Written: 12th January 2025
From Bordeaux, France, The Great Old Ones have spent fifteen years meticulously sculpting songs which meld metal and the tales of H.P. Lovecraft. Four previous albums have guided listeners through the murky corners of Lovecraft’s mythos, earning them an increasingly devoted following. Kadath is the quintet’s most ambitious album yet with a running time of over sixty minutes and based on the 1943 novella, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.
Beginning - as does the novella - with the three dreams of Randolph Carter, the eleven minute Me, The Dreamer immediately emphasises the scope and depth The Great Old Ones are aiming to create. Me, The Dreamer opens with ominous synths, before Julian Deana’s drums crash down like a stampeding avalanche. Bone-rattling riffs add to the track’s potency. With a trio of guitarists, The Great Old Ones develop a full, rich sound that fills the room as the track blasts from the speakers. There is no gentle introduction allowing us to acclimatise to the sound and we are thrown into the compelling narrative. Kadath! / All golden it blazed in the sunset / I dreamed of it three times / Torn away from this splendid vision / I felt the bondage of dream’s tyrannous gods / I can't resist anymore / My prayers will not go in vain. Vocalist Benjamin Guerry throws every piece of vehemence and despair he has into the telling of the story and this continues throughout the album. At the five minute mark, it appears as if the track is about to come to an end but when some of the instruments fall away, we are left with a short, moody and contemplative section that allows us to momentarily catch our breath. The final part of the track then begins as Carter’s journey continues with the use of vivid and unsettling imagery. The moon illuminates the night with its ghostly presence / Coming closer like a fleshless world / The trap closes, leading me to the crawling chaos / Towards the sound of the vile drums / Towards the central void and the daemon-sultan. While the majority of the band’s music sits within the realms of post-black metal, there are numerous progressive aspects weaved within their sound and as the song reaches its conclusion, the sound becomes even more vast and majestic, a guitar screaming high above the rest of the band. A stunning opening track for the album Me, The Dreamer sets the scene both musically and lyrically for what is to come.
Second track, Those From Ulthar, continues Carter’s story through the macabre landscape. His despondency deepening, the cold sunless environment symbolises the extinguishing of hope. Seeing the leprous-looking coast / Smelling the hideous stench of that city / I feel my hopes disappearing one by one / In this coldness far from the sun / Creatures that don’t belong to dreams but to nightmares / Of unspeakable ones, the heirs. Musically, Those From Ulthar is more varied than Me, The Dreamer which is not only necessary in terms of the narrative but also necessary when listening to a series of longer tracks – Those From Ulthar surpasses the nine-minute mark. The Great Old Ones ensure interest is maintained with a short, acoustic opening to the track. When the full band return, there is the feeling of weariness as Carter’s odyssey becomes increasingly difficult. Soon, the tempo increases and an angered and impassioned Guerry evokes the dark imagery of Lovecraft’s words. Following a quieter central segment, the crunching riffs and restless bass of Gregory Vouillat create the feeling of travel before a section of haunting choral-type voices ends the song. Legions of cats from the alleys nocturnal / Howling and lean in the glare of the moon / Screaming the future with mouthings infernal / Yelling the burden of Pluto’s red rune.
Blending their obvious black metal tendencies with some more moments of intriguing melodic but ever-changing guitar, In The Mouth Of Madness captures the essence of Carter’s descent into a darkness not meant for mortal eye. From Dynath-Leen to Oriab / Welcomed by the twin beacons Thon and Thal / Resume my journey towards Ngranek / In this ninety eons old land of fire. Another lengthy track – this one just passes the seven minute mark – it further demonstrates that The Great Old Ones are keen to imbue each song with the necessary detail to maintain the cohesion of the narrative. Dark emotions pour from the music at every turn and atmospheres of genuine terror and peril traverse the tenebrous veins of the album. Touched by a repugnant tentacle / I climb desperately to escape / From this place of death / This nightmare of Dreamlands.
Under The Sign of Koth wails Guerry as the track of the same name begins. The tempo increases dramatically here and we career along with Carter on his journey as he draws closer his goal. More triumphant and defiant, Under The Sign of Koth finds six-string trio Guerry, Aurélien Edouard and Hugo Bernart laying down a variety rich textures, powerful riffs and tremolo picked guitar. Once again, Gregory Vouillat’s bass lays down a firm foundation but he is far more than a simple part of the rhythm section. Caste’s production allows for every note of Vouillat’s playing to be heard and at many points in Under The Sign of Koth, his understated but vital contributions add to the melodic structure of the piece. Guitar solos during the middle of the song are vibrant and alