The Defloration Of Life's Essence kicks off in a very promising way. Thick, fuzzy guitars immediately begin with a nice riff, backed up by a doomy tolling bell and prominent bass action, which further develops this doomed atmosphere. After about a minute one of the best riffs on this album comes into play and prepares the listener for a complete onslaught of destructive blast beats and mystifying riffs. As many bands, Grimfaug follow the scandinavian school of black metal. Fairly heavy on the blasts, terribly fuzzy guitar tone and vocals that remind me of Skamfer of Heresi fame. Grimfaug have passed by fairly unnoticed, but are however a member of a respectable and well-known labal such as Eerie Art Records, which features bands such as Hypothermia, Nachtmystium, Lyrinx and enigmatic Icelandic act Vhernen. While Grimfaug play a style of black metal which has been done to dead, they do manage to bring a high-quality variant of it. Good solid riffs, nothing outstanding, but at least they are consistent all the way, drumming that is pretty vile and blasts away most of the time, with some occassional fills and some nice thrashy drum rythms here and there as well as some good double bass action. A production that is rather raw, but creates a real misty ambiance, where you really do get lost in. The 3-minute Despoiler Of Hope is an ambient piece that enriches the entire atmosphere this record is going for and contrary to a lot of bands who incorporate something such as this in their music, it's no filler material. The highlight of Defloration Of Life's Essence is definitely the last track (also the longest track) Apocalypse... which again continues in the same way as this album started, slower paste and moody. A perfect sinister way to end this solid effort. Kudos to these guys for realising the importance of a bass and how it can add something to even a genre such as black metal. The bass is not present all the time, but is audible when appropriate. The guitars have this over the top buzz saw tone, which I can greatly appreciate, it allows the listener to sink in the moody atmosphere. Grimfaug won't be breaking any new grounds, but remains faithful to the roots of the genre and creates with Defloration Of Life's Essence something that should be valued for what it is; a good, solid effort.
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