Info
- Band(s): Grimfaug
- Label(s): Eerie Art Records, GoatowaRex, Northern Sky Productions
- Release Format(s): 12" vinyl, Cassette, CD
- Release Year: 2007
- Review Date: December 16, 2006
- Author(s): GeraldR
Here’s a rare treat. Eighteen months after inking a deal with Eerie Art Records, Grimfaug finally deliver their second full-length instalment of grim Black Metal – and what a fucking corker it is! On ‘Defloration of Life’s Essence’, the Belgians sound colder than an ice cube in your underwear and more primitive than a hairy forehead.
Norgaath and Crygh have crafted a raw yet deceptively ambient work of dark art, showcasing much of what can be so exclusively special about this subgenre. The three standard instruments smash away at breakneck speed for the most part, with blastbeats aplenty and little regard for sensitivity or human weakness. Here’s the rub: Grimfaug also succeed in somehow injecting an air of mysticism into their ire – no more so than on sublime intermission ‘Despoiler of Hope’, a moody excerpt that breaks up the violence long enough to allow a sharp intake of breath.
Hateful, malefic and misanthropic, ‘Defloration of Life’s Essence’ sends a spiteful barbed fist into the face of humanity, peeling skin from faces and flesh from bone, as crushing drums and entrenched vocals vie for prominence amid the torrent of disdain (the drums edge it…). This is controlled chaos at its best; a slightly ropey production succeeds only in enhancing the overall effect. If you are a genuine Black Metal fan, then Grimfaug’s sophomore album falls into the category of essential purchase/steal. Pure and simple.
With so many once-black purveyors paring their teeth rather than baring them, it’s refreshing to note that we still have bands like Grimfaug to uphold the tradition of true northern Black Metal, the way it was always supposed to be. Handbrake on, seven-minute closer ‘Apocalypse…’ ebbs and flows, proving that its corpse-painted creators have more than one arrow to their bow. Sure to leave the scene forefathers either smiling benignly or cumming in their graves.
