The openers were the local band HAR. They make classic by-the-book black metal and they sound real sharp and intimidating (in the best of ways). Strong musicianship, crazy drum blasts and intense riffs. The vocalist acts like a real pro empowering the crowd and his sort of mid ranged roars are fierce and cast mayhem. On the weaker side, they occasionally tend to get a bit monotonous or repetitive as well. That could be a good thing- depends on your perspective but at a certain point I found them tiring.
 

TAAKE took final form under it's current name in the mid 90's, when almost halfway through the final decade of the millennia, it became quite clear in the general metal scene that the new sound that emerged from Norway only a few years earlier – has actually quite a lot to offer and that it's definitely going to leave it's mark. The ever going rabble about Norway's metal's  history and dirty deeds is not going to stop any time soon, and I sure as hell won't be the one to stop it. Mainly because the Norway myth regarding Black-Metal is driven by the will to create audacious and brave music, not to burn churches. But apparently that goes quite well hand in hand..
 

So the important part is that TAAKE takes an important but silent role in the global metal scene by keeping much of that old-school sense, sound, and to some extents the atmosphere still alive. Actually, 'Taake' in Norwegian is Fog, and that's what Hoest, TAAKE's body and soul, says there's plenty of around his own picturesque hometown. Fittingly ironic, a few minutes into the show and the venue was already stacked with exaggerated amounts of choking-yet-still-funny industrial fog from the fog machines.Anyway, it kinda made me laugh. Other than that, production was tight and ProgStage did astounding work making the evening as dark as it can, and the atmosphere was oozing with evil only Black-Metal concerts bring so passionately.
 

TAAKE's spearheaded by front man Hoest (who also spent some time incarcerated, apparently for violence) and he's  the actual song writer and mastermind behind TAAKE. Obviously, the entire gang has strong stage presence and the musicianship's great. They perform wearing corpse-paint which adds so much to the theatrical sense and helps generate that live feel of the whole being greater than the sum of all parts. That subtext has always hinted by most of Norway's iconic bands and it's not different with TAAKE either. Hoest himself has that classic black metal shriek that's so vital to the music and carries out excellent dueling with the tremolo-oriented songs. To simplify, he sings real evil.
 

So their live set is fresh mostly with songs appearing in the later part of their discography and the music plays out as violent as it is vivid and entertaining. One of the reasons TAAKE's been getting so many praises during the performance as well as after – is that most of their music is really quite accessible and smartly crafted well enough to reach crowds outside the Black-Metal sphere. As if they are fully aware how fun and rich the occasion MAIDEN-like riff would be to the audience, that's exactly what everyone talked about backstage or outside taking a breath of fresh air while the band was still playing. That also came up when I was having a chat outside with one of Israel's own Black-metal pioneers, ARALLU's vocalist and founder. Anyway, it might just be me but I tend to hear IRON MAIDEN touches in almost all European bands (and then some).
 

Some of the best songs were "Over Bjoergvin Graater Himmerik IV", "Det Fins en Prins", "Hordalands Doedskvad", and the audience reacted and interacted real well during the entire show. At times, a tiny mosh pit tried to evolve into something greater while everyone else around it were really absorbed in the music, which was so fast and blazing. Israel loves its extreme metal nights-out and TAAKE's strong performance was rewarded with a very warm welcome. This band is absolutely killer live.

*Photography: Val Smirnoff