Bordeaux is known for many things, like fine wine and Gothic monuments. However, extreme metal is not one of those things, and if one band is about to change that, it’s The Great Old Ones.
Only two years after the release of the fantastic “EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy”, this French post-black metal quintet has teamed up yet again with Season of Mist to release its brand new Lovecraftian 50-minute epic album titled Cosmicism, based on literary philosophy developed and used by the American writer in his works. The thought around Cosmicism is that humans are creatures with no god who are insignificant in the scheme of the cosmic universe.
Right off the bat, Cosmicism evidently has two major differences compared to the bands previous release: the production is much cleaner, and the songs themselves are much more melodic. However, this new record is so much more than a small upgrade to EOD: A Tale Of Dark Legacy – it has a very strong sonic identity, firmly attached to the strong conceptual connection between songs and lyrics. Our personal highlight goes to the second track, The Omniscient: almost 10 minutes of amazing riffage spiced with amazing atmospheric passages, as is usual in The Great Old One’s repertoire. However, the sheer might of the ambiance created by this song overwhelms everything when compared to the remaining tracks.
Production-wise, this album sounds good, with decent mixing that fits the atmosphere perfectly, albeit not too clean. It’s just spot on. This is precisely one of the details that distinguishes this band from the other members of the post-black metal community. Expect something that sounds epic, immensely aggressive and intensely chaotic, enfolding and disruptive. Expect greatness. Expect The Great Old Ones.
9/10
About The Great Old Ones
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