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/:: Artist :: Taake ::\
:: Album :: Kong Vinter ::
:: Year :: 2017 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Svartkunst Produksjoner R.date :: 2017.12.24 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: HOEST012 Size :: 106,56 MB __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 292kbps : .
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint Stereo .
. .
Website :: http://taake.svartekunst.no/
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. Sverdets Vei 04:14 ::
:: 02. Inntrenger 07:18 ::
:: 03. Huset i Havet 07:13 ::
:: 04. Havet i Huset 07:36 ::
:: 05. Jernhaand 06:19 ::
:: 06. Maanebrent 08:01 ::
:: 07. Fra Bjoergegrend mot Glemselen 10:22 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 51:03 ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: This is gonna sound weird but black metal makes my mouth ::
:: water. That's no exaggeration. And the rawer the quality and ::
:: the greater the album, the more my mouth waters. When I ::
:: first got into the scene-some fifteen years ago-I started ::
:: from the beginning. First, it was the well-known Norwegian ::
:: outfits, like Burzum, Darkthrone, Enslaved, Immortal, ::
:: Mayhem, Thorns, and Ulver. Then, the Swedish stuff (like ::
:: Dissection) and the third-wave shit (like Marduk, Watain, ::
:: and Gorgoroth). But the ones I came back to the most were ::
:: the underrated groups, like Ofermod, Svartsyn, Urgehal, and ::
:: Taake. To me, this latter group has some of the best black ::
:: metal ever recorded. In Taake's case, Nattestid ser porten ::
:: vid, Over Bjoergvin graater himmerik, and Hordalands ::
:: doedskvad still make me dribble over my lower lip like a ::
:: fucking vegetable. But, like most black metal giants, ::
:: Taake's recent material has begun to slip in quality. Their ::
:: 2014 release, Stridens hus, left my throat parched and now ::
:: my need for nourishment is at an all-time high. The question ::
:: is: will Taake's newest release, Kong Vinter, wet lips or ::
:: will it cause them to crack and bleed? ::
:: ::
:: Well, to be quite honest, opener "Sverdets Vei" did nothing ::
:: to dispel my continued concern for the band. It has the same ::
:: "safe" qualities as Stridens hus and its proggy Enslaved ::
:: character doesn't break it from any shell. But, Kong Vinter ::
:: isn't one song. Hell, it isn't two songs. It's seven; seven ::
:: songs that build off one another and ferment into one hell ::
:: of a black metal brew. For now, you can't see that coming, ::
:: as the Darkthrone-esque follow-up track "Inntrenger" only ::
:: slightly emerges from its warm cocoon. But, this is only an ::
:: introduction to what's coming. And, it's the catchy guitar ::
:: lead that hints at where the album is going. After dancing ::
:: around with this slick riff, the song settles in for the ::
:: long haul-taking Taake melodies and infusing them into ::
:: Satyricon-like mid-paced blackness until its conclusion. ::
:: ::
:: From here, everything changes. For the next five songs, ::
:: riffs are the name of the game. After the back-to-back ::
:: "Huset i Havet" and "Havet i Huset," you'd think you came ::
:: across an unknown Immortal record. There are so many mood ::
:: swings, so many riff changes, so much fucking attitude. The ::
:: first of the two tracks is heavier-using black metal grooves ::
:: and headbangeable Carpathian Forest assaults. The second is ::
:: the more melodic and better of the two-sucking you deep into ::
:: its dark, melodic spell. "Havet i Huset" sifts through ::
:: everything from lightning-quick black picking and in-your- ::
:: face bass work to a building transition that climaxes into ::
:: one of the best riffs of the album. ::
:: ::
:: And Kong Vinter continues to grow and Hoest's vocals become ::
:: more vicious with every track. But, the Gorgoroth-infused ::
:: "Jernhaand" will be the last time you hear a full song of ::
:: Hoest's nasty rasps. After all the fretboard ascensions and ::
:: descensions, and the neck-breaking riff at the 3:40 mark, ::
:: you can pretty much kiss Hoest's voice goodbye. Instead, ::
:: Hoest gives in to his other passions: the guitar and bass. ::
:: The two closing tracks are a back-to-back stew of every ::
:: melodic, hard-hitting, or genre-snapping guitar lick Hoest ::
:: can muster up. After opening with a couple minutes of vocal ::
:: work, "Maanebrent" unleashes lush guitar atmospheres and the ::
:: journey through dark valleys and over snow-capped mountains ::
:: begins. The atmospherics turn to start-stop guitar licks and ::
:: clever bass work, before bludgeoning you with massive drum ::
:: assaults that morph into slow, melodic interludes. Even ::
:: after ascending and rupturing into an explosive melodic ::
:: climax, "Maanebrent" still isn't finished. The rest of the ::
:: instruments spread it out and expand upon it, driving this ::
:: eight-minute piece home. ::
:: ::
:: But the ten-minute closer, "Fra Bjoergegrend mot Glemselen," ::
:: is the masterpiece of the album. Not only that, it's one of ::
:: the best pieces Taake has ever written. It has all the ::
:: progressiveness of modern-day Enslaved but with a character ::
:: that is and can only be Taake. It opens with some nifty ::
:: guitar work and a shroud of tension before all falls into ::
:: classic Taake melody. From here, it collapses further and ::
:: resurfaces more. And with each rise and fall, it comes back ::
:: with new life and new riffs. At five minutes, the bass takes ::
:: hold and begins an almost rocking build that explodes into ::
:: Gorgorothian gallops. After this subsides, the guitars ::
:: unleash one of the most beautiful passages the band has ever ::
:: put on tape. And, now that it's over, my shirt is soaked in ::
:: drool. ::
:: ::
:: So, how does this new opus compare to the band's classic ::
:: first three? Well, it doesn't. It's something else entirely. ::
:: It's black metal to the core but with a progginess and ::
:: classic metal feel that makes it unique. Kong Vinter's only ::
:: real issue (which is a significant one) is that its back- ::
:: half is better than its front. That said, Kong Vinter proves ::
:: Taake will not settle into a groove and join many others in ::
:: black metal purgatory. Taake will, instead, continue to be ::
:: the underrated classic they are. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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