A Chat With TELOCH VOVIN
TELOCH VOVIN is a black metal band based in Long Island/New York City. Their music heavily reflects on the concept of worship and ritual workings with the Forces ov Khaos, Entropy, and Death. They have recently released the new brutal 10 minute song, “Dragon Sworn”. This was yet another perfect way for the band to get everyone prepared for their upcoming split album, The Iron Age Of Kali Yuga, with VISERION.
What is the concept of Teloch Vovin and how does it affect your music?
Grigori: Teloch Vovin is a conceptual work expressing my worship and ritual workings with the Forces ov Khaos, Entropy, and Death. Teloch Vovin is Enochian: Teloch translates as “Death” and Vovin translates as “Dragon” and is a reference to Samael “The Dragon ov Death” known in his fiery, destructive aspect as Satan.
The concept behind Teloch Vovin will be explored in a trilogy ov full length albums. The first and third focus on the Black metal side ov the band and when listened to together will flow seamlessly into each other and though each album will stand on its own, when listened to together they will illustrate a larger picture.
While the second album will focus on the Black Ritual Ambient side ov Teloch Vovin and is more electronic based in it presentation musically.
The three albums in the Teloch Vovin trilogy are entitled
Ov Khaos, Entropy and Death (The first ov the Black Metal Albums)
The Psalms ov Khaos
(The Ritual Black Ambient album)
And
Lux Fero - Hymn ov Mahapralaya
(The second Black Metal album)
Teloch Vovin is a LHP Middle pillar ritual, uniting the three Pillars ov the tree ov Death. Each album represents a pillar, while Each ov the three albums will consist ov 11 tracks for a total of 33 tracks between the three full lengths. The number 11 representing the 11 Inverse Sephiroth and the remaining 22 tracks represent the 22 Tunnels which connect the 11 Inverse Sephiroth making up the full Tree ov Death.
Teloch Vovin is part of a larger conceptual work that will be completed when the band changes its name to “Lux Fero” and release one full length that relates to the completion of the concept behind both bands. Lux translated to Light, and Fero to “to fetch or to bring”, Lux Fero thereby translates to “Light Bringer” and is a reference to Samael in his guises as Lucifer and is focused on Lucifer’s creative aspects. For just as the first law of thermodynamics states, “energy is neither created, nor destroyed only transformed” and once you destroy something you must create out of what remains after the transformation ov what was destroyed. In this case the return ov ALL to the void, known in the Kabbalah as the AIN and expressed thru much ov Teloch Vovin/Lux Fero works as the Void or Khaos. Spelt in our works as Khaos to differentiate the Khaos or the primordial source from human Chaos, spelt as such.
Has the change of the band's lineup before and after the creation of the split album with Viserion made any differences in your music?
Grigori: The dissolving ov the first line-up took a long time for the band to recover from. I played for awhile in another band called Hierarchy which was more Blackened Death Metal. This is where I meet Ash and Saturnus and when that bands line up fell apart the three of us talked and since we worked so easily together they decided to join me in restarting Teloch Vovin.
A really good friend ov mine C.0.S from the might Wind’s Lord always told me if I get a new line up together he would help me finish the concept behind the band(s) and he joined on second guitars. Later Baba Ogun and Telel joined on vocals and finally Azag joined on Keys, Effects and Backing vocals. We have finished the recorded ov the next two Teloch Vovin releases and since then Telel has left the band to focus on his Sumerian studies and Azag has moved over to one ov our two vocal positions in the band, while still adding some keys and effects parts to the bands music.
I would like to take a moment here and also state that Proph our original drummer is still a member of the band but he doesn’t play live with us and now focuses solely on the Black Ritual Ambient side ov Teloch Vovin along with Azag and myself, more on this later.
Also I would like to send a big Thankz out to Jos-Sothoth for all his help getting the first line up ov Teloch Vovin going and all he did during his time in the band to help us get to where we are today.
As to how the line up changes have changed the music, not to much overall as I write most ov the music but every member who has ever been in the band has helped color and add their own flavor so to say to our music. The bands technical skill has really advanced with the new members joining the band. C.0.S has added a lot of really amazing guitar parts to the songs, like his amazing additions to the song “A Dirge to the Death ov Life, Love and Hope Pt2: Nothing, No-one, Nowhere” and Samael-Lord ov the Second Death” and Ash is the best drummer I have ever had the honor of playing with and he has done a lot with mixing and engineering our recording, so overall the new line up is the best one I have played with yet to date!!!
What was it like creating an album with another band?
Grigori: Not sure what you are asking here, if you mean with the new line up, then I must say that even with the normal problems and issues that arise during recording sessions, the recordings ov the two release we have ready to go now have been fairly problem free and that’s do to the diligence ov the new line up making sure that everyone had their parts ready to go and we just went in and knocked them out!!!
Teloch Vovin isn’t the first band I have recorded with as I played in another band and recorded 2 full lengths, a split and a handful ov other releases with them. As well as recording some material with Hierarchy which sadly never saw the light ov day but that’s as much as I want to talk about my last recordings and bands. The past is the past and I choose to leave sleeping dogs lie!!!
How did the pandemic impact the band’s ability to create music - did it teach you anything?
Grigori: Funny you ask LoL while most bands were stopped in their tracks by the pandemic, Teloch Vovin didn’t miss a beat. We all have different recording set ups at home and has songs that were worked out and ready to record,so we just switched to sending tracks back and forth further working any issues out and then recorded the pre-production demos ov all the songs. Which really made the recording process for both releases run really smoothly once the world opened back up.
Also during this time one of my best friends Ed Farshtey ov Armageddon productions and “the Book of Armageddon” ’fame (the book of Armageddon was one ov the very first fanzines every created back in the day) set up two wildly successful live stream events, one with Teloch Vovin, Bloodfeast and another with Teloch Vovin, Sickbay and Malignancy. Both live streams were great to be a part ov and to know that people all over the world tuned in was really gratifying!!!
How would you describe the ambient side of the band that you had explored through “Psalms ov Khaos”?
Grigori: Both Proph and I are big fans ov a wide range of music as well as horror movie soundtracks and even noise. Also sorts of music from Metal, classic rock bands and artists like Skinny Puppy, MZ412, to stuff like the sisters of mercy and Fields of the Nephilim. I for one am a huge fan ov Beherit’s “Electric Doom Synthesis” album.
So it’s natural for us to create in other avenues that don’t necessarily fit into the sonic mold that is Teloch Vovin’s Black Metal attack but at the same time these other avenues ov sonic torment are perfect channels for the energies being expressed thru the concept behind Teloch Vovin.
As I said , The Psalms ov Khaos tracks grew out ov a need to explore other musical avenues within the concept of Teloch Vovin, and as the concept behind the band was more full received from the other side, it became apparent that the Psalms ov Khaos tracks would actually make up our second full length album. We decided to release 10 ov them as a sort of digital release series which will be compiled onto one disc and the 11th Psalm will actually take up the second disc of the 2nd album. Yes the second full length will be a double disc release. The first 10 have already been released and the 11th one is under works now. The 11th Psalm ov Khaos is a maaasive 44 minute decent into divine madness. The run time ov 44 minutes is inspired by an Aleister Crowley quote:
"44. Useful to me chiefly because I had never examined it and so had acquiesced in it as accursed. When it was brought by a messenger whose words proved true, I then understood it as an attack on the 4 by the 11".
From "An Essay On Number" by Crowley, section 2, Liber LVIII.
The 4 here is a numerical representation of the Tetragrammaton and the 11 the forces ov primordial Khaos. Hence the source of inspiration behind this quote for Teloch Vovin.
After the metal side of the band changed its name to Lux Fero, Proph, Azag and I will continue under the Teloch Vovin banner doing more music in similar styles to that ov the current Psalms though we are talking about taking the music in say more of a Skinny Puppy direction but we will see when we get there!!!
What do you want to stick out to fans after seeing a Teloch Vovin concert?
Grigori: What I would like is for people to forget their at a show watching a band, forget their bodies, forget the world while we play and let the maelstrom consume them!! Feel the freedom that Death offers!!!!!
What is the most memorable moment from a live show you have played?
Grigori: One ov the most memorable moments for me was one that left me speechless and still does to this day when I think about it LoL the old line up was playing the Vengeance fest in N.J.
And a really long time, close personal friend ov mine ChArlie Aggression was playing in a Celtic Frost tribute band called Cult of Frost and they had become friends with old Frost drummer Reed St Mark who was joining them onstage for a few songs at the end of their set. Charlie introduced me to Reed, really kool, chill dude by the way!! And we talked about music and life for awhile and he said he would check out the band. When we got off stage from our set he pulled me aside and told me that he wasn’t joking when he said he thinks we were one ov the best bands he had ever seen live. Now I don’t know if he was just being nice since he was friends with my friend but damn that left me speechless haha and with my old band I got to tour with Akercocke and mortician, opened for Marduk, also opened for Kreator. And I’ve gotten to play with some killer underground shows with a shit ton ov awesome bands.
Another pleasant memory is making the punk band that went on before us at a show Puke with the 4 1/2 year old rotten blood I was wearing that night.
What do you have planned for the remainder of the year?
Grigori: Right now we are working our way through the songs for live shows with Azag moving over to vocals since Telal left and working music for the First full length in the trilogy. As well as completing the 11th Psalm Ov Khaos track. I am also currently composing the music for the third full length, I’ve got about 1/2 ov it written already.
We already have our next release entitled “Towards the inevitable” already recorded/mixed/mastered and ready to go. This next release is a huge step forward for Teloch Vovin, there are 7 tracks on the release, with a run time ov 40 minutes. We can’t wait for people to hear this release as well, we have a song on this release called “Panzer Fist” that is 16 minutes long and has a 16 piece orchestra accompanying us on the song!!! As well as an absolutely mind blowing guest guitar solo on a track called “The Rite ov the Harvest Pt1: The Rite ov the Reaper’s Blade” performed by Sebastian Ramstedt from the band Necrophobic. We are currently searching for a label but if we don’t find one I will release the album myself. By the way even though the “Towards the Inevitable” release is 40 minutes long we consider it an EP.
Besides that hopefully playing a few killer shows later in the year.
Where do you see the band 5 years from now?
Grigori: Further Down the Tunnel, continuing our Holy Work. I don’t do this to make a living, I do it cause it’s what I must, what I have to do, it’s like breathing or fucking to me. It’s just something I MUST do!!! I am just a channel, a conduit for that which is Teloch Vovin/Lux Fero, I am still listening, still learning and as the path before me becomes clearer, so to shall Teloch Vovin grow!!!
Who are your biggest influences when creating new music?
Grigori: I have a wide range of musical influences but to name a few LoL I have to start out with DIO Holy DIO, Dio’s Holy Diver album is my favorite album ov all time, hands down!!! No contest!!! But I love everything DIO was part of from Elf to Rainbow, to Sabbath (personally I prefer the DIO Sabbath to any other era LoL)
Mozart, finding Mozart when I was 11/12 years old just blew me away!!! His 40th symphony is the greatest piece of music ever written!!! Black Sabbath, Tony Iommi is God!!!!! But I love all eras of Sabbath from Izzy to DIO to Gillian and specially the criminally underrated Tony Martin era (who’s recent solo album is great by the way!!) Morbid Angel, Altars of madness changed my life, the first two Deicide albums, Led Zeppelin, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Samael, Styx, deep purple, Bach, Vivaldi, Sisters of mercy, Fields of the Nephilim, Beherit, Dark Throne, Marduk, the Devil’s Blood, Suffocation, Bolt thrower, old motley crew, Ratt, Dokken, 16 horse power, Dark Angel, Funeral Mist, Roky Erickson, the list is endless as I love music but I am not sure how much anyone of them influences my writing, I don’t really think that way until something is written musically and then I may look back and say hey that’s got some Iron Maiden influence in it or some Morbid Angel but I never set out to copy anyone’s style.
If you could collaborate with any other band, who would it be?
Grigori: If you are talking about what band I would like to join and write with I would have to say Funeral Mist or Marduk, both are bands I feel I could contribute to musically and lyrically but the chance to jam with DIO or Tony Iommi would be on top of my list as well LoL
