sketchbook - the (black) metal wiki

Taake is a Norwegian black metal band from Bergen, formed in 1993 and originally named Thule. The band's one continuous member is Hoest, who writes all and records most of the music. Hoest served prison sentences for assault in 2006 and 2007.¹⁾²⁾

In March 2007, Hoest appeared on stage in Essen in Germany with a swastika painted on his chest, above an inverted cross.³⁾ This sparked controversy, and the rest of Taake's German concerts were cancelled. Hoest stated:

Taake is not a political Nazi band […] everyone should know by now that our whole concept is built upon provocation and anything evil […] we truly apologize to all of our collaborators who might get problems because of the Essen swastika scandal (except for the untermensch owner of that club; you can go suck a Muslim!)⁴⁾

Hoest explained that he “was taking the piss” and had used the swastika “as another symbol for evil”, saying “the pentagram and inverted cross don't invoke reactions anymore”.⁵⁾. He said “It was all about doing something extreme for the sake of it, which certainly backfired”,⁶⁾ and also called it a spontaneous joke done in the spirit of punk.⁷⁾. In January 2008, Hoest wrote:

It is rather unforgivable to display a swastika in Germany, yes. On the other hand I strongly feel that Black Metal bands should allow themselves to use any kind of destructive/negative symbolism, as the basis of this expression is above all: Evil! Black Metal is still not, and should never become, harmless like all other styles of housebroke metal. Frankly, I find it preposterous that we get away with lyrics about murder, torture, rape, necrophilia and suicide, but get boycotted for wearing a symbol (which, by the way, has nothing to do with the band's concept) on one single occasion. A part of our mission is to invoke negative feelings, so I found it quite appropriate to remind our German audience of their biggest shame.⁸⁾

Taake's lyrics are often anti-Christian, but their nomination for the 2012 Spellemann award was criticized for an anti-Islamic lyric in their song “Orkan”. It includes the line “Til Helvete med Muhammed og Muhammedanerne utilgivelige skikker” (“To hell with Muhammad and the Muhammadans' unforgivable customs”). Hoest noted that Christianity is mentioned in the same song, adding “Taake has never been a political band, and we do not encourage either violence or racism”. The chairman of the prize committee said “We enjoy full freedom of expression in Norway and a Spellemann jury is not going to censor content”.⁹⁾¹⁰⁾ Hoest explained that “Black metal has always pushed religion around and I see no reason why Islam should be spared”.¹¹⁾

Luke:
LARPing as Nazis is the same as being Nazis and this list makes no distinction