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/:: Artist :: Taake ::\
:: Album :: Nattestid.... ::
:: Year :: 2020 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Mindscrape Music R.date :: 31.01.2022 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: MIND017-CD Size :: 111,7 MB __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 279kbps : .
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint-Stereo .
. .
Website ::
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid I 05:56 ::
:: 02. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid II 05:34 ::
:: 03. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid III 04:32 ::
:: 04. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid IV 04:36 ::
:: 05. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid V 04:11 ::
:: 06. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid VI 07:33 ::
:: 07. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid VII 09:39 ::
:: 08. Blant S°lv Og Gull I M°rket 06:56 ::
:: 09. Trolldom 01:32 ::
:: 10. Marerittet 04:25 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 54:54 min ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: Come with the Koldbrann I Jesu Morg EP as bonus tracks. ::
:: ::
:: Taake's debut, without a shred of doubt in my mind, is one ::
:: of the greatest black metal albums of all time, a shining ::
:: beacon of everything that is inspiring about the genre. In ::
:: no other sub-genre of heavy metal music can I think of a ::
:: single album that so effectively captures every single ::
:: thing about that style of music as a whole and pulls it off ::
:: with such artful aplomb. Every single mood and facet one ::
:: could possibly associate with the darkest shade of metal is ::
:: here in spades, melded and forged and hammered and shaped ::
:: into an instrument of emotional, physical force that cuts ::
:: and cleaves to the very fiber of your being. Listening to ::
:: this album gives me the impression that, from some great ::
:: lofty height of a jagged, snow-capped mountain peak, Hoest ::
:: was able to gaze upon the entirety not only of black ::
:: metal's recorded output to that point in time but into the ::
:: very hearts of the legends and heroes of the genre to ::
:: better understand why they made the music that they did. He ::
:: gazed upon those visions and, through some unholy miracle, ::
:: was able himself to smith from those same ingredients ::
:: something even more profound than was ever accomplished by ::
:: the original second-wave greats. ::
:: ::
:: I'm sure that opening bit sounded quite a bit like fanboy ::
:: raving, which it probably was to be fair, so let's get into ::
:: the concrete reasons why Nattestid... proves so potent. ::
:: First and most obvious to me is the album's well-documented ::
:: folkiness. Most of you who've had more than a cursory ::
:: glance at the genre are probably well aware of black ::
:: metal's numerous flirtations and romances with folk music, ::
:: but this is something different. Too often when we think ::
:: about folky black metal, or pagan metal or whatever you'd ::
:: like to call it, what we're really listening to (when it's ::
:: not a complete mess, anyway) sounds like a sort of ::
:: minimalist, atmospheric black metal band of some sort ::
:: attempting to record an album in a studio that happens to ::
:: also be occupied by a grim band of bearded pagan folk ::
:: musicians. Both groups are aware of each other's presence ::
:: and take careful steps to avoid creating ugly musical ::
:: clashes or doing anything that would step on the toes of ::
:: the other musicians in the room, but it's not really stuff ::
:: that sounds like true collaboration. ::
:: ::
:: Taake in general, and this album in particular, are ::
:: precisely not that sort of folky black metal. This isn't ::
:: some dull two-chord atmospheric stuff with flutes over top, ::
:: nor is it ripping aggroblack with awkward transitions to ::
:: forest samples and acoustic guitars. No, the Nordic folk ::
:: sensibilities are fused not only to the standard guitar, ::
:: bass and drum instrumentation that are the bread and butter ::
:: of any metal band worth bothering with, but with Hoest's ::
:: approach to songwriting, melodies and individual riffs. ::
:: Indeed, the riffs on this album are perfect marriages of ::
:: that somber sort of ancient Scandinavian folk music that ::
:: stirs even the urbanest of American yuppies from his ::
:: hateful modern 9-5 slumber, together with the most ::
:: romantic, call-to-arms sort of anthemic black metal ever to ::
:: howl across the fjords. ::
:: ::
:: The quality is really sort of frightening in not only its ::
:: consistency, but in its ability to carve these melodies ::
:: upon one's memory. Every single riff on this album is a ::
:: 100% amazing, perfect riff, but more than that, each one ::
:: feels even better than whichever came before it, giving the ::
:: entire album a sense that it's 42-minutes of building ::
:: endless spires of swirling, frozen tremolo upon the looming ::
:: walls of what must surely already be one of the most ::
:: formidable fortresses ever constructed. "Vid I" is, without ::
:: hesitation, THE track I would show to someone who expressed ::
:: a genuine interest in hearing what black metal is all ::
:: about. "Vid V" has this rippling, surging blastbeat section ::
:: that feels like a long, slow fall into an icy chasm, ::
:: scraggly pines thrusting out from the cliff walls just out ::
:: of arm's reach. The album's instrumental, which would ::
:: become a trademark of Taake albums, sits right in the ::
:: middle, blizzard guitars cum swirling frosty eddies around ::
:: melancholic, descending bass guitar runs, a wordless ::
:: fireside celebration of a friend, a warrior, lucky enough ::
:: to have died that day in the glory of battle. ::
:: ::
:: The individual musical elements on this album are just ::
:: beyond belief. Hoest established even on this first album ::
:: that he's probably one of the most impressive frontmen in ::
:: the history of metal, utilizing his knife-edge rasps, ::
:: suicide howls and dragonfire screams with skill that ::
:: reaches far beyond perfection. His guitar playing is ::
:: equally varied, savage, primal, yet nuanced and subtle in ::
:: surprising, affecting ways. It's likely not possible to ::
:: heap enough praise upon session rhythm section mastermind ::
:: Frostein. His drumming is furious, organic and constantly ::
:: surprising with its inventiveness - the timpani in "Vid VI" ::
:: sound like a massive battery of cannonfire that rattles the ::
:: very bones of the earth. His bass playing stands out ::
:: perhaps even more, adding intricate melodic depth through ::
:: his impressive ability to play off of Hoest's guitarwork, ::
:: culminating in the faerie-folk lead melodic refrain in "Vid ::
:: VII" that serves as the song's thematic centerpiece and, ::
:: when it's brought back after a false finish near the end, ::
:: hammers home just how effective the band was working as a ::
:: duo. Frostein even was responsible for the mead-drunk clean ::
:: vocal chants that play a large role in pushing Nattestid.. ::
:: to the very highest of black metal's peaks. ::
:: ::
:: For me, perhaps one of the most important details of this ::
:: album (apart from the unadulterated perfection of every ::
:: single musical aspect of it, that is) is the fact that it ::
:: came out in 1999. By that time, the broader metal public's ::
:: fascination with the drama of the church burnings, murders, ::
:: suicides, rumors and the wider mythology of the Norwegian ::
:: black metal scene had started to wane, the top-tier bands ::
:: had either disappeared or begun to move onto more ::
:: experimental sounds, and the slow momentum of the deluge of ::
:: me-too bedroom bands had started to creep into public ::
:: consciousness, eventually hitting a saturation point that ::
:: left many metal listeners sort of disaffected with the ::
:: entire concept of black metal, the ripples of which ::
:: eventually manifested themselves as lasting trends that ::
:: continue today. For every spike-adorned goatfukk ::
:: sadoblasphemy band you'll find ten seasoned metalheads who ::
:: will say that corpsepaint, Satan, tremolo and blasting are ::
:: tired relics best left behind. So, Nattestid ser porten ::
:: vid's 1999 release is, for me, a blazing bonfire of faith ::
:: in, and love for, the things that have always made black ::
:: metal the narcotically captivating genre that it is, the ::
:: kind of music that has its fans adamantly defending not ::
:: only the genre's (as they see it, necessary) musical ::
:: conservatism but also its extramusical ethos as part and ::
:: parcel of the entire idea of black metal in the first ::
:: place. In 1999, metaldom had started to move on, but Hoest ::
:: not only clearly did not give a shit about any of that, he ::
:: quite obviously was profoundly in love with the spirit of ::
:: black metal and endeavored to create this manifestation of ::
:: his dedication to that spirit. ::
:: ::
:: Albums like Nattestid..., I think, have done a whole hell ::
:: of a lot to keep the fires burning all this time. ::
:: Regardless of whether or not any given younger black metal ::
:: band of today actually cites Taake as a direct influence, ::
:: they probably all owe a debt to Hoest's efforts to keep the ::
:: second wave rolling on, even long after the rebellion and ::
:: shiny newness of it had started to fade. But, even when ::
:: considered outside of the context of its importance as a ::
:: torch-bearer of second wave black metal, this album is an ::
:: absolute phenomenon of musical brilliance. Any fan of black ::
:: metal who has not heard this is doing himself a ::
:: considerable disservice, and I can really think of no ::
:: single finer example of what black metal is all about than ::
:: Nattestid ser porten vid. ::
:: ::
:: More than that, for me, listening to this album stirs some ::
:: seriously deep emotions within me. Memories faded and ::
:: obscured by long, hard years, regrets, tattered fringes of ::
:: hope and wonder. It carries this pulsing, rushing power ::
:: within it, something that somehow manages to clench all of ::
:: those darker feelings in its fists and draw from upon them ::
:: a determination and affirmation that all of the bad shit ::
:: that's happened to me really *has* made me stronger, more ::
:: able to rely on myself. There are a lot of albums that are ::
:: really important to me, but there are few that ::
:: simultaneously soundtrack where I've been, where I am, and ::
:: where I want to be. This one does. Beyond perfection, ::
:: beautiful, empowering, glorious. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
\: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/
__\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2022 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__
\\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO///
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