Taake

Founded in Bergen in 1993 under the name Thule, before adopting Taake, the group has been built around Hoest, the only permanent member, who writes most of the repertoire and records the majority of the parts in the studio. Rooted in Norwegian black metal, Taake develops a cold, harsh and melodic aesthetic, where fast riffs, slower passages and a foggy atmosphere dialog with marked references to the landscape and the imagery of western Norway. After several demos in the mid-1990s, Taake released a first trilogy of albums with Nattestid (1999), Bjoergvin (2002) and Hordalands doedskvad (2005), a cycle that permanently establishes its identity. The journey then continued with Taake (2008), Noregs vaapen (2011), Stridens hus (2014), Kong Vinter (2017) and Et hav av avstand (2023), as well as several EPs and splits. While Taake remains primarily a studio project centered on Hoest, the band performs live with an expanded lineup and has long toured festivals and tours of the European extreme metal scene, then North American. The lyrics, written in Norwegian dialect and often transcribed in runes, contribute to an approach that combines traditional black metal, atmospheric tension and local rooting.