Taake Takes Over A Trendy Nightlife Neighborhood In Prague, Czech Republic In TRVE Black Metal Fashion

Reviewing concerts in different cities is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time, especially if you dont speak the native tongue. Tonight, I was in Prague, Czech Republic to see Taake along with opening acts Asagraum and Heimland. Ive been told that Black Metal is a really popular draw here in Prague, and I was going to see if that was indeed true tonight.

The show was taking place at the Futurum venue, located in a trendy nightlife area of Smchov, which seemed like a perfect fit for an underground Black Metal show. When I arrived, Heimland had already started playing. As I made my way past the ticket booth and down two flights of stairs into the stage area, I saw how Black Metal ranks in Prague.

Unequivocally and without a doubt, its a popular draw. The place was already packed for the first band. I bumped my way through the attentive crowd to an open area off the side of the stage. I was able to catch about 5 songs of Heimlands set. Without having ever listened to them previously, I would say theyre solid as musicians and as a live act.

I also noticed that some of their material did remind me of early Taake. This gave me high hopes for the rest of the show.

Next up was Asagraum, whose popularity is starting to climb among the Black Metal faithful. If you dont know anything about them, they are a mostly all female Black Metal band based in Netherlands but with some roots from Norway. Theyve been around since 2017 and sounded like theyve been around much longer. I thought they were good.

They played with a lot of enthusiasm and were tight, receiving a healthy response from the rabid crowd so that tells me that theyre well on their way to headlining their own tours soon.

After entering the fog-filled stage during their intro music, Taake started their set with Hordalands doedskvad VI, the instrumental track on Hordalands doedskvad, which the band played extensively for its 20-year anniversary. I love it when a band decides to showcase important albums in their catalog.

Taake didnt play these songs in the original album order, but that didnt matter. Their energy on stage was at peak performance and the crowd reciprocated that energy. Visually, Hoest is the person on stage that the crowd always focuses on and he didnt disappoint.

I was also pleased to see a few bonus tracks from Darkthrone cover. However for the final song of the night they played the fan favorite Hordalands doedskvad II.

The band put together an epic setlist that showcased their best work and their influence on Black Metal, I hope to catch this exact set again soon.

Taake is more than just a music career - its a lifestyle for Nikos Mixas. In addition to playing guitar for Mosara, he contributes music writing work with V13 and The Sludgelord.