Taake
Encyclopedia
Taake, pronounced [toke], is a Norwegian
black metal
band whose name is the old spelling form of the Norwegian
word "tåke" (fog).
, Norway
. Shortly after this release a 7" EP was released in 1996 called "Koldbrann i Jesu Marg," which would be the last demo recording that Taake would release.
The first full-length album "Nattestid Ser Porten Vid
(Night Sees the Wide Gate)" was released by Wounded Love Records in 1999. The album was written entirely by Høst but he brought in a session musician, Tundra to perform bass and drums. It was recorded throughout 1997 and 1998 at Grieghallen. "Nattestid..." is part I of a trilogy, all the writing on the CD and lyrics in the booklet are written in runes. All of the lyics are sung in Norwegian. This album is now considered a classic.
The second installment of the trilogy "Over Bjoergvin Graater Himmerik (Heaven Cries over Bergen)" was released in 2002. Again a seven song concept album
, the theme for "...Bjoergvin..." is death (Bjoergvin is the former name of Bergen
). On this record, Hoest surrounded himself with a band for the record: C. Corax on Guitars, Keridwen on bass, and Mutt (Gaahlskagg
, Trelldom, Sigfader) on drums.
The final installment of the trilogy was released in 2005 by Dark Essence Records. Entitled "Hordalands Doedskvad (Hordaland's Deathchant)" it adhered to the 7 song format (representing the 7 mountains surrounding Bergen) of the first two records, but showed a change in style (Hordaland
is a county in Norway
). While the first two records in the trilogy were clearly 80s metal influenced, this album was performed in a more traditional black metal
style which was reminiscent of Enslaved
, Bathory
and early Mayhem
. "...Doedskvad" also differs from the other in that it features a number of guest musicians. These include the infamous Nattefrost from Carpathian Forest
, Taipan (Orcustus
), and Nordavind (ex-Carpathian Forest
), as well as others. Following this release of this record Taake has had some minor releases, and played a few festivals (most notably Hole In The Sky Festival in Norway
, with Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved
on guitars), but according to the official website they are "on ice for awhile."
Preceding the still 2006/2007 European tour, Taake revamped their official homepage, moving away from the defunct site. Following the infamous show in Essen
, the band have been removed from several festivals and have taken much fire.
It wouldn't be acquainted with publicity if it was happened thereby - Lava who has been bassist since 2002 left the band.
The new website has also served as a place for Blabbermouth to get all the latest inflammatory statements from Hoest.
On September 8, 2008, Hoest announced on his homepage that he had recorded the fourth Taake album, simply titled "Taake". The album was recorded for Hoest's own label Svartekunst Produksjoner and is distributed via Dark Essence Records.
in Germany
, Høst appeared on stage with a swastika
painted on his chest. Allegedly, he also spat and threw beer bottles at the audience. This resulted in strong protests from both the audience and the press who were covering the concert. In Germany, the use of the swastika is strictly forbidden by law, and the remainder of Taake's German concerts were cancelled. It is widely believed that this incident was purely for shock value
. Following the incident, Høst stated on the Taake website:
On 2 April 2007, Høst made a further statement:
In 2006 the activity in Taake came to a meantime halt, since Høst was imprisoned for a violent assault. On July 30, 2007 the Taake website announced that the plans for the coming world wide tour was put on hold "due to a certain band member's imprisonment". On September 20, 2007 Høst announced on the band's website that he had been recently released from his 3rd incarceration for violence.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band whose name is the old spelling form of the Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
word "tåke" (fog).
History
In 1993, Ørjan Stedjeberg, now known as Ulvhedin Høst (often spelt Hoest), formed the first version of the band Taake under the name Thule, together with Svartulv, who was only twelve years old at the time. Thule released two demos; "Der Vinterstormene Raste" 1993 and "Omfavnet Av Svarte Vinger (Embraced By Black Wings)" 1994. Somewhere between the release of the latter demo and "Manndaudsvinter" in 1995, the band transformed from Thule to Taake which was more representative of the band and the area where Høst was from; the mountains of BergenBergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Shortly after this release a 7" EP was released in 1996 called "Koldbrann i Jesu Marg," which would be the last demo recording that Taake would release.
The first full-length album "Nattestid Ser Porten Vid
Nattestid Ser Porten Vid
Nattestid Ser Porten Vid was the first full-length album released by Norwegian black metal band Taake. It was released by Wounded Love Records in 1999. The album was written entirely by Høst but he brought in a session musician, Tundra, to perform bass and drums. It was recorded throughout 1997...
(Night Sees the Wide Gate)" was released by Wounded Love Records in 1999. The album was written entirely by Høst but he brought in a session musician, Tundra to perform bass and drums. It was recorded throughout 1997 and 1998 at Grieghallen. "Nattestid..." is part I of a trilogy, all the writing on the CD and lyrics in the booklet are written in runes. All of the lyics are sung in Norwegian. This album is now considered a classic.
