_ _______ _ ...:... _ _______ _ ___ / .:::::::::::. \ ___ | / .. (:::::::::::::) .. \ | | . .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::. . | | .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::. | _ _______ | .::' ::::':::::`:::: `::. | _______ _ \\ | | :: `' ::':`:: `' :: | | // \ | | `:. .::' . `::. .:' | | / . | | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. | | . | | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' | | .... | | `:' `::::: :: :: :::::' `:' | | .... | ' | : `. ': :: :: :: :: :` .' : | ` | |.....: . .......: :: :: :: :: : ...... . : ....| . ...................: : :: :: :: :: : : ................. . _____________:_____________ _____________:_____________ _ ___\` __ /_\` _______/_\` __ _/_\` /___ _ // __ / (/ ___/ (/ _ (/ /_______/\ _ _ /_________ ___________ ______/\ _ ______________/\__/_ _ \\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/ /// - -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- - - -------------------: : :. ..:: :: . :------------------ - : : :......: :: :` ': :: : .....: : : ___ _ | | : ` ' : | | _ ___ _\---------- : | -------- : B E R C : -------- | : ----------/_ /_\ . : . ..:.. ..:.. . : . /_\ /// . . : : . . \\\ /: :\ /:: Artist :: Taake ::\ :: Album :: Et Hav av Avstand :: :: Year :: 2023 :: :: __ _ _ __ :: -:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:- :: \ / :: :: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CD . :: :: Label :: Metal Army R.date :: 2025-01-27 :: _::__ Cat.nr. :: ARMY 117-CD S.date :: 2023-09-01 __::_ ::// \\:: ::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\:: :: :: /: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\ ..: Bitrate :: avg. 274kbps :.. . Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo . . Size :: 87.34 MB . . . __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: 1. Denne forblaaste Ruin av en Bro 11:52 :: :: 2. Utarmede Gruver 11:06 :: :: 3. Gid sprakk Vi 6:19 :: :: 4. Et Uhyre av en Kniv 13:02 :: :: :: :: :: :: ------- :: .. >> 42:19 .. __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: :: :: I have to say that the year of 2023 has been very fulfilling :: :: with amazing metal releases, with black metal albums being :: :: quite surprisingly the most anticipated ones this year. Among :: :: so many great albums from the black metal genre, one of them :: :: thatÆs surrounded with immense hype would definitely be TaakeÆs :: :: new album Et Hav Av Avstand. People who are familiar with :: :: classic Norwegian black metal bands, are obviously familiar :: :: with Taake and their cult status in the scene, so I believe :: :: that this band requires no introduction. Taake released their :: :: eight full-length album Et Hav Av Avstand on September 1st via :: :: Dark Essence Records, with a total of 4 tracks. I must say that :: :: I was pleasantly surprised when Taake put out a new single 'Et :: :: Uhyre Av En Kniv', while also announcing the release of their :: :: new album, especially since their previous seventh album Kong :: :: Vinter was released 6 years ago and all we had were three :: :: splits that filled the gap. Fast forward to the present, this :: :: new album is on the horizon for crazed fans of Norwegian black :: :: metal like myself, which got me quite excited because IÆve been :: :: a Taake fan for some time and I was really looking forward to :: :: hearing this bad boy. So, is this album worth your while? LetÆs :: :: find outà :: :: :: :: From the very get-go, as the first track 'Denne Forblaaste Ruin :: :: Av En Bro' kicks in, good old classic Taake is already rocking :: :: out. Tremolo riffs with the additional dose of ôin your face :: :: dirty rock æn rollö are absolutely banging with dynamic :: :: arrangements, going through these various tempo changes, along :: :: with the drums that often switch between fast drumming, d-beats :: :: and mid-tempo drumming, while HoestÆs signature dry and frozen :: :: harsh vocals just add so much grimness to this devilish brew. :: :: The second track 'Utarmede Gruver' has probably some of the :: :: catchiest headbanging riffing and drumming that will definitely :: :: provide more than just wild entertainment, while also :: :: presenting a slow but moody mid-section with a hammer-on riff :: :: that really sets up the cold misty tone of Taake. The third :: :: track 'Gid Sprakk Vi' is surprisingly just 6 minutes and 15 :: :: seconds long, thus being the shortest track of the four, though :: :: IÆd say that this track is a good moment for fans to catch :: :: their breath before the conclusion with the last track 'Et :: :: Uhyre Av En Kniv' which is the longest track with its length of :: :: 13 minutes. Something thatÆs always been the tradition with :: :: Taake is the lengthiness of their songs, which wonderfully use :: :: this opportunity to introduce at least a dozen riffs that will :: :: keep your attention and make you completely oblivious to the :: :: fact that you were listening to an eleven-minute song due to :: :: immersing yourself. Hoest obviously knows how to make his songs :: :: engaging and entertaining from start to finish, while also :: :: balancing things on a moderate scale to prevent listeners from :: :: getting bored to death and obviously doesnÆt want to make them :: :: feel exhausted as if they were just listening to an extremely :: :: long riff salad. Ever since I started listening to Taake in :: :: 2019, I never lost interest in the band after all these years :: :: and I am still madly in love with their oldschool sound. :: :: Something that feels a bit strange about this album is that it :: :: somehow feels incredibly short, despite the fact it comes :: :: around the length of 42 minutes. After getting completely drawn :: :: to this albumÆs magic, you quickly reach its conclusion before :: :: you even know itÆs over, which may be my only downside of this :: :: album. Overall, I think that you can overlook this small issue, :: :: because if you really feel what Hoest does on this album, it :: :: still really does a great job at being what Taake is best known :: :: for. Production-wise, Hoest maintains the sacred tradition at :: :: making the albums sound vintage and moderately raw, with a :: :: dirty guitar tone and raspy vocals that are always TaakeÆs :: :: strongest points and they do in fact shine on this album. :: :: :: :: Although I felt really underwhelmed by the fact that this album :: :: was over before I even managed to get a hold of what was going :: :: on, I still managed to enjoy it for what it is. It may not be :: :: the best Taake album, but itÆs obviously not trying to reinvent :: :: the wheel or attempt desperately to be the greatest of them :: :: all, because it is in fact a good Taake album and I think that :: :: you will definitely enjoy it when itÆs released on September :: :: 1st, amidst the forthcoming autumn sorrow and cold. I have to :: :: say that I highly respect the fact that Hoest is one of these :: :: rare occasions when a musician stays faithful to the bandÆs :: :: roots and still manages to create some banger riffs at the age :: :: of 45. :: :: :: :: . _ _ . :: \: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/ __\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2025 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__ \\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO/// \ :: :\-\___________\_ ___ / _ _/___________/-/: :: / :: | . . _ _ _/ __/ . \_ _ _ . . | :: : :::::::: | | \\\\\/ _______\____|\ \///// | | :::::::: : :: | | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- | | :: :: | | \ :|: / | | :: : : | . ` ::: ' . | : : . . | : ::: : | . . | :::....:::....::: | : ::::::::::::::::: : . :::''``:::''``::: . : ::: : . ::: . .:. :