Live review: Taake, Dominanz, Orkan at Luxorlive, Arnhem, Netherlands, 11 October 2015

October 11, in the evening the doors of Luxorlive in Arnhem, Netherlands open and this evening they will lead you to hell, Svartmetall Hell to be precise. Three bands will enter the stage tonight, Orkan, Dominanz and headliner Taake.

Half an hour before first act Orkan will enter the stage, we arrive. It isn’t very busy, especially not for the first band. Right on time, Orkan starts with something that at first sounds as a very special intro. Vocalist Einar Fjelldal and another vocalist scream very long and intense with a lot of howling, dark sounds. Why the intro is only special at first, is because of two things. The sounds, including the dark whispers and laughing seems to be a sample, besides that the screams can’t be heard good enough. The last thing, the vocals who can’t be heard enough most of the times, is something which matters the whole show. Vocalist Einar Fjelldal puts a lot of emotion in it, but because of that it won’t really come out. Apart from the vocals, musically it is just producing a wall of sound and play as hard as possible. Not really my thing and afterwards only a few people applauded. Positive point about the show from Orkan is the last song. It is not only about creating a wall of sound, but has a lot more melody and variation in it.

After Orkan’s show it is time for Dominanz. Dominanz immediately sounds very different than Orkan. They are much less about play as hard and as fast as possible, instead they play a bit heavier black metal, with a solid rhythm section, powerfull riffs, a vocalist who screams and another one who has a more lower growl. The fact that there are two people who do vocals add some more depth into their songs, especially because they use different vocal styles. Musically, Dominanz is strong as a rock and plays very nicely. But besides the nice playing, there’s something missing. It sounds like an oiled machine, musically that’s a good thing for sure, but it means also that they play their songs very fast behind each other and it makes me think they want it to be over. At the end they are indeed earlier than scheduled. Though it could be a coincidence ofcourse.

After Dominanz it is the time for the headliner of this evening, a big name in Norwegian black metal, or as sole member Hoest calls it himself, Svartmetall. It is time for Taake! When the lights faded out, the background music stops playing, you know there is something coming. Starting with a tape with spoken words the band slowly gets on stage. After those words, they start playing and after a while, Hoest himself enters the stage. Chaotic, fast Norwegian black metal is coming straight at you and the walls of the venue are shaking. Taake’s show is very strong, heavy and fully blowing you away. At some moment it sounds like a wall of sound, but in a good way. The show of Taake is so intense, you are really part of it, part of all the people headbanging on the music and Hoest’s very intense vocals.

All together, Taake’s show was absolutely highlight of the evening.

Taake Official Website
Taake Facebook
Dominanz Official Website
Dominanz Facebook
Dominanz Twitter
Orkan Facebook

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