Genre/Influences: Dark-Ambient, Industrial.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Croatian TeHÔM is a project with a rich and eventful past which is driven since 2010 by Miljenko Rajaković. “Legacy” is the second album ever released by Cyclic Law.

Content: “Legacy” sounds in the line from previous works; a strong Dark-Ambient music production intermixed and reinforced with Industrial sound treatments. The tracks reflect a ghost-like atmosphere accentuated by subtle field recordings and an impressive canvas of noises. You’ll also notice a few spoken vocals by guest performer Rob Bees Fisk (Curse All Kings, Common Eider, King Eider). Last but not least there also is a track originally composed by Arvo Pärt which has been totally reworked and retitled.

+ + + : This album contains all the ingredients for an achieved Dark-Ambient production. The songs are well crafted with a wide range of sounds and arrangements. This leads to an opus with a strong visual strength. Sound-wise, I like the deep, dark sounds as well as the pieces with bombastic percussion.

– – – : The work is fully enjoyable but missing a true apotheosis.

Conclusion: TeHÔM has a nose to bring Dark-Ambient and Industrial elements together.

Best songs: “Space For Dead Souls”, “Lamentation”, “Subterranean Waters”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.tehom.altervista.org / www.facebook.com/tehom.croatia

Label: www.cycliclaw.com / www.facebook.com/cycliclaw

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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Genre/Influences: Dark-Ambient, Industrial.

Format: Digital, CD, Cassette.

Background/Info: TeHÔM is a Croatian project founding their origins in the late 80s. When the core member of the project passed away, the project got reactivated a few years later (2010) by Miljenko Rajaković. Different albums have been released –featuring two noticeable productions on Cyclic Law.  “Phobos” is the first full-length released by Zoharum. It’s a live album, which has been recorded in Wuppertal (Germany) during Phobos Festival in 2019. Notice by the way the cassette release has been released on Lithuanian label, Autarkeia.

Content: TeHÔM deals with a dark sound, which is carried by Industrial elements and Drones with some sung passages. The vocals have something of deep throat vocalists. It creates a kind of Ritual effect on top of the production, which also reveals a Dark-Ambient side. The tracklist is simply numbered from 1 to 8.

+ + + : Zoharum productions always reveal a great artwork and it’s not that different for this album, especially the inside picture totally fits with the dark sound of this live performance. The concert was directly recorded from the mixing board, which explains the great sound quality. Sound-wise there’s a true symbiosis between the different influences, but I’ve a preference for the opening cut carried by drones and the sixth cut, which is more Ambient-like. 

– – – : I think a little bit more diversity would be an extra. You don’t really hear this is all about a live recording –especially right at the end, but that’s not really a point.

Conclusion: TeHÔM invites the listener to embark for an obscure and mysterious voyage throughout imaginary dungeons and cellars.

Best songs: “VI”, “I”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.tehom.altervista.org / www.facebook.com/tehom.croatia

Label: www.zoharum.com / www.facebook.com/zoharum

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Great news from the Cyclic Law, the label has released a special live audio recording of the unique TeHÔM performance for “The Keep Ambient Lodge” at 2016’s Brutal Assault Festival in the Czech Republic.

Unlike most live recordings available in the industrial scene, the label took care to recorded both through the mixing board as well as from two room microphones to capture glimpses of the live experience.

The release comes as a high quality download album (featuring just one live track with a running time of 47:32) and also on CD, in a 4-panel matt laminated digipak limited to just 500 copies – which is available right here.

You can preview the live recording below.

TeHÔM is a Croatian dark ambient/ritual ambient/industrial/experimental music project. Originally TeHÔM was the alias of Siniša Očuršćak who died in 1997 after completing the second album with the help of Miljenko Rajaković. Currently the project is run by Miljenko Rajaković.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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