Sunday 4 July 2021

Dark Ambient Review: Teloc Od Busd G'a Qaa C'a Qliphot

Dark Ambient Review: Teloc Od Busd G'a Qaa C'a Qliphot


Review By Casey Douglass



Teloc Od Busd G'a Qaa C'a Qliphot


Themes of horror and the occult are two of the main reasons that I got into dark ambient and ritual music. When you’re in the mood, nothing beats putting on some music that sounds like it was field-recorded near the gates of Hell, or at the least, at a location where some dark rite is hoping to call forth a small aspect of such. Teloc Od Busd G'a Qaa C'a Qliphot is a dark ambient album from Occult Odyssey, one that has you covered in this regard.

The title and artwork reference the Kabbalistic idea of the Qliphoth, and the album description makes mention of the dark entity Lilith. The track titles are in Latin and roughly translate to descriptions such as “Fornicating with the Prophet” and “Flame Keeper of the Ancient”. Even though I’m not overly familiar with the Qliphoth or Lilith, it’s certainly an album steeped in occult imagery and dark symbolism.

I think my favourite track is Te Gloriosus Apostolorum Laminam Carnifici (or The glorious executioners). The track begins with a vibrating, maybe horn-like tone, echoing male chanting almost hissing from the shadows. There feels like a sweeping shimmer behind things at times, and an impression of cavenous space. What sounds like a squeeling string-tone begins, and the longer this cotinues, the more it begins to sound like distant screams, probably rising up from some dark abyss. There are other tones too, a fuzzy chuntering and slow electric guiter tones meandering in the soundscape, but those screaming strings... Eerie and dark stuff.

Another track that I enjoyed was Opaca Secreta Ordinis Magistri (or The dark secrets of the Master Order). This track starts with airy echoes and rumblings. Breathy tones seem to hiss on the wind, and distant female rasping calls vie with low electronic tones. A male chant joins things shortly after, like some kind of dark dialogue being conducted between worlds. This track would certainly suit a horror film in which the unlucky victims wander into the lair of a witch, or maybe some kind of dark air elemental. A high tone that emerges around the midpoint of the track could even be the sound of a glimmering treasure chest; bait to tempt the foolish as they tread where no one should dare to enter. Another fun syrupy dark track.

Finally, I`ll make mention of Flamae Custos Antiquae (or Flame Keeper of the Ancient). This opens with a hollow airy drone and a low rumbling tone. A crackling male chant begins, harsh echoes and whispers reflecting the sound back. There are thumps and vibrations that seem to lavish attention on each ear, and swells of sound that seem to agitate the permanently softly howling soundscape. The sounds at the lower end of this track make a very ominous feeling reside beneath the apparently airy upper layers, dark swirls and pulses hinting it forces unseen.

Teloc Od Busd G'a Qaa C'a Qliphot is a rasping, hissing, chant-laced dark ambient album. The dark spaces and rumbling movements of power sit well with the male and female vocalisations; the soundscapes doing a fine job of portraying the summoners, and hinting at the things that might be listening in the shadows. If you like your dark ambient more on the occult, ritual side of things, you should take a look at Teloc Od Busd G'a Qaa C'a Qliphot.

Visit the Teloc Od Busd G'a Qaa C'a Qliphot page on Bandcamp for more information. You can also check out the track Mortem Ad Flumen Paroketh below:



I was given a review copy of this album.


Album Title: Teloc Od Busd G'a Qaa C'a Qliphot

Album Artist: Occult Odyssey

Label: Noctivagant

Released: 25 Mar 2021