Taake is a decade-old, well-established band of the Extreme Metal arts. Yet another renowned act that bypassed our review pipe time and again, and will thus unwillingly qualify for appearing on our n00b list. But this time it wasn’t because somehow the terrible mainstream got the better of us. It was – a wretched reputation preceding them. Same as other Black Metal bands from Bergen in Norway,1 the outfit’s notoriety was starkly apparent, even before the RMR crew had a chance to look at it.
You know, the usual culprits. Right-wing afflictions, psychopathic behaviour, violence of all couleur, purported practice of the dark arts, that kind of thing. The colorful Hoest was, of course, lightning-quick to deny all of that; they all are. He often claimed that provocation was the tool of choice for driving his point(s) home. Instead of truly arguing the case, I guess. However, this still landed Taake on our watchlist, and rightly so. Not a ban, mind you, but a list for those acts treading on thin ice. And those won’t get a hell of a lot of attention usually.
So, with En Skog av Nidstang (a forest of nithing poles) in full sight, the RMR crew decided to give this olde warhorse a try. And sure enough. A lot of ancient evil in Black Metal immediately bubbles to the surface. A somewhat frugal array of grinding rasps and snarls, short-handed riffs, tremolos when it suits the man, odd Post Black interludes, and a total atmospheric attack greedily greets you at every corner of the way. And woven in all that rich ‘n’ gritty tapestry is – astonishingly – a lot of melody and – hold on to something – a fair dose of dissonance. And it ain’t dissonance in the pure, extremist sense, mind you. There will be no trve distortion here. This very interesting disturbance will, however, warble across the soundscape at odd moments. And that creates a disjointed feeling that will keep the listener unhinged and interested.
And if the production sounds rough-hewn and essentially barebones, then this happened on purpose. The flat sounding, scratchy, and grimy mix gives En Skog av Nidstang a somewhat grim and desolate allure. And to get there, Hoest secluded himself on the island of Borgøy with – so I understand it – minimal equipment. And this to create this feeling of authenticity, of a style that is unique in and by itself.
So, can we freely craw success? Yes and no. The style is indeed standalone to a point, despite a certain marked closeness to Darkthrone and, to a lesser extent, Kampfar.2 The raw and scratchy use of the electric guitar, the MIDI-esque delivery, and the integration of an abundance of melody are all unusual in a way. The style taketh freely from the old masters, but then dumbs it down to a minimal degree. This generates the impression of a gritty, melancholic landscape devoid of joy and hope. And perhaps this was the songsmith’s intention. After all, nithingpoles, garnished with freshly harvested horse’s heads, were used to curse the enemies of the Norse. Now, imagine a full forest of that. A grim picture, indeed.
But that also means that, despite En Skog av Nidstang‘s out-of-the-box experience, the listener is faced with a meandering production. A record that, despite its relatively crisp 37-minute airplay, will twist, turn, and repeat to no end. Apart from exuding the awful and persistent impression of a monolithic, almost hypnotic production boring down on you, when it actually is not so. And that turns this record into an often arduous listen.
Ultimately, En Skog av Nidstang delivers as promised. A piece fueled by Hoest‘s unique blend and ultimately personal style and interpretation of Melodic Black Metal with benefits. The RMR crew was fascinated to a point. The whole record exudes a brutal sense of hopelessness and tribulation brought about by some of the most compelling cuts of extremes heard at the Review Desk so far. But the shortcomings always pulled this reviewer away from jubilation and back to reality. In the end, the lack of variation drowns the gems that hide in a miasma of Extreme Metal elements. And whilst that will not deter the determined fan crowd from praising this piece to no end, for this crew here and despite the good rating the piece finally garnered, it just didn’t quite do.
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: Dark Essence Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 31 July 2026