Taakeferd has been around for a few years now, having released 3 EP's before this demo. I haven't heard the other stuff, but from what i'm hearing here, I don't feel like checking out their other stuff. What we have here is some very cliched stuff, see bromide. I guess those are the only 2 words that actually come to mind when listening to this demo: Cliched and Bromide. The thoughts that came to mind while listening to this demo were "Heard it before...oh, heard that before too!". It's nice to see more and more bands are trying inovate the Melodic-Black style, but this band does nothing new to complement the style or add any new elements to it. Apart from that melodic part in "Du Tapre Soldtat" and the slower parts to "Livsgnist" (the song), this was very boring.

Ok, now you're thinking this is the worst band ever. It's not. It's just very, and I mean very generic. On the good side of things, the production isn't bad in any way, it reminded a bit of Will of the Ancients. No hissing, no "lagging", and the riffs are well-played. Also, I found the song "Livsgnist" to be more original compared to the other songs on here. It starts off with a very simple yet interesting lead, which then develops into a full mid-tempo riff, and then becomes an extremely fast and brutal minimalist riff-fest which pays homage to their Norwegian roots. The very melodic break near 3:30 is also a good attempt at something original, and I especially like the riff right after, fast and brutal.

So yeah, this demo is pretty "simple" if you understand what I mean. Very cliched and generic songs with your average run of the mill vocals, normal drums, and an overall great production. The only ones who could actually are probably those who are newcomers to the melodic-black style in general, but for everyone else it's a big no. What this band needs is one simple thing: Originality. Nothing else.

[This review was first published on the now defunct scandinavianmetal.info webzine]