(We present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Vadim Baev, guitarist from the Russian doom/death metal band Yakor (Яkорь).)

Onega is a town in the northwest of Russia, situated not far away from the White Sea. And Yakor / Якорь (translated as “the anchor”) is probably the only doom metal band in this entire region. The band was formed in 2016 with the following lineup: Vadim Baev (guitar), Vitaly Rudy (guitar), Sergei Belov (vocals, bass), Sergei Kostin (drums). Evgeniy Zhuravsky from the Trawler band took the second guitarist’s position when Vitaly left, but that’s not the point of this interview. It’s just that from the very beginning, Yakor was strongly inspired by the melodic doom influenced KYPCK, and these men didn’t hide this influence.

However, with the release of the third album under the ambiguous name Russkaya gotika / Russian Gothic (and that’s not about gothic metal or whatever) through Soundage Productions, the rules of the game seriously changed, and the band’s individuality looks clearer and sharper.

This short interview with Vadim Baev will answer some questions that arose while listening to the new songs. Continue reading »