It was only recently that I realized that the photograph that I had taken a year and a half ago, the same picture I decided to use as the cover for the AoTW album NUMINOSUM, was a striking image I remember from a very vivid dream I had back in 2000. It made one thing extremely clear - that I am on the right path toward realizing my dreams.

2002 was a beginning of the chrysalis that has been developing for 5 years. I drove from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania, to work with keyboardist John Bechdel (Killing Joke, Murder Inc., Fear Factory, False Icons) on some new music that I had been creating. John was definitely surprised to find that the music was nothing like Fear Factory. We worked in his converted machine shop / now studio, in the middle of the woods of rural Pennsylvania in the late hours of mid winter and early spring. Working methodically, we intentionally wrote music that was orchestral in nature. Where layers of sound created a texture that was hypnotic, rhythmic, and melodic.

Lyrically, I wanted to explore the true nature of my soul, the place where my heart was headed. After reading the Dead Sea Scrolls, I was inspired by the Book of Enoch. In that book, I read about The Watchers, and their incredible story of desire and abandon. In a strange way, I related to the story. In my poetry, my words expressed the same desires and losses. After much thought, I came up with the band name ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS; and built a story around the name of a Watcher who dreams of redemption.