When a band who hail from the Black Metal capital of the world
Norway name themselves after their mother tongue's word for "fog" then you won't win any awards for guessing which style of music they play.
And sure enough as soon at the first screech of opening track
Atternett reverberates round the room it becomes obvious that you are in for a true
norsk svart metal experience.
Taake display an ice cold edge that could freeze the air in the warmest of saunas. They combine fuzzy, primitive guitar lines with occasional wind-swept melodic breaks. Think
Immortal recording in utter grimness at Darkthrone's home studio and you won't be a million miles away.
Even if you haven't heard the bands music you will probably have heard of the headline grabbing antics of main man Hoest. After all, if serving some time in jail for "reasons unknown" and playing a gig with a hole in his trousers so that his "old chap" was peeping out wasn't dumb enough for you, this is the man who though it would be a good idea to stroll onstage with a Swastika painted on his chest...in Germany!
Since this little stunt Hoest has gone to great lengths to play down any political message in Taake's music. He has stated that he was simply trying to break down taboos and to shock his audience. Now this may have been his intention but when he is playing a style of music that already has unfortunate links to fascism and the far right then there are better ways to get your point across.
Mind you, it's not exactly an original concept. Punk musicians like Sid
Vicious of the Sex Pistols and Siouxsie Sioux of the Banshees were doing the exact same thing in the 70's. And both came away from that foolishness unscathed.
Well ok, so Sid
Vicious ended up lying dead on a hotel room floor after killing his girlfriend but that's besides the point.
Anyway enough politics and music history, lets talk about the music itself on Taake's latest release. Having finished with the bands trilogy of albums based on different aspects of his homelands natural surroundings Hoest has taken his music in a slightly different direction.
This is a collection of pretty direct, raw black metal blasts. The epic guitar playing of previous albums has been reigned it somewhat (but thankfully breaks free of its bonds at points) and the production, as befits an album of this nature lacks the slight polish of the bands last full length release Hordalands Doedskvad.
The guitars are more waspish in sound bringing to mind Darkthrone's classic Peaceville releases and the drumming is fairly reserved most of the time, more concentrated with keeping time rather than overpowering with technical ability. There are plenty of tempo changes on the album so the music ranges from a spare funeral procession to all out blast beats when the occasion demands it.
The bass playing on the album is particularly well done with a deep resonate tone, constantly lurking in the background. I've always had a great affection for Black Metal releases that allow the bass lines to wander off the usual chord path slightly. I feel it adds an extra dimension to the material and I find myself tuning out the rest of the instrumentation and screams just to listen to what the bass is doing. Listening to the bass creep its way to the forefront as it takes over the 2
nd track
Unmenneske at around the four minute mark is a hypnotic experience.
Hoest's vocals, like his antics are attention grabbing. Many Black Metal albums fall down on the vocals. If the singer doesn't have that demonic, forceful quality to his performance then all the sub-zero atmospherics in the world aren't going to draw the listener in.
The vocals on this album complement the music perfectly, Hoest screeches and squeals like a man bearing his inner torment to the world. At no point does it sound forced or faked. The man is certainly pissed off and he is going to let you know about it. Plus he lets loose the occasional Tom G. Warrior "OOOOHHHHGGG" so he is going about things the right way in my book.
Since the lyrics are all in Norwegian and I put no faith in online translators I will leave you to figure out what the lyrics are about. Although whatever he is describing I'm guessing it doesn't have anything to do with sunshine and picnics in the park.
I can't finish this review without mentioning the closing epic
Velg Bort Livet. At ten and a half minutes it's by far the longest track on the album. It starts out with a strict blasting regiment featuring ruthless high hat work and lots and lots of tremolo picking. It stays on this course till around the three minute mark when it slows the pace right down with some righteous, hanging, Doom bar chords until all hell breaks loose again. It then transforms into a spellbinding mid paced blast for its second half. It's basically a distillation of the entire album in one track and works perfectly as a closer.
If you feel, like I do that the only way to start off the cold, bleak months that issue in the year is with some equally cold, bleak music then I suggest you go for this release. Trust me you could do a lot worse.
Written by
Stuart Thursday, January 8, 2009
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