The second installment of the trilogy "Over Bjoergvin Graater Himmerik (Heaven Cries over Bergen)" was released in 2002. Again a seven song concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
, the theme for "...Bjoergvin..." is death (Bjoergvin is the former name of Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
). On this record, Hoest surrounded himself with a band for the record: C. Corax on Guitars, Keridwen on bass, and Mutt (Gaahlskagg
Gaahlskagg
Gaahlskagg is a Norwegian black metal band from Sunnfjord, Norway, founded in 1998 by Gaahl and Skagg. Gaahl and Skagg were also members of the band Sigfader at the time, and they established this band to create more extreme and shocking music.They first released the Split CD: Erotic Funeral Party...
, Trelldom, Sigfader) on drums.
The final installment of the trilogy was released in 2005 by Dark Essence Records. Entitled "Hordalands Doedskvad (Hordaland's Deathchant)" it adhered to the 7 song format (representing the 7 mountains surrounding Bergen) of the first two records, but showed a change in style (Hordaland
Hordaland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...
is a county in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
). While the first two records in the trilogy were clearly 80s metal influenced, this album was performed in a more traditional black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
style which was reminiscent of Enslaved
Enslaved (band)
Enslaved is a progressive black metal band formed in June 1991 in Sveio, Norway, and currently based out of Bergen, Norway.-History:Enslaved was formed in June 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson when they were 13 and 17 years old, respectively. The band name was inspired by an Immortal demo...
, Bathory
Bathory (band)
Bathory was a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by Quorthon in 1983. They are regarded as pioneers of both black metal and viking metal. Quorthon remained the main songwriter and member of Bathory for more than two decades. Bathory was permanently ended after Quorthon's death in 2004...
and early Mayhem
Mayhem (band)
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...
. "...Doedskvad" also differs from the other in that it features a number of guest musicians. These include the infamous Nattefrost from Carpathian Forest
Carpathian Forest
Carpathian Forest is a Norwegian black metal band formed by Nattefrost and Nordavind in 1990.-Biography:Carpathian Forest emerged with the demo tape "Bloodlust and Perversion" in 1992. In 1993 the band released a second demo: Journey Through the Cold Moors of Svarttjern...
, Taipan (Orcustus
Orcustus
-History:Orcustus is a black metal band formed in Bergen, Norway, in early 2002 by Taipan, Dirge Rep, Infernus and Tormentor. Their moniker, meaning "the inner circle of Hell where Lucifer resides on his throne", was suggested by Dirge Rep and the band got approval to use it from the name's...
), and Nordavind (ex-Carpathian Forest
Carpathian Forest
Carpathian Forest is a Norwegian black metal band formed by Nattefrost and Nordavind in 1990.-Biography:Carpathian Forest emerged with the demo tape "Bloodlust and Perversion" in 1992. In 1993 the band released a second demo: Journey Through the Cold Moors of Svarttjern...
), as well as others. Following this release of this record Taake has had some minor releases, and played a few festivals (most notably Hole In The Sky Festival in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, with Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved
Enslaved (band)
Enslaved is a progressive black metal band formed in June 1991 in Sveio, Norway, and currently based out of Bergen, Norway.-History:Enslaved was formed in June 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson when they were 13 and 17 years old, respectively. The band name was inspired by an Immortal demo...
on guitars), but according to the official website they are "on ice for awhile."
Preceding the still 2006/2007 European tour, Taake revamped their official homepage, moving away from the defunct site. Following the infamous show in Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
, the band have been removed from several festivals and have taken much fire.
It wouldn't be acquainted with publicity if it was happened thereby - Lava who has been bassist since 2002 left the band.
The new website has also served as a place for Blabbermouth to get all the latest inflammatory statements from Hoest.
On September 8, 2008, Hoest announced on his homepage that he had recorded the fourth Taake album, simply titled "Taake". The album was recorded for Hoest's own label Svartekunst Produksjoner and is distributed via Dark Essence Records.
Controversy
In March 2007, during a concert at EssenEssen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Høst appeared on stage with a swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
painted on his chest. Allegedly, he also spat and threw beer bottles at the audience. This resulted in strong protests from both the audience and the press who were covering the concert. In Germany, the use of the swastika is strictly forbidden by law, and the remainder of Taake's German concerts were cancelled. It is widely believed that this incident was purely for shock value
Shock value
Shock value is the potential of an action , image, text, or other form of communication to provoke a reaction of disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotions.-Shock value as humor:...
. Following the incident, Høst stated on the Taake website:
...we truly apologize to all of our collaborators who might get problems because of the Essen swastika scandal (except for the UntermenschUntermenschUntermensch is a term that became infamous when the Nazi racial ideology used it to describe "inferior people", especially "the masses from the East," that is Jews, Gypsies, Poles along with other Slavic people like the Russians, Serbs, Belarussians and Ukrainians...
owner of that club; you can go suck a Muslim)!
On 2 April 2007, Høst made a further statement:
My previous statement clearly states that I apologize only to our collaborators who might get problems because of the scandal. This means that I take full responsibility and should receive all "problems" myself. But what problems did I get? We raped Essen on one of the first days of the tour and the word spread within minutes. For the rest of the tour I was such an easy target for verbal or physical abuse on stage, walking around the venues, in the streets, etc. But I didn't receive any confrontation. So keep your pathetic internet debate going, but don't think for one second that I take any of you seriously. Furthermore, I never did anything to make Taake a "big" band. I was hoping to lose some fans with the Nekro EP, so now I certainly expect to get rid of some more.
In 2006 the activity in Taake came to a meantime halt, since Høst was imprisoned for a violent assault. On July 30, 2007 the Taake website announced that the plans for the coming world wide tour was put on hold "due to a certain band member's imprisonment". On September 20, 2007 Høst announced on the band's website that he had been recently released from his 3rd incarceration for violence.
Discography
| Year | Title | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Der Vinterstormene Raste | Demo | Released as Thule |
| 1994 | Omfavnet Av Svarte Vinger | Demo | Released as Thule |
| 1995 | Manndaudsvinter | Demo | |
| 1996 | Koldbrann i Jesu Marg | Demo | |
| 1999 | Nattestid Ser Porten Vid Nattestid Ser Porten Vid Nattestid Ser Porten Vid was the first full-length album released by Norwegian black metal band Taake. It was released by Wounded Love Records in 1999. The album was written entirely by Høst but he brought in a session musician, Tundra, to perform bass and drums. It was recorded throughout 1997... |
Studio album | |
| 2002 | Over Bjoergvin Graater Himmerik | Studio album | |
| 2005 | Hordalands Doedskvad | Studio album | |
| 2007 | Nekro Nekro Nekro is a 1997 feature film directed by Nicolas Masson. It was written by Viorel Mihalcea and Nicolas Masson and produced by Niki Coman. The music for this film was written by Cornel Ionescu.- Cast :* Dan Astileanu* Aneta Bancu... |
EP | |
| 2008 | Svartekunst | EP (live) | |
| 2008 | Taake Taake (album) - Personnel :* Hoest – vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, drums... |
Studio album | |
| 2011 | Kveld | EP | |
| 2011 | Noregs Vaapen | Studio album |
Compilations and split releases
- 2004: Nordens Doedsengel (split EP with Amok)
- 2005: Helnorsk Svartmetall (compilation of early demos)
- 2005: Taake Vinyl Box (compilation containing Nattestid Ser Porten Vid, Over Bjoergvin Graater Himmerik, Helnorsk Svartmetall)
- 2006: A Norwegian Hail to VonVon (band)Von was a First Wave black metal band from San Francisco, California, USA. They are thought to be the first American black metal band, and have strongly influenced the second wave of black metal.-Biography:...
(split with Norwegian Evil, Amok and Urgehal) - 2006: Lagnonector (split single with Vidsyn)
- 2006: Dra Til Helvete! (split EP with Gigantomachy)
- 2011: Sartinem (split EP with Bvrtan)
Live members
- V`gandr (AeternusAeternusAeternus is a death metal band from Bergen, Norway.-Biography:Aeternus formed in 1993 as a trio, composed of Ares, Erik Vrolok, and Morrigan. They released their debut album, Beyond the Wandering Moon, in 1997 on Hammerheart Records , and toured that year with black metal bands Emperor and Limbonic...
, Helheim, Deathcon, Cult of Catharsis) – Bass - Aindiachaí (SlaviaSlaviaSlavia may refer to:* Medieval toponymy** One of the tribal centers of early East Slavs, see Saqaliba** The medieval name for the Wendish settlement area** The medieval name for the duchy of Pomerania** The medieval name for Mecklenburg...
, Deathcon)- Guitar - Gjermund (Enchanting Darkness) - Guitar
- Thurzur (Sigfader, Infernal Manes, GaahlskaggGaahlskaggGaahlskagg is a Norwegian black metal band from Sunnfjord, Norway, founded in 1998 by Gaahl and Skagg. Gaahl and Skagg were also members of the band Sigfader at the time, and they established this band to create more extreme and shocking music.They first released the Split CD: Erotic Funeral Party...
, Deathcult) – Drums
Taake
- Svartulv "Katta" "Kattaræv" (Tarmer) – Drums
- Dim – Vocals
- C. Corax – Guitars
- Keridwen – Bass
- Mutt – Drums
- Lava (AeternusAeternusAeternus is a death metal band from Bergen, Norway.-Biography:Aeternus formed in 1993 as a trio, composed of Ares, Erik Vrolok, and Morrigan. They released their debut album, Beyond the Wandering Moon, in 1997 on Hammerheart Records , and toured that year with black metal bands Emperor and Limbonic...
, Amok) – Bass, Vocals - Mord (HelheimHelheim-Biography:Helheim was founded in 1992 by V’gandr and H’grimnir , who added drummer Hrymr. The band began performing in local Bergen festivals, and in 1993, the band released their debut demo, Helheim, distributed only within Norway.Soon after the release of their first demo, the band began...
, Cult of Catharsis) – Drums
Guest Musicians
- C. Corax – Guitars
- Taipan – Vocals
- Nattefrost – Vocals
- Nordavind – Vocals
- Discomforter – Vocals
- Utflod – Piano
- Støver – Whispers
- John Boyle – "Stridsrop" (Battlecry)