Taake/Whoredome Rife – ‘Pakt’ (Split MLP) [Album Review]

TAAKE: Jumping in with a kick drum and classic rock and roll beat, “Ubeseiret” surges into a screaming, satanic bass-line voyage into the dark Nick Cave of Voivod vs Devo funk o’ Rush ‘70s prog-metal damnation. While keeping the black metal flame alive, you gotta love the forward-thinking, pyrotechnical, acoustic-apocalypse orchestrated outro chord changes. Most purists will hate this, but fuck those guys. I think this is haunting, groundbreaking, and might be my favorite black metal song since Emperor’s pilgrimaging plummet “Into the Infinity of Thoughts.”

“Heartland” is classic Sisters of Mercy justifiably done. It sounds like a rehearsal tape recorded in grandmas jelly-jar cellar with an overdriven bass guitar plugged into an old Zenith TV console. Spooky, with lots of spiders and cobwebs and nothing but Lemmy-overdriven reverberation. When full production kicks in, it’s only the vocals that remind you that this is still pure, black-metal evil, which finds you begging, “Grandmother, may I have leftovers?” Side note: for those who don’t understand the Grandmother reference, first of all, shame on you. Secondly, please resort to King Diamond’s “Welcome Home.”

Whoredom Rife: “From Nameless Pagan Graves,” while graven correct and technically well-produced, is just another black metal band not breaking new ground. BUT, if you’re looking for that early ‘90s black metal sound, it’s all in here, including great cave-dwelling vocals. No bullshit: straightforward darkness. Were these guys even born when Bathory’s Under the Sign of the Black Mark was released? No matter, I would consider this great, as it could be far worse, but nothing Immortal didn’t cover on Pure Holocaust.

“En Lenke…” is another substandard black metal song with a great structure of all things dark and pure. Nice mid-tempo beat, and if it wasn’t for the Euronymous chord voicings, it could almost have a Celtic Frost “Cherry Orchid” ebb and flow. But, with a crack of Slayer’s “Reign in Blood” thunderclap, we pick up speed at 3:45 and head ears first into some Bathory eargasm. Just like a good movie, I think Whoredom Rife takes a while to sink into your own personal purgatory.

Overall, I think Pakt is a great split and well worth the pilgrimage to find. It might cost you a couple of Heineken and Guinness along the way, but one day you can kick back with a Budweiser and grandma’s jelly sandwich and enjoy the darkness of this EP.

Pakt Track Listing:

TAAKE:
1. Ubeseiret
2. Heartland (The Sisters of Mercy Cover)

Woredome Rife:
1. From Nameless Pagan Graves
2. En Lenke Smidd i Blod

Run Time: 23:43
Release Date: March 20, 2020
Record Label: Terratur Possessions