record that is well mixed and sounds great. However, a great deal of the album is padded with tracks and long passages of time where there’s not much happening and where the action is repetitive. Burton C. Bell is a massive talent and a titan in the metal world, but some tightening up and a bit more work on songcraft would serve him well on his next record as he enters a new musical future.

Rating: 7/10

Apocrypha is out now via Dissonance Records. 

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