Noregs Vaapen

The Artist

Taake is the long-running Norwegian black metal project of Ørjan Stedjeberg, better known as Hoest, formed in Bergen in the early 1990s. The name is an archaic Norwegian word for fog, and the project has always leaned hard into national identity, drawing on Norwegian language, folklore, and landscape as core creative material. Musically, Hoest works within traditional second-wave black metal but weaves in unexpected touches: acoustic passages, folk melodies, and even flashes of rock and roll swagger that set the band apart from purist peers. Taake's early trilogy of self-titled albums earned a reputation for uncompromising craft, and by the time of Noregs Vaapen in 2011, Hoest had established himself as one of the scene's most distinctive voices. This record arrived at a moment when he was pushing further outward, inviting guests and expanding the palette without losing the project's identity.

The Album

Noregs Vaapen was released in 2011 through Svartekunst Produksjoner, Hoest's own label, and stands as Taake's fifth full-length. As with most Taake records, Hoest handled the bulk of the instrumentation and writing himself, but this album is notable for its guest contributions from figures across the Norwegian and international extreme metal scene, adding textures rarely heard on a Taake record. The production balances raw, trebly guitars with a surprising amount of clarity, giving room for the album's stranger detours to breathe. Lyrically it continues Hoest's preoccupation with Norwegian heritage, isolation, and defiance, the title itself translating roughly as "Norway's weapon". It's frequently cited as one of the most adventurous entries in the Taake catalogue.

Listen For

Tremolo riffs meeting folk melody. Taake's signature is the way blistering tremolo-picked guitar lines resolve into passages that feel almost hymnal or traditional. Listen for how "Fra Vadested Til Vaandesmed" sets that template right out of the gate.

Hoest's vocal delivery. His rasp is one of the most recognizable in Norwegian black metal, and he shifts between shrieked venom and cleaner declamations. Pay attention to how he phrases lines in Norwegian for rhythmic bite.

The banjo moment. "Orkan" contains one of the most talked-about detours in the Taake catalogue, a passage that has no business working in a black metal song and yet does. See how you react the first time it lands.

Structural patience. These tracks are long and unafraid to shift gears mid-song. Notice how "Myr" and "Helvetesmakt" build, retreat, and rebuild rather than staying locked in one gear.

Norwegian identity as theme. Every lyric is in Norwegian, and the record leans openly into national and regional pride, particularly of the Western Norwegian coast. "Du Ville Ville Vestland" and the closing "Dei Vil Alltid Klaga Og Kyta" are the clearest signposts.