Taake is perhaps one of the most interesting bands to come out the Norwegian black metal scene in recent years. Although they've been at it for quite some time, almost as long as black metal titans Darkthrone, Burzum and Mayhem, they are somewhat of a lesser known black metal band, perhaps due to intentionally keeping a lower profile.
And yet, they've been making consistently good music since 1993. Moreover, Hoest (Taake's charismatic frontman), was a close associate with the "infamous" Norwegian Inner Circle centered around Euronymous' shop of Helvete.
Still, while they do maintain a much lower profile than bands like Mayhem and Darkthrone, they haven't entirely been able to dodge all controversies associated with playing black metal in the current year.
They were targeted by the online "anti-hate" campaign that seeks to deplatform bands they deem "having ties to NSBM (National Socialist Black Metal) movements". Several other bands were targeted, notably Darkthrone, Marduk (by the nu-metal act Napalm Death), Peste Noire, Immortal, Watain, Graveland, Satyricon, Dark Funeral, Belphegor, Antekhrist, Tsjuder, Absurd, Agalloch, Carpathian Forest, Behemoth and, most recently, Gorgoroth itself - whose frontman Infernus was hospitalised in the summer of last year after a politically motivated attack.
Hoest Interview: "A lot of Black Metal has lost its focus..."
In their most recent interview for the extreme metal documentary "Heavy Metal Master Class", Taake (mostly frontman Hoest) takes some time to answer the most anticipated questions of black metal fans.
The first question revolves around the "good old days" of black metal, when the genre wasn't trying to conform to trend-hopping "scenesters" (like Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Gorgoroth and the rest of the costume clown crew).
Hoest: My priorities have always been far from trying to recreate anything from [the] past or live up to expectations others might have. I follow instincts that feel natural to produce a work of honesty.
He continues by saying that a lot of bands "lost their focus", which I guess is an euphemism for "selling out to MTV". The recent Immortal drama about name copyright should serve as a good reminder to all those bands who let fame and success rise to their heads.
Hoest: A lot of [black metal] bands lost their focus and ideals and f[*]cked up something we could have been very proud of. The glory days are long gone. But at least some bands are still on to something. [...] I also don't think in terms of "waves" or whatever. To me it just seems like one big continuous wave. I don't think black metal should achieve anything either, except reminding people that Hell is right here on earth and that people can be demons if they sell their souls to The Devil.
This was mostly concerning the idea of a "third wave of black metal", an idea explored by other bands... and mostly just an attempt to repackage the vastly unpopular "black metalcore" to a more extreme and rebellious audience.
Taake Fires Back at Infernus and Gorgoroth
It's no secret that Gorgoroth isn't the most well respected band in the black metal underground. Fenriz of Darkthrone publicly distanced himself from the "clown antics" of both Infernus and King ov Hell, and many original black metal bands have mocked Gorgoroth for their "latecomer" status in the Norwegian scene.
Taake's members have an interesting anecdote about Gorgoroth approaching them to play live together (they were, at the time, looking for a new vocalist to record "Instinctus Bestialis", the very poorly received "black" metalcore album).
Hoest: When Infernus fired Pest, he wanted to work with both Atterigner and myself. But Infernus is an unusual man and Gorgoroth is an unusual band. [...] I told them both to [****] off.
Atterigner is the current vocalist of Gorgoroth, who recruited him after the departure of Hat, Pest, Gaahl, King ov Hell, and finally Pest again.
Taake on the "NSBM scene" and "anti-Fasicst" witch hunts...
We now delve into much deeper and darker territory, with the accusation of Taake playing "neo nazi" music. This was started when aging speed metal bands like Kreator and Napalm Death began making "hit lists" of what they deemed "NSBM" (National Socialist Black Metal) bands. One of the first targets was Lemmy Kilmister's Mötorhead, but the NSBM rumours got amplified by the media, which led to an entire documentary series on alleged "National Satanist" in black metal circles.
This has eventually led to several black metal concerts being cancelled for security reasons, as the venues received threats of terrorism and other violence. Taake was part of those bands targeted for "direct action" by various anti-fascism affiliated groups, and the immediate aftermath.
He explains it quite succinctly.
Hoest: In their desperate search for nazis, they have to invent some. [...] This seems to be quite typical for our opponents' method of slandering: "This person performed as a session member 10 years ago, in a band who was on a label 20 years ago, who had released an album 30 years ago by another band who featured an ex-member who said this-and-this 40 years ago".
While Taake denies ties to the NSBM scene at large, Hoest still maintains that he will always "defend his homeland" whatever it takes.
Hoest: I could never betray my homeland by admiring an occupying force. Case closed.
This mirrors some comments made by Behemoth's frontman Nergal about Europe being "under attack" and the need for resistance.
On a lighter note, Hoest concludes the interview by citing his favourite black metal albums of all time: A Blaze in the Northern Sky, Under a Funeral Moon, Transilvanian Hunger, Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and of course Kong Vinter. This shouldn't be surprising as Taake's sound is heavily influenced by that of Burzum and Darkthrone, although their more contemporary albums have quite a distinct feel that is unlike anything else in metal (except maybe Helgrind, but then again...).
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