"These are the sounds that resonate through my mind...
These are the words that I speak in my dreams...
These are the visions I experience,
throughout my unconsciousness..."
- Burton C. Bell

Ascension of The Watchers, the creative journey of Burton C. Bell and John Bechdel, is a vision born of life, love and spirituality. The music, melodies and lyrics gives one the opportunity to share in Burton 's visions as he sees them, in their purest form. The intimate nature is envisioned to draw the minds, hearts and aspirations of a people to a higher level of thinking and feeling by bringing them together in celebration and reflection in the beauty of life and spirituality, through these melodies and words. [more]

If you take for granted that music exists as an expression of the inner mortal psyche, life can turn into an infinitely captivating adventure when musical creation is placed in the hands of a singular breed of enigmatic perfectionists. When those graced with the rare gifts of astounding technical abilities and songwriting prowess are also fueled by a sacred trinity of creativity, originality, and self-belief, the results will always steer clear of any sub-genre categorization.

Formed in the college town of Umeå in northern Sweden in 1987, MESHUGGAH have spent the last twenty years and cumulative thirteen releases developing, exploring, and redefining their complex, inimitable approach on the art of expressing their collective Id. An entity that has not sounded like anyone else in over thirteen years, MESHUGGAH are one of the few purely and honestly lateral-thinking forces genuinely dedicated to pushing the boundaries of extreme music simply because doing so comes naturally to them. Unafraid to take risks and tackle new experiences, they create albums you can listen to six years later and still discover things you never noticed before. The mystical lore surrounding them pertains to their mathematical execution of odd-cycle time signatures shifting around common 4/4 time. As a result, it isn’t shocking to see some of the biggest names in metal standing in the wings at MESHUGGAH shows, shaking their heads at the band’s majestically demented, down-tuned, groove-laden, and precisely performed polyrhythms that never veer out of control. [ more ]

Everything Ministry has created since its inception has been an evolution. Al Jourgensen, the architect of Ministry, succeeded by remaking the mainstream in his own image and forging a new style of music. Jourgensen morphed Ministry from a lightweight synth-pop band in the early ’80s to a musical juggernaut with many side projects (Revolting Cocks, 1000 Homo DJs, Pailhead, Lard) on legendary Chicago-based Wax Trax! Records. Moving to Sire Records in the mid-’80s Ministry released albums showcasing an ever-evolving style. The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste and The Land of Rape and Honey both went Gold as people searched beyond bland MTV conformity. Psalm 69, featuring “N.W.O.”, “Just One Fix” and “Jesus Built My Hotrod”, went Platinum in 1992 and forever changed music with its heavily aggressive content. But during the late ’90s heyday of "alternative music", Ministry’s output waned on Filth Pig and Dark Side of the Spoon, despite a Grammy nomination for “Bad Blood”. Coming back strong in the new millennium with Animositisomina Jourgensen refocused his energy. In 2004 a revitalized Ministry debuted Houses of the Molé. For its 25th Anniversary in 2005, Ministry released Rantology featuring tracks personally mixed, arranged, recorded and mastered by Uncle Al himself. In October 2005, Jourgensen launched his own label, 13th Planet Records complete with an online store. Ministry’s first release on 13th Planet, Rio Grande Blood, debuted in 2006 and captured Grammy nominations for “The Great Satan” (2005) and “Lieslieslies” (2006). It was followed by the remix album Rio Grande Dub in 2007. Ministry’s final studio release, The Last Sucker, is out now and is available for order in the 13th Planet Store.

In an ever-changing and volatile music industry, it remains a constant challenge for new bands to break out and make a name for themselves on their own. However, one quartet from Los Angeles that simply refuses to let the state of the industry deter them is OPIATE FOR THE MASSES, whose undying, unparalleled work ethic and captivating live performances ultimately caught the attention of Century Media Records. The label has never seen anything quite like OPIATE FOR THE MASSES, whose sheer collective talents and hunger to succeed is refreshing to find in this day and age. Century Media quickly signed the band to a worldwide deal and are beyond ecstatic to bring something this innovative to the forefront of the scene.

Oakland California's, ALL SHALL PERISH, returns with their most diverse offering yet! Never one to record the same album twice, ALL SHALL PERISH has made yet another giant leap forward for themselves and the death and grind genres. Awaken the Dreamers cements the band‘s status as leaders in their field after 2006's milestone release, The Price of Existence, permanently secured the groups place in metal history. In a scene that is fast becoming stale ALL SHALL PERISH is here to resuscitate and breathe new life into a genre full of fly by night successes.

Joe Duplantier - guitar, lead vocals
Mario Duplantier - drums
Jean-Michel Labadie - bass
Christian Andreu - guitar

It has always been hard to put a tag on GOJIRA, one of France’s most extreme bands the country’s musical pallet has ever known. But then again, the band has never really sought out such a tag, instead letting the music do the talking, preferring introspection and intelligence over preconceived notions and preexisting tags.  Ever since the 1996 formation in town of Bayonne in the southwest of France, GOJIRA has been an ever-evolving experiment in extreme metal ultimately built upon a worldly, ever-conscious outlook with roots firmly-planted both in the hippie movement and an environmentally-conscious, new age mentality. This time, with The Way of All Flesh, GOJIRA harnesses a spiritual consciousness as well, but still culminates in a sound wholly heavy.

“It’s more inventive than From Mars To Sirius and at the same time more straight to the point,” GOJIRA frontman Joe Duplantier says of The Way of All Flesh. “The whole album is about death, death is like a step on the path of the soul. The mystery surrounding this phenomenon is just so inspiring, and death is the most common thing on earth.”

“This album is also a ‘requiem’ for our planet,” Duplantier continues. “We don't want to be negative or cynical about the fate of humanity, but the situation on Earth is growing critical, and the way humans behave is so catastrophic that we really need to express our exasperation about it. It's not fear, but anger. But we still believe that consciousness can make a difference and that we can change things as human beings.”

False Icons will be releasing their debut CD, God Complex, on November 11th on 13th Planet Records. The band features industrial rock veteran John Bechdel on vocals, guitar and keyboards; Brian Broadt on keyboards, vocals and guitars; Mark Panek on drums; and Dave Brown on bass. Mixed and produced by Ministry’s Al Jourgensen. God Complex combines elegantly layered keyboards, heavy guitars, deep bass, sophisticated atmospheric touches and John’s unique vocal style.

Dark and powerful, God Complex is an inspirational journey of imagery and emotion that is sure to capture the attention of fans of powerful, extreme music the world over. Each track on God Complex creates its own separate world - a synthetic landscape of sounds, rhythms and dark, airy melodies. Bechdel’s descriptive lyrics and unique vocal style deliver an intriguing series of futuristic visions, life’s journeys and mysteries. His eloquent guitar lines swirl through Broadt’s hard-charging electronic beats and occasional heroic vocal rants, carving their way through plethoras of synthesizers. God Complex is a dense, layered and kaleidoscopic collection of songs created by a quartet of adept musicians and more importantly, music fans with an unbridled zeal and enthusiasm for creating adventurous music.