Band:	Taake
Album:	Nattestid...
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	December 07, 1999
Guest review by:	Smurfophagist

01. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid I
02. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid II
03. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid III
04. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid IV
05. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid V
06. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid VI
07. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid VII

This is one absolutely great band which I discovered through Metal Storm, and I'm sincerely grateful for that. I'm also lucky that an acquaintance of mine happened to have "Nattestid Ser Porten Vid" at his home. I immediately asked for it, and was very happy with what I heard.

The first thing that hits you is the production. The first song has a really cool opening riff with a folkish feel to it. But when the other instruments kick in, the sound gets a little bit murky. You feel like there's not enough bass, but that feeling passes after a few seconds of listening and you can get used to it quite fast. There is also no songlist on this album, all of the tracks are marked with the album name and numbers (Nattestid...1,2,3 etc).

In my opinion, Taake is the only band which managed to keep the spirit of True Norwegian Black Metal alive to this day. If you get your hands on this album you will surely notice that it is a special piece of music. All of the songs carry a beautiful melody which is, I must admit, uncharacteristic for Black Metal, but it fits great into Taake's music. The atmosphere in this album is achieved exclusively through amazing guitar work. No keyboards, no special effects, yet, an amazing atmosphere. Another thing that stands out in this album are Hoest's vocals. They are sung with a great deal of emotions, both when he's using screams and clean vocals. Clean vocals are not used very often, but when they come up in songs such as "Nattestid Ser Porten Vid 1" they are folkish chants which give a Viking feel to this album.

The drum work is relatively versatile. It's kept interesting by transitions between blast beats and slower paced rhythms. If you are not a huge fan of blastbeats this album might just turn you into one.
However, if you can't handle the typical kvlt Black Metal production in an album, this album might not be for you. The treble on the guitars is really high and it could make your ears bleed. All of the lyrics are sung in Norwegian, and while listening to this album you can actually picture the foggy mountainsides in your mind. It's a truly unique experience.