On the very first song, we noticed the pulse in our hand trying to keep up with even half the beat. ‘Einstoeingen go eg’ makes it easy to and encourages head-banging and fist shaking. It’s like a wall of distortion that undulates as a thick curtain in the frozen winter wind. Later in the song, a segment serves a startle but quickly snaps back to rescue as the grim riffs enclose.
Next we jump to ‘Et dyr tok min hud’, which is a great title leaping directly into infernal black metal with a much more active riff than the previous piece. We gather a few images of running the forest, great thorns tearing our skin. As the song moves forward it triggers a few painful thoughts as we drift back into ourself for a moment of moments, taken slightly out of tyme. At first, relief and a grin to the classic metal “ungh” but the following second go feels less inspired than the first.
The opening of ‘Engler’ teases with a deep cello pull that drags tight sinew and hair across the heart, however to our disappointment it was just that one note. ‘Engler’ does hold its own with the guitar on a bit more of an exploration. Then, there is another tease, this tyme of a clean duet, once agayne tearing little hooks in the heart that rip out swiftly. What follows remains acceptable, yet the fresh dew of that clean bit lingers. Here, the drums accentuate a great riff that pulls the song to a hollow and monstrous finish.
Closing the album, ‘Av hud ville naade’ takes a slightly different approach. Here, the lead guitar chooses a fresh path that still remains congruent with the rest of the album, but the vocal tones changes slightly. Somehow they feel a little lower or perhaps not quite as inspired.
TAAKE’s En skog av nidstang is solid, heavy, and definitely worth picking up.
Review By: Autumn Ni Dubhghaill
TAAKE
En skog av nidstang
Dark Essence Records