There is a reason why Hoest prefers his name spelled with an "oe" and not an "ø". It is because he does not want to use the three letters æ,ø, and å. This is a part of the whole Taake package.

The band was formerly known as Thule (1993-1995); Hoest then changed the name to Taake (the Norwegian word for "fog") in 1995 because he wanted the name to reflect the genuine Norwegian spirit of his music and lyrics. It is also a patriotic tribute to the fog that surrounds the seven mountains at his hometown Bergen.

"Høst" itself means "Autumn" in Norwegian, referred to Hoest's season of birth.

Hoest is the creative force of the band; the rest of the lineup is highly unstable.

In 2006 the activity in Taake came to an abrupt halt, since Hoest was imprisoned for a violent assault. On July 30th, 2007 the Taake website announced that the plans for the coming world wide tour was put on hold "due to a certain band member's imprisonment". On September 20th, 2007 Hoest announced on the band's website that he had been recently released from his 3rd incarceration for violence.

In March 2007, during a concert at Essen in Germany, Hoest appeared on stage with a swastika painted on his chest. Allegedly, he also spat and threw beer bottles at the audience. This resulted in strong protests from both the audience and the press who were covering the concert. In Germany, the use of the swastika is strictly forbidden by law, and the remainder of Taake's German concerts were cancelled. It is widely believed that this incident was purely for shock value.

Following the incident, Hoest stated on the Taake website: "...we truly apologize to all of our collaborators who might get problems because of the Essen swastika scandal (except for the Untermensch owner of that club; you can go suck a Muslim)!"