Taake: Noregs Vaapen – new album

As A.V. Club's Jason Heller puts it: “TAAKE's Ulvhedin Høst  isn’t exactly one of the cuddliest people on the planet. But for someone who seems happy stirring up shit and trying to alienate fans, he sure has made an accessible album.” Listen to that album, released in Europe in September 2011 on Dark Essence Records and on November the 1st, 2011 in the U.S. on Candlelight Records, in its atmospheric and icy entirety here at A.V. Club. (The album's stream has since ended.) ‘Noregs Vaapen’ is filled with Høst's trademark riffs, melodies and vocals, but  Høst seems to embrace unpredictability now as well, with added black‘n’roll grooves, ice-cold mellotrons, and, not forgetting, (“white-trash”) banjo. The album, produced by Bjørnar E. Nilsen, features guest appearances by Nocturno Culto (DARKTHRONE), Attila Csihar (MAYHEM), Demonaz (IMMORTAL) and Skagg (GAAHLSKAGG, DEATHCULT) as well as producer and VULTURE INDUSTRIES frontman Bjørnar E. Nilsen. Below you’ll find the video for song ‘Nordbundet’, taken from ‘Noregs Vaapen’, a mix of live footage of the band mixed with scenes of the countryside around TAAKE's home town of Bergen, filmed by Høst  and directed by Torgeir Ness Sundli as well as a new track, ‘Fra Vadested til Vaandesmed’. Buy TAAKE's stuff here (official store).

“Not that TAAKE were necessarily the strictest of black metal bands to begin with anyway; their fierceness was always a little more melodic than their chilly peers (without having to resort to goofy keyboards or superfluous ladysong). But parts of ‘Vaapen’ throw wrenches into the mix that you didn’t even know could be thrown. Chilly post-punk guitar surfaces at in-hindsight-appropriate moments, rollicking doom riffs peek their heads in, and even SHINING-style cock rock makes an appearance. But the two most interesting song - sandwiched together in the middle of the album - bring surprises in a genre not known for them. ‘Du Ville Ville Vestland’ starts off grim, shifts into a surprisingly tasty riff, then gets black metal again, continuing that way, until, about four minutes into the song, some down right Peter Buck-style jangling R.E.M. guitars surface over the rest of the band. The thing about it, though, is what while it’s certainly jarring, it fits. There’s a connection between black metal and the forefathers of nice guy college rock that you never knew existed before. But it’s there, looking you in the face, leaving you to wonder why you hadn’t always seen it there before,” [makes the journey through ‘Noregs Vaapen’ MetalSucks' Sammy O’Haggar – more here]

TAAKE: Fra Vadested til Vaandesmed – courtesy of TAAKE official

Formed in 1993 (“amid the rash of church burnings and other crimes virtually responsible for launching the scene” according to Eduardo Rivadavia, AllMusic) TAAKE (pronounced “toke”) have since managed to build a loyal fanbase and an even more curious press profile: the controversial episodes of band leader Høst  (Ørjan Stedjeberg) have resulted in several incarcerations. Over the three years after the band's inception, Høst recorded a series of demos, followed by TAAKE's first full-length album, ‘Nattestid Ser Porten Vid’, in 1999, issued through Wounded Love Records:

TAAKE: Nattestid Part II – courtesy of TAAKE official

And while the man behind the music, Ulvhedin Høst, joined fellow brothers in arms RAGNAROK as vocalist, he also issued TAAKE's second full-length, 2002's ‘Over Bjoergvin Graater Himmerik’:

TAAKE: Bjoergvin Part IV – courtesy of TAAKE official

In keeping with his colourful persona, Høst, who has dedicated himself to pay a “patriotic tribute to the fog that surrounds the seven mountains at his hometown Bergen” through his music, released an excellent album in 2005, ‘Hordalands Doedskvad’, before being incarcerated for a duration of several months in 2006:

TAAKE: Doedskvad Part 3 – courtesy of TAAKE official

A handful of splits and EPs later, ‘Necro’ in 2007 and ‘Svartekunst’ in 2008, Century Media ensured the release of TAAKE's self-titled album in 2008:

TAAKE: Umenneske – courtesy of TAAKE official

A taster for the band's fifth full-length, an MCD entitled ‘Kveld’ came out earlier this year via Høst's own label Svartekunst Produksjoner (listen blow), followed by yet another split with SIGH, THE MEADS OF ASPHODEL and THUS DEFILED, ‘Swine Of Heads’.

TAAKE: Hordalands Doedskvad 1 – courtesy of Patricia Thomas