Taake - Taake (2008)

I had high hopes for this after having heard the first track from Hordalands Doedskvad a few years ago. Unfortunately, after the reasonably good opener, "Atternatt", this goes downhill quickly. Tracks two through six on this seven song offering fall stylistically into the more rock'n'roll/punk style of black metal popularized by Darkthrone. Personally, I find nothing redeeming in such a style -- the riffs are simplistic and repetitive and atmosphere and melody are negligible. The last track, "Velg Bort Livet" picks up a little bit, but not enough to save this album as a whole. Based upon the potential of a few tracks here, I'm going to make an effort to track down Hordalands Doedskvad, but this album is forgettable.