Zaklon/Nikoli/Embassy Row Music/Possession Productions/2014 CD Review

  Zaklon  are  a  1  man  band  from  Belarus  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  atmospheric  and  pagan  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2014  album  "Nikoli"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Embassy  Row  Music  and  Possession  Productions.

  A  very  dark  ambient  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  nature  sounds  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  programmed  beats  are  added  onto  the  recording  which  also  leads  up  to  a  more  slow  and  heavy  sound  to  start  kicking  in  and mixing  in  with  the  atmospheric  sounding  synths  which  also  introduce  spoken  word  parts  to  the  recording  and  all  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  After  awhile  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  once  the  music  is  in  a  heavier  direction  grim  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  album  also  starts  to  alternative  between  both  the  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  both  the  riffs  and  guitar  leads  also  incorporate  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  at  times  the  music  starts  bringing  in  elements  of  raw  black  metal  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  fast  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  heavier  sections  of  the  recording  start  using  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  which  also  bring  a  90's  black  metal  influence  onto  the  recording  while  the  album  also  retains  its  very  melodic  and  atmospheric  sound  and  you  can  also  hear  a  little  bit  of  post  black  metal  elements  in  the  music  at  times  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Zaklon  remains  true  to  his  atmospheric  pagan/black  metal  sound  of  previous  recordings  and  with  the  true  recording  he  adds  in  more  ambience  and  acoustic  guitars  to  create  a  very  dark,  melancholic  and  melodic  sounding  album,  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  sound  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a  dead  Belorussian  language  and  cover  the  native  of  Belarus  and  its  mystery  of  death.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Zaklon  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  pagan  and  atmospheric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Atrutu"  and  "Ahni".  8  out  of  10.

http://embassyrowmusic.com/zaklon-album-nikoli#!/~/product/id=42759207  

Zaklon Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the project for those that have never heard of you before?
ZAKLON was born on 1999 as an epitome of my world view projected on my musical notions and preferences. Up to date, four demo records and three albums have been released. I, Temnarod, have been and remain being the only author of ZAKLON.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

It is truly challenging to put a certain label on your own creation. Let those interested in it be the ones to do so. I am not one of them. Hymns of the doomed forests under the dying sun… Wailing of the ruthless cold… Kryvian Cold Black Metal… If these epithets ring a bell, then be it so.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Destruction… Devastation… Sorrow and Wrath… Scorn… My feelings and emotions… ZAKLON creations are not meant for people, they are dedicated to the nature of Kryvia, to the way I feel its pulsations. In Autumn  I die with her and fall from trees as yellow leaves. The poison of the Fall flows through my veins and compels me to create. In Winter I wail with the fierce winds and write poems in Her name. Contempt for the two-legged beasts and their puny faith in a jew on a cross… Death, Cold and Darkness… The Lyrics are extremely important to me; they hold an enormous semantic load. Together with the musical component, it is the essence of ZAKLON.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

A Curse… Sundown… Doom…

5. Currently the band is solo, or you planning on adding more members in the future or do you choose to remain solo?
ZAKLON has always been a project of a sole creator… It will remain as such. I plan to bring in session musicians for the recordings. But nothing more.

6. The new album came out on Gardarika Musikk, how did you get in contact with this label and how would you describe the support that they have given you so far?
Some of my friends suggested that I look into this label a while ago… In 2010 I contacted them and offered to release this album. They agreed, but some kind of problem occurred and the release was cancelled. Almost two years after that Gardarika Musikk contacted me and the negotiations regarding the release of this record continued. Sometime after that I held the final released record in my hands. It was a pleasure to work with the label; the outcome was of high quality and in a timely manner.  As for support, normally the label sends me a certain amount of copies of the record and this is where our cooperation ends. Gardarika Musikk arranged a promotional campaign; they also found a remarkable artist to do album art. I am impressed by their support.

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
I don’t know… Browsing through reviews in the American and European media I came across only the praising reviews and evaluations. This tells me that such oeuvre has a significant number of fans outside of my homeland… The only problem is, they are unlikely to understand what my songs are about. Mwahaha…

8. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?
I am a Black Metal vocalist and songwriter of DESOLATE HEAVEN formation, which also includes three other people. Right now we are preparing to record a new album.
DEFUNCTUS ASTRUM is my Space Black Metal project which will also be in development soon…
POGOST… At the moment I don’t have the inspiration to continue working on this project.
HRESWELGR might soon rise from inexistence…
However I don’t think the names of these projects will mean a lot to most people…

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
To me, my oeuvre is great for me personally simply because I have no knowing of the Ways and vastness that await… There are, of course, certain ideas, thoughts, feelings, but it’s rather difficult to put all that in words at the moment. And, to be honest, I have no desire to do so. All in good time…

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
I used to listen to old recordings of Darkthrone, Burzum, Carpathian Forest early on.
Now I listen to different genres of music, but it doesn’t have much of an impact on my oeuvre. My vision of development of ZAKLON is self-sufficient and abstract from influence of the outside world…
HATE FOREST, DRUDKH, INQUISITION, MGLA, KRUK, DEATH are among my favorites, as well as many other bands…

11. Does Paganism or Occultism play any role in your music?
I am distant from all of this, in the common understanding of these terms. These expressions have become quite vague nowadays; they don’t hold the initial meaning and embodiment. However paganism is definitely in my blood, it runs through my oeuvre and my whole existence like an invisible thread. Yes, of course, I am a pagan. But I have my own “gods”, if I may say so, and my rituals… It is these sacraments that ZAKLON lyrics shed light on for those capable of comprehending it and feeling it.

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Sports, reading, and art in any of its kinds. Walks and continuous wanderings through the woods and swamps of my Region hold a special place among my hobbies.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
It will all end soon…

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Zaklon/Chornae Lis 'ce/Gardarika Musikk/2012 CD Review

  Zaklon  are  a  1  man  band  from  Belarus  that  plays  a  very  atmospheric,  raw  and  primitive  form  of nature  orientated  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Chomae  Lis 'ce"  which  was  released  by  Gardanika  Musikk.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  drumming  with  only  a  small  amount  of  fast  playing  snd    blast  beats,  while  the  synths  when  they  are  utilized  bring  a  very  epic  and  atmospheric  sound  to  the  music,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  black  metal  riffs  that  are  very  raw  and  primitive  sounding  along  with  a  good  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  being  thrown  into the  riffing  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  soft  and  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  which  are  rare  on  this  recording  are  very  melodic,  raw  and  primitive  sounding  black  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  to  enhance  the  darkness  that  is  coming  out  of  the  music.

  Vocals are  mostly  high  pitched  and  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  with  some  clean  singing,  spoken  word  parts  and  whispers  being  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  some  samples  of  nature,  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Belorussian  and  cover  nature  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length

  In  my  opinion Zaklon are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric,  raw  and  primitive  sounding  nature  orientated  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Naval' nica"  "Cyamrychnae  Taemstva"  "Amy'arc'ven'ne"  and  "Spynyaecca  Kola  Zhyc' cya".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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