{"id":1286,"date":"2015-02-27T14:02:37","date_gmt":"2015-02-27T14:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/?p=1286"},"modified":"2015-02-27T14:03:04","modified_gmt":"2015-02-27T14:03:04","slug":"ivardensphere-fables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/?p=1286","title":{"rendered":"iVardensphere – “Fables”"},"content":{"rendered":"

iVardensphere
\nFables\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Metropolis Records
\n\"iVardensphere\"<\/a>
\nBy Doktor John<\/p>\n

This tribal\/industrial Canadian group, has been around since 2009. Having, regrettably, no prior exposure to their oeuvre, I was stunned by the varied richness and the grim appeal of this 14-track masterwork that respects no boundaries or genres as it free-forms each song and crosses through every electronic musical category. <\/p>\n

The album opens with \u201cMillion Year Echo,\u201d featuring a persistent EBM groove that is interrupted by odd, sci-fi imbued samples that seem to emerge from a desolate, post-apocalyptic soundscape. It is followed by \u201cStygian,\u201d a 7-minute, plodding, whip-cracking zombie march overlaid with harsh, hoarse male vocals. Several tracks take the listener on a techno-industrial visit to the Middle East, complete with synthetic versions of Arabic instrumental accompaniment, sacred-sounding male vocals as well as sensuous, almost erotic female vocals. Synthetic versions of everything from the Australian aboriginal didgeridoo to bongo drums are present. <\/p>\n

\u201cA Tale of Two Wolves\u201d is a techno-industrial track that renders it easy to imagine a pair of canine predators loping through the forest in single-minded pursuit. \u201cBlack Lodge,\u201d the track that follows, is a slow-paced trudge through a nightmarish dystopia, narrated by a desperate and hostile speaker, while merciless mechanical noises pound out a cadence and are joined by a mournful male chorus. I particularly enjoyed \u201cPapa Legbo\u201d with its ominous \u201cthe natives are restless\u201d beat and intermittent chants.<\/p>\n

In addition, there are frenzied hand-drum ensembles; eerie female a capella singing; languid but delicious, acoustic guitar riffs; ominous vocal narratives; and echoes of various genres including Scandinavian darkwave, aggrotech and even a piece, \u201cTerra Sapian\u201d featuring ultra-fast-paced, \u201cswing \u201d beats. The poignant \u201cGirl With No Hands\u201d is a pessimistic and frankly psychotic poem with groaning choral and emotionally delicious strings plus prominent percussion. In the eighth track, \u201cIt Is As Blackness Is\u201d an eloquent lecturer recommends philosophical acceptance of \u201ca new dark age,\u201d as a relentless EBM groove suggests the relentless march of Time.<\/p>\n

The album ends on an aquatic theme, \u201cPoseidon,\u201d featuring the seductive sirens\u2019 call on vocals and electro-symphonic instrumental accompaniment The majority of tracks, if not all are eminently danceable. In fact, I dare any listener to sit still while hearing these infectious and hypnotic rhythms as I tried to do when writing this. Aptly named, \u201cFables\u201d transports the listener into a fantasy realm of myths, seductive melodies and mesmerizing rhythms. <\/p>\n

Rating; A
\nIn a word: Bountiful<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

iVardensphere Fables Metropolis Records By Doktor John This tribal\/industrial Canadian group, has been around since 2009. Having, regrettably, no prior exposure to their oeuvre, I was stunned by the varied richness and the grim appeal of this 14-track masterwork that respects no boundaries or genres as it free-forms each song and crosses through every electronic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,7,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1286"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1286"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1289,"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1286\/revisions\/1289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}