iVardensphere - The Methuselah Tree

Drop what you're doing. The reigning masters of tribal industrial chaos are back.

This album is a hypnotic hymn to majesty, a soundtrack so powerful that it's risen above the need for visuals. The "Mother of Crows" sets our scene, gently pulling you in with delicate eastern instrumentation and faraway drums pounding ominously. A single female voice rises above, echoing splendor into a vast cathedral-vaulted space.

But for me, the second track 'Bloodline' is the first taste of audiophile nirvana on the disc. A white hot Tesla coil spraying high voltage static across the upper frequencies while the lower rungs pulse wildly with ominous synthetic rhythms. The synths kick in with supercharged voltage, meshing perfectly into the spiraling percussive bed. When the depth charged horns hit in the third track 'The Doorway', it's like a sickening blow to the stomach. How can something so beautiful have so much raw power?

"A Black Sun on the Horizon" hurls us headlong into an unlikely place, with soaring angelic female vocals punctuated by the primal rhythm of beaten hollowed out logs. And yet from that dark tranquil vista comes the next chapter 'Break the Sky', a true digital mindfuck. Abrasive synths give way to acoustic interludes in an unnerving instant, leaving the listener disorientated yet lusting for more. It's the mastery of both acoustic and synthetic elements that gives this music so much life. The synths bristle with power, everything from incisive and digital to crushingly deep analog bass.

"Snakecharmer" is the kind of Andalusian nightmare that I'd kill to get lost in. It's Arabian Nights on acid, a four on the floor Sufi thriller on a terrifyingly large scale. Whatever the Methuselah Tree is, It's huge and it's turned a blinding shade of neon blue, dripping phosphorescent nectar onto the flaming taiko drummers below. An image might be worth a thousand words, but this music is immortal.

The vocals on this album are as varied as its influences, with artists as diverse as Tom Shear (Assemblage 23) and Daniel Graves (Aesthetic Perfection) lending their talent to the release. I could write an ode to each and every track on this album, right from the symphonic majesty of 'Second Sleep' to the lyrical genius of 'The Impossible Box' (featuring Jamie Blacker). But I'd rather let the music speak for itself, and I hope to hell that you're devising a plan to get hold of this music as fast as is ethically possible. The production is off the scale, it's honestly one of the best sounding albums I've heard in a long time, from any genre: A full frequency assault that will test your speakers all the way to hell and back.

I won't lie, I fucking love iVardensphere. In fact, every morning for the last year I've woken up, put their track "Sutekh" on at full blast, and done Yoga until it ends. With a start to the day like that every morning, I feel as though I could crush a universe in my left hand...

Take note, here is a very serious contender for album of the year. Nov 10 2013