TeHÔM — Phobos

Phobos is a largely low-key & shadowy blend of sparse-yet-detailed ritual percussion, hazed-yet-guttural chanting, and light synth-to-horn dark ambience- with traces of creepy-to-mysterious dialogue and other subtle unbalancing flotsam and jetsam here and there.

The release appears as an eight-track CD on Poland’s Zoharum- though in reality, it plays best as one long track/ sonic ritual.  The disc comes presented in a dull monochrome six-panel digipak, which features mood fitting pictures of shadowy surfaces and skulls on alters.

Apparently, the album was all captured as a live recording in an 18th-century German church, and with headphones on you can certainly make out the churches impressive acoustics and atmospheric reverb.  And I’d certainly the best way to play this album in a darkened or shadowy room with good headphones.

Fitting the whole ritual mood of the recording the eight tracks are each given just simply Roman numerals. With these, each running between one and seven minutes apiece, though as I mentioned early the whole thing is best played as one long piece- as it’s has repeated sonic themes/ textures, and the whole flowing release nicely builds and ebbs. 

Largely the unfold/ flow of the album is very stripped-back, sparse, and spaced. Though we rarely get all out silence, but more often than not we have say two elements be it lightly slicing ‘n’ swing percussion and darkly brooding chanting, or shadow drone hits and distant creepy horn wails, or blackly forking ambience and guttural moans. Here and there we get traces of dialogue/ snippets of talking/ or sudden creepy sound echoes, but these never build into anything firm. On the whole, Phobos nicely builds its atmosphere well, creating a feeling a feeling of arcane mystery/ dread, but with subtle traces/ traits of the more shadowy modern-day rituals.

If you're looking for a nicely sparse, yet shadowy mix of dark ambience, ritual percussion, and guttural vocalizing I’d say Phobos will certainly meet your grim chill-out needs. To score a copy for yourself head here.