A word here: Unlike previous axes I had with EMG's which slowly 'faded to black' as the 9v's died, both my Alembics distort like the cheesiest el-cheapo distortion pedal you ever heard when it's new battery time.
I think this is actually some not-spoken-about-in-public trick that Ron built into these things, so WHEN you hear this, IT'S BATTERY TIME. And as Mica said, check the LED battery too.
J o e y