End of November 2017, the year is coming to an end, autumn slowly dies and King Winter (Kong Vinter) makes his way once again. From Bergen, a cheerful and colorful Norwegian town, also returns the raging mist of a certain group that has in a certain artist named Ørjan Stedjeberg its ultimate leader. Taake, fog, Høst, black metal. Everything is clear now? It should be, to those who love and seek certain sounds, it should be, to those who love and seek authentic black metal, shaped and born in that Scandinavia we all look to with respect and devotion.
This is the seventh studio album, unquestionably a lot of water has passed under and over the bridges since 1999, the year that saw the genesis of one of the most beautiful black pearls in the whole history of the genre. I myself got to know Taake with the unforgettable "Nattestid Ser Porten Vid" and I cannot deny that I associate this project mainly with those sounds, as well as those discussed in the subsequent two albums, released respectively in 2002 and 2005. In any case, everything flows, times run by while leaving indelible traces, and people grow, evolve, develop other qualities, sometimes struggle to live up to the magic of their beginnings, other times manage consistently to not disappoint (or at least not completely) their supporters; this is the case of our dear Høst in my opinion. In fact, in this latest effort, the path already embarked on in "Noregs Vaapen" is well developed and further explored, all without falling into monotony and especially without losing oneself more than necessary in the labyrinths of the progressive fever (though present and commendably dosed), which now more often we see merging into this genre with results even more than commendable, like the evolution of fellow-countrymen Enslaved. Returning to this work, right from the beginning we are presented with the sound manifesto we were waiting for (I was anxiously) and everything takes shape again, the shape that in two songs like "Sverdets Vei" and "Inntrenger" manifests in all its splendor, reminding us how this absolute genius of Stedjeberg is always damn inspired. Sure, inside here there is everything that the "True Norwegian BM" brand can still mean today, you will not find particular experimental ruminations of any sort here, there is the Nordic tradition of Black Metal, as I said above, it continues where it left off with "Stridens Hus" and its predecessor: there are hyper-fast lashes that those who are not neophytes of the Bergen group well know, but there are also slowdowns, sudden tempo changes as in the icy "Havet i Huset", as well as melodies that capture and drag you into the dark and immobile world of Taake like "Maanebrent", an 8-minute piece where one enters and exits a strong vortex that now cradles now strikes without half measures and especially in the concluding and long composition, a piece that I personally am listening to several times and that certainly does not require just one listening to be assimilated.
Adding more details I believe is not necessary, in general, there are those who detest Taake (or perhaps it would be better to remove the plural) from the self-titled album onwards and those who, like myself, have always appreciated its range and evolution, what can you do? I adore Høst, I love his way of understanding sound, the extreme in music, minimal concepts starting from the artwork and his attitudinal way of conceiving every single appearance, it seems to me the ideal thread that unites the past of this genre and a present that wants to keep the flame always alive and bright; to some, he may seem arrogant, jerk, constructed, or just an egocentric provocateur who has lost inspiration, patience... It always depends on what one is looking for, I who am here writing about his latest effort, I'm certainly looking for this too, I'm also looking for Høst and now he is among us again, he is back and I was waiting for him.
Tracklist
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