Here is the third album from Icelandic Black Metal band Zakaz, and as with 2020’s ‘Hof úr holdi’, it is now just the work of I (Kristján Jóhann Júlíusson) as II, III and IV left after 2016’s debut, ‘Myrkur og dauði’. It is worth seeing what he thinks about this release himself, “With ‘Merki Sólar’, ZAKAZ emerges not merely as a musical entity, but as a vessel of ancestral recursion: an invocation of symbols buried beneath millennia of cultural sediment. These are not songs in the modern sense, but ritualistic utterances drawn from the liminal space where proto-Norse intuition bleeds into pre-linguistic gnosis. The title, “Merki Sólar” (The Mark of the Sun), evokes one of the oldest sacred images known to man: the solar mark etched into bone, stone, and mind. In the hands of ZAKAZ, the sun is a pure encapsulation of ancient memory, a contrast to cultural decay, a beacon lost in the fog of spiritual entropy. Here, the solar sign is refracted through a lens of psychospiritual collapse, revealing ancient truths long obscured by modern neuroses.” As for the band name itself, “Its name, a perfect palindrome, is a symbol rather than a word : a mirror held to the mind, reflecting what lies buried beneath language. It is to be read, not uttered; interpreted, not understood. In this way, ZAKAZ functions as an ancient sigil vibrating with hidden frequencies, awaiting activation by the subconscious.” I am aware that is a huge chunk of information to be copying into a review, but it certainly provides a great deal of insight into what this multi-instrumentalist and vocalist is attempting to achieve.
Yes, it is certainly Black Metal, but it is the evoking of the atmosphere which makes it what it is. It never seems like a solo project but instead is a release which is well thought out and constructed with arrangements which steep inside the brain, so much so that even when I is singing perfectly melodically and the pace has been slowed down and away from what was happening previously it is still very much deep within Burzum territory. Of course, he has also been influenced by Mayhem and Darkthrone, and we feel the cold of the Icelandic winter deep within our bones while listening to this. I’m playing this during a Southern Hemisphere summer, and it certainly makes me feel cold, such is its connections with senses and emotions.
I decided to grab this album as I have not heard much metal from Iceland, and it is interesting for me to note that Encyclopaedia Mettalum only has reviews for their debut and nothing since, so it appears they have been flying somewhat under the radar. Hopefully their first album on Norwegian label Gymnocal Industries will be written about by more reviewers, as this is an album which is definitely worth investigating for those who enjoy this genre, as the use of dynamics and contrast in all aspects make this a fascinating release indeed. 8/10 By Kev Rowland
