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/:: Artist :: Taake ::\
:: Album :: Et Hav av Avstand ::
:: Year :: 2023 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CD . ::
:: Label :: Metal Army R.date :: 2025-01-27 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: ARMY 117-CD S.date :: 2023-09-01 __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 274kbps :..
. Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo .
. Size :: 87.34 MB .
. .
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 1. Denne forblaaste Ruin av en Bro 11:52 ::
:: 2. Utarmede Gruver 11:06 ::
:: 3. Gid sprakk Vi 6:19 ::
:: 4. Et Uhyre av en Kniv 13:02 ::
:: ::
:: ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 42:19 ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: I have to say that the year of 2023 has been very fulfilling ::
:: with amazing metal releases, with black metal albums being ::
:: quite surprisingly the most anticipated ones this year. Among ::
:: so many great albums from the black metal genre, one of them ::
:: thatÆs surrounded with immense hype would definitely be TaakeÆs ::
:: new album Et Hav Av Avstand. People who are familiar with ::
:: classic Norwegian black metal bands, are obviously familiar ::
:: with Taake and their cult status in the scene, so I believe ::
:: that this band requires no introduction. Taake released their ::
:: eight full-length album Et Hav Av Avstand on September 1st via ::
:: Dark Essence Records, with a total of 4 tracks. I must say that ::
:: I was pleasantly surprised when Taake put out a new single 'Et ::
:: Uhyre Av En Kniv', while also announcing the release of their ::
:: new album, especially since their previous seventh album Kong ::
:: Vinter was released 6 years ago and all we had were three ::
:: splits that filled the gap. Fast forward to the present, this ::
:: new album is on the horizon for crazed fans of Norwegian black ::
:: metal like myself, which got me quite excited because IÆve been ::
:: a Taake fan for some time and I was really looking forward to ::
:: hearing this bad boy. So, is this album worth your while? LetÆs ::
:: find outà ::
:: ::
:: From the very get-go, as the first track 'Denne Forblaaste Ruin ::
:: Av En Bro' kicks in, good old classic Taake is already rocking ::
:: out. Tremolo riffs with the additional dose of ôin your face ::
:: dirty rock æn rollö are absolutely banging with dynamic ::
:: arrangements, going through these various tempo changes, along ::
:: with the drums that often switch between fast drumming, d-beats ::
:: and mid-tempo drumming, while HoestÆs signature dry and frozen ::
:: harsh vocals just add so much grimness to this devilish brew. ::
:: The second track 'Utarmede Gruver' has probably some of the ::
:: catchiest headbanging riffing and drumming that will definitely ::
:: provide more than just wild entertainment, while also ::
:: presenting a slow but moody mid-section with a hammer-on riff ::
:: that really sets up the cold misty tone of Taake. The third ::
:: track 'Gid Sprakk Vi' is surprisingly just 6 minutes and 15 ::
:: seconds long, thus being the shortest track of the four, though ::
:: IÆd say that this track is a good moment for fans to catch ::
:: their breath before the conclusion with the last track 'Et ::
:: Uhyre Av En Kniv' which is the longest track with its length of ::
:: 13 minutes. Something thatÆs always been the tradition with ::
:: Taake is the lengthiness of their songs, which wonderfully use ::
:: this opportunity to introduce at least a dozen riffs that will ::
:: keep your attention and make you completely oblivious to the ::
:: fact that you were listening to an eleven-minute song due to ::
:: immersing yourself. Hoest obviously knows how to make his songs ::
:: engaging and entertaining from start to finish, while also ::
:: balancing things on a moderate scale to prevent listeners from ::
:: getting bored to death and obviously doesnÆt want to make them ::
:: feel exhausted as if they were just listening to an extremely ::
:: long riff salad. Ever since I started listening to Taake in ::
:: 2019, I never lost interest in the band after all these years ::
:: and I am still madly in love with their oldschool sound. ::
:: Something that feels a bit strange about this album is that it ::
:: somehow feels incredibly short, despite the fact it comes ::
:: around the length of 42 minutes. After getting completely drawn ::
:: to this albumÆs magic, you quickly reach its conclusion before ::
:: you even know itÆs over, which may be my only downside of this ::
:: album. Overall, I think that you can overlook this small issue, ::
:: because if you really feel what Hoest does on this album, it ::
:: still really does a great job at being what Taake is best known ::
:: for. Production-wise, Hoest maintains the sacred tradition at ::
:: making the albums sound vintage and moderately raw, with a ::
:: dirty guitar tone and raspy vocals that are always TaakeÆs ::
:: strongest points and they do in fact shine on this album. ::
:: ::
:: Although I felt really underwhelmed by the fact that this album ::
:: was over before I even managed to get a hold of what was going ::
:: on, I still managed to enjoy it for what it is. It may not be ::
:: the best Taake album, but itÆs obviously not trying to reinvent ::
:: the wheel or attempt desperately to be the greatest of them ::
:: all, because it is in fact a good Taake album and I think that ::
:: you will definitely enjoy it when itÆs released on September ::
:: 1st, amidst the forthcoming autumn sorrow and cold. I have to ::
:: say that I highly respect the fact that Hoest is one of these ::
:: rare occasions when a musician stays faithful to the bandÆs ::
:: roots and still manages to create some banger riffs at the age ::
:: of 45. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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