They’ve left it a bit late to try and muscle in on everyone’s end of year lists, but Norwegian Black Metal outfit Taake’s new album might just cause a few people to have a rethink. Stridens Hus [‘Battle House’] (Dark Embrace) is Taake’s sixth album since 1999 – which are always released at three year intervals – and it’s a corker.

The one man project from Hoest has fashioned a mix of traditional nasty black metal with an aura of accessibility. The production values are good – raw, but not unlistenable, while the music itself features a variety of different textures that need multiple listens to really appreciate.

Opener ‘Gamle Norig’ combines Hoest’s evil, rasping vocals with riffs parts reminiscent of Still Life-era Opeth (Peaceville). The song peaks and troughs, swinging from abrasive to almost melodic guitar work. The six-minute ‘Orm’ starts as a fairly standard Black ‘n’ Roll number before belting out some solos that wouldn’t sound of place on 70s prog album and then morphs into an epic blackened doom monster featuring monk-like chanting. It’s exciting, heavy and enjoyable.

What makes Stridens Hus so listenable is the variety on offer. Taake have a whole host of ideas crammed into each song, where so many others would only have one or two. The seven minute ‘Det fins ens Prins’ combines blasting drum beats with chanting, spoken word,  quiet interludes and epic passages. There’s flourishes of thrash moments that recall Volcano-era Satyricon, and a few that bring to mind Dark Medieval Times (both Moonfog)

Plenty of focus on the music – long guitar-focus parts; the instrumental ‘En Sang til Sand om Ildebrann’ could almost pass for classic melo-death before leading straight into the pure filth of ‘Kongsgaard bestaar’; which combines the soul-shrivelling blast beasts and rasping screams at the start with a host of melodic guitar solos the end. There are times when how a song starts is completely at odds with how it finishes, but it just adds to the journey.

In an overcrowded and samey scene, Taake are one of the few bands to stand out. Stridens Hus is an excellent album – combining the traditional themes and sounds of Black metal and mixing them up with elements to create something familiar yet refreshing.

8.0/10

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DAN SWINHOE