Defloration of Life's Essence

First thing you will notice about this record when you pop it in is that familiar and now cliché "black metal" sound similar to under a funeral moon. I am often disappointed with these attempts at reproducing this atmosphere, but here, everything is done so well with such conviction that it just works. If you like raw and ugly then you will probably enjoy this record just as much as I did.

The guitars are over-the-top “buzz saw” style. I didn’t notice the bass but that’s rarely important on this style black metal. The vocals are sort of a mid ranged snarl that are used sparingly which strengthens the haunting sound of the record. The drums are there but distant and simplistic, yet there are moments of creativity that keep the drumming interesting. There are points on the album where they sound almost “thunderous” adding to the unsettling picture being painted.

The first track starts off with a moody riff that acts like an intro or a passage of what is to come. This works very well and is quite a brilliant opening piece. The record then takes off and soars with simplistic mid-paced blast drumming from that point forward. We are then treated to an ambient piece about half way through the recording. While others might enjoy it I must admit it was nothing special to my ears and perhaps the only flaw of this album. After the ambient piece we again take flight on the daemon’s wings in a mid-paced blasting ambience and continue soaring until the final track This track has a great "depressive" feel to it that is all to common in black metal these days, however the way it’ s executed works very well, especially since it serves its purpose as a closing piece on the album.

In conclusion I like this album a lot simply because it just "is". It’s not an attempt at being anything other than a quality black metal record. There is not one point where I felt something was forced or contrived. It has the familiar uniqueness yet flow of a black metal record that was common back when the second wave began. By the time you finish listening to this album you will feel like you have been drugged.