Klifot – Noc tmavého ducha

Necroeucharist Productions is a fairly new (since 2020) Black/Death metal label from Switzerland. One of their latest releases is from a Slovakian black/project metal band Klifot. I don’t even know if it is a one-man project or a band, but there is reason to believe that it is a one-man project. At least it sounds like that. The moniker Klifot should be some kind of evil forces within the Jewish cabal.

Meanwhile, band’s debut EP entitled Noc tmavého ducha (translates to: Night of the Dark Spirit) has now been released on 12″ black vinyl under the Necroeucharist Productions banner. In addition to the chilling aforementioned EP, this vinyl includes also the bonus track called “Navždy vo večnosti” (Forever in Eternity). It is a limited edition of 100 copies only. I was fortunate to be selected to receive this vinyl for a further examination.

Slovak black metal scene has always been strong, nevertheless this is my first encounter with this Poprad-based act. From the first look at the album cover and its title, it is obvious what will await us – a piece of an obscure and distant black metal. This particular vinyl release contains six tracks; “I”, “Noc tmavého ducha” and “Súčasť kliatby” on A side, while “Vstaň z mŕtvych”, “Ďaleko od seba” and the already mentioned closing track “Navždy vo večnosti” on Side B.

Thematically and lyrically it does not deal with the subjects of a Jewish cabal and similar traditional anti-religious themes, but rather being introspective, dealing with self-perceptions of darkness, rise from the dead and other personal perspectives & feelings. The whole atmosphere is rather gloomy and grim, feeling distinct, desolate and depressive.

The album basically opens with a kind of intro, shortest song simply titled “I”, (listen to the song below). Having said it’s an intro is a bit of an understatement, as it’s actually a full-fledged song. The only thing absent here are the vocals, with the exception of some high screams at the very beginning of the song. Apart from the initial screaming, one can hear some kind of weird sounds, a great sound wall created on the guitars which is the foundation for the whole song. This track, as more or less the entire EP, sounds a bit too chaotic and without a real structure, devoid of typical verse/chorus segments. A self-titled “Noc tmavého ducha” is obviously the track that is most representative of the band’s sound. In this track the band incorporates some faster parts paired with relentless wall of different, sometimes experimental, sounds. Next comes “Súčasť kliatby”, in the most literal sense translates to “Part of the Curse”, is probably the song with best structure, interesting song-writing while offering a palette of different epic-, cold- and desolate sounds. “Vstaň z mŕtvych” (eng. “Rise from the dead”) is another Klifot-trademark track with the inclusion of a bit cleaner, yet desolate sound effects. It sure has its moments esp. in the middle section where the song peaks and reaches the heights. “Ďaleko od seba” features some fast tempo, a heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, an unconventional song structure, and again huge emphasis on atmosphere. “Navždy vo večnosti” is the longest track from Noc tmavého ducha clocking at seven minutes and it serves as a nice EP closure and with a fitting title in “Forever in Eternity”.

I’m not sure if it finds its place forever in black metal eternity, but I definitely hope to hear more from this mysterious and misanthropic black metal act in the near future. Production is as expected from this kind of a band; being unposlihes, raw & (lo-fi) recording, pretty much done in an old-school manner. Cover artwork is equally representative of the band’s dark and grim sound.

As majority of black metal out there, I don’t expect Noc tmavého ducha to appeal to metal mainstream tastes, but for black metal underground purests will embrace the darkness and obscure approach that is charasteristic for Klifot.

For additional info on this interesting and intriguing black metal release from Slovakian underground visit https://klifot1.bandcamp.com/album/noc-tmav-ho-ducha