Search - John Zorn :: IAO: Music In Sacred Light

Powerful and evocative.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 08/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Zorn is a musician of startling diversity and perhaps an even more startling batting average when it comes to the quality of his music. When one of his real masterpieces comes around though, one is always amazed to find just how good music can be. "I.A.O.: Music in Sacred Light" is one of those pieces.



Drawing inspiration from the writings of turn-of-the-twentieth-century occultist Aleister Crowley and the films of Kenneth Anger (probably best known for "Lucifer Rising"), the album is touted on the Tzadik website as a "hypnotic seven-movement suite of Alchemy, Mysticism, Metaphysics and Magic both black and white". While the descriptions on the Tzadik website are noted for their hyperbole, in this case, this may be entirely accurate.



The music on "I.A.O." is mysterious, enchanting, swirling, and intriguing. The musicians involved (vocalists Mike Patton, Jennifer Charles, Beth Anne Hatton and Rebecca Moore, bassists Greg Cohen and Bill Laswell, pianist/organist Jamie Saft, and percussionists Jim Pugliese and Cyro Baptista) appear in small ensemebles throughout, performing music that is minimalist and yet delicately beautiful-- I'm reminded of Messiaen, Kagel, and Naked City's "Absinthe" at times and Verdi, Morricone and "Torture Garden" at others.



"I.A.O." moves through seven movements during its composition. Opening movement "Invocation" is a wall of metallic percussion with a high organ or synth part and Patton whispering in the background. This moves into the percussion-oriented "Sex Magick"-- drawing its sound largely from Central and South American sources before the piece changes directions in the third movement, "Sacred Rites of the Left Hand Path", featuring a loping yet aggressive organ line, pounding pianos, and more whispering from Patton. There's a sense of unity to these three movements, a building, haunting, delicate sound that permeates all three. The fourth movement ("The Clavicle of Solomon") should be a drastic shift but isn't-- moving the sound into electronic noise, scrapes, and high pitched tones that should be grating but somehow are not. And even though the sound has quieted, it somehow continues that feeling of building intensity that was prevelent in the first three movements.



The next portion of the suite ("Lucifer Rising") is focused largely on vocals, with a female choir (and what sounds like a flute accompaniment) gently pushing forward while Charles whispers darkly, evoking a thick slab of tension that will be released on "Leviathan"-- a slab of death metal featuring throbbing bass from Laswell and positively inspired vocals from Patton. Patton's final scream ends unaccompanied and the closing movement, "Mysteries", is quite the opposite of "Leviathan"-- electric piano gently playing dark lines over delicate percussion.



Nearly as interesting as the music contained within the CD is the artwork-- though contained in a standard jewel case, the liner notes consist of four cards, each detailing some element of the performance. The entire jewel case slides into a white slipcase with raised symbols printed on either side.



All in all, this is quite a package, the music has that odd quality of being familiar even while being totally alien. One of the essential Zorn recordings. Probably not a good place to start for Zorn (that's still "Naked City"), but maybe a good second. Highly recommended."