Norwegian Black Metal

Mayhem/ Keep of Kalessin/ Hate/ Abigail Williams/ Woe @ The Opera House, Toronto ON, November 10th 2011

Posted on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 at 7:21 pm.

Originally written for Hellbound.

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I arrived at the Opera House just in time to catch the tail end of Woe’s set. This Philadelphia, PA black metal band, helmed by Chris Grigg, have undergone significant lineup changes in the past year. Therefore, it was good to hear them live, and see they have retained their trademark crackling, crushing sound. I very much enjoyed Quietly, Undramatically and am looking forward to their new material .

Next up were Abigail Williams. The theatricality of this set was really toned down …

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Taake — Noregs Vaapen

Posted on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 at 6:46 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim!

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Infamous Norwegian black metal band Taake emerge from a cloud of scandal and imprisonment to triumphantly release Noregs Vaapen, their best record to date. Taake is an old Norwegian word for mist or fog. The band belie this name with an incredibly clear, concise artistic vision characterized by icicle-bright guitar work. Noregs Vaapen can be interpreted as a response to the dissatisfaction in the black metal community; it is a reflective, celebratory, anthemic album hearkening back to the finest classical black metal. …

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