I think it’s fair to say that some artists are out there and “difficult” when it comes to reviewing and even listening to unless you are in a certain state of derangement. Dødsengel, the duo of Kark along with drummer Malach Adonai certainly fit into that category. Having been following them since their ‘Visionary’ debut of 2009 turned up I should be used to them after 5 albums but you never know quite what to expect. However, we are told here that ‘Bab Al On’ is “more accessible and more obscure than anything the band has previously released,” which kind of sounds like a contradiction in terms. So too does saying the Norwegians take an orthodox occultist path but do so in a very unorthodox way but that is exactly the case here as we move from ceremonial openings with clean chanted liturgical parts into scathing black metal and ambient with gibbous goblin croaks from the mouth of madness itself. That is just in the first couple of tracks of this fathomless 72-minute opus.
Conceptually this work is in praise of “the great harlot herself” the goddess Babalon and naturally also draped in Thelemic mysticism. Her muse takes the form here of everything from deep, dark ambient ritual and throaty vocal devotion as per the downright creepy ‘Annihilation Mantra’ through to wretched doom-laden plods in search of illumination amidst dark tenebrous shadows on ‘Waters Of Unravelling.’ The flow often seems disrupted as tracks can be long and have pauses between them before forming their own identities leaving you fixating on one part before something completely different is summoned into being. Karg does a fantastic job vocally giving things theatrical oratory flow moving from sounding angelic to demonic and craziness and unhinged parts are never far away. Just wait till he rages into the black seething lunatic mass of ‘Bursting as Boils on the Backs of Slaves’ a song every bit as eccentric as its title. The whole thing seems like a massive play at times which recalls the equally “difficult” Cultes des Ghoules. I shiver wondering if that coven have an early release booby-trapped for my listening pleasure next year as this one here becomes one of the last challenges of 2022…
Dødsengel could actually have made this whole process a lot easier on everyone and brought the album to a close after eighth track ‘Hour Of Contempt.’ They would have already stewed minds but a book is never written till the end and they “contemptuously” continue with three tracks taking up a full 30-minutes. These tracks include the stygian underworld doom-drenched ‘At The Heart Of The World’ the sort of song that would scare Mortuary Drape themselves. Then we have a companion piece to the earlier ‘Agnus Dei’ an inversion of ‘Dies Irae’ vocalised we are told by Hand. Both these are tracks that may have all but the most dedicated hitting the skip button. Finally, we ascend into the quite terrifying epic ‘Abomination Gate.’ At least some gorgeous acoustic guitar-work along with DSBM styled weeping here brings a bit of calmness to the mania that Dødsengel seem so proficient at delivering.
An unruly and obtuse an album as you will have heard throughout the last year ‘Bab Al On’ certainly won’t be for all tastes but for those seeking something a bit different dark treasure lurks within.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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