To be honest, I hadn’t been following Taake’s news for a while.
But with this ninth album, En skog av nidstang, the Norwegian band led by Hoest (Deathcult, ex-Ragnarok, live for Gorgoroth…), signed to Dark Essence Records, has once again caught my attention.
The Norwegian chill is evident right from Einstoeingen og eg, the opening track with piercing leads quickly followed by equally raw rhythm sections and screams, accentuating the dissonance as well as the oppressive atmosphere that naturally arises from the band’s riffs, as is their custom. The Old School tones and vocals which are almost hushed at times are particularly effective, creating an interesting contrast as the harmonics unfold at their own shifting pace, sometimes offering accelerations or, conversely, more spellbinding passages, such as the final leading into Et dyr tok min hud, where we find that same mysterious yet still aggressive tone. Once again, the harmonics carry our minds away on their melodious waves, while the vocalist delivers wild, at times almost noise-like tones, and the lead melodies remain fairly free-flowing – much like that touch of clean sound right in the middle of the surging wave, which ultimately gives way to Engler, where we find a hint of raw, plaintive DSBM, as well as some clean vocals. The interlude gives us a chance to pause and catch our breath once more before the next wave of darkness sweeps us toward the haunting finale and its unsettling sounds, but above all toward Av guds ville naade, which brings the album to a close while navigating through the various roots highlighted in turn, whether mystical, mysterious, or more raw, almost even wild, as the song’s title suggests in its original language, yet which the musician effortlessly renders natural and, above all, highly coherent despite their disparities.
I won’t go into why or how Taake slipped off my radar, but rediscovering the project with En skog av nidstang is a real breath of fresh air. Although clearly steeped in Black Metal, the band knows exactly how to keep things interesting.
90/100