Review: “Vákuum” by Teitan

Originally formed by Cthuluminati vocalist and guitarist Devi Hisgen alongside Damon Bergkotte in 2009, after releasing a very raw and obscure demo called “Dark Ritual“, Bergkotte stepped aside and Teitan seemed to die its death. After years of encouragement with the pair remaining friends a decade on Hisgen reignited the flames of the funeral pyre of the project as a multi instrumentalist and unleashed “Weight of the Void“, embracing the opportunity to write about dark scientific theories and obscure philosophers whilst experimentally bringing drone elements into intense and gripping Black Metal with dissonant melodies…

…and so the third chapter of the burning book opens on the pages of “Vákuum“, a twenty two minute journey down the rabbit hole of the dark and mind bending. The concept behind Teitan is one that is abstract and avant-garde to say the least with the clean vocal moments sounding like Ozzy Osbourne after several cups of mushroom tea wondering the fields of Middle Earth while uttering the words of an asylum dweller, “Je Vois la Fin” being a prime example. Infusing Pink Floyd esq psychedelic moments of atmosphere to Black Metal gives everything an eerie sense of chaos as if the music starts with an idea and just flows with no structure or control and here that way madness dwells. The hypnotic introduction of “Metempsychosis” is like some kind of ancient incantation that comes to life with the drive of a drum machine that is as harsh as the unclean vocals, it wriggles like two ends of a worm that has been cleaved in half. Everything has an ominous weight and there ware times when you’re listening to it wondering exactly what it is that you’re hearing within these dark and nightmarish moments; awaiting the evil laughter of the Dark Lord as you are welcomed at the gates of Hell. Then you have “Description of the Passing“, a literal film speech sample that describes the act of death against a backdrop of a creepy soundscape that may leave you troubled and uneasy. “Vákuum” is a true ode to the void, a well-articulated piece of abstract art, the Black Metal equivalent of phycological horror film that leaves you questioning the very fabric of existence and something almost beyond compare [7/10]

Track listing

1. The Grinding Teeth of the Wheel of Time
2. I Become the Lunar Sky
3. Je Vois la Fin
4. Metempsychosis
5. Description of the Passing

“Vákuum” by Teitan is out 15th September 2021 via Void Wanderer / Onism Productions / Zwaerdgevegt Records and should be available over at bandcamp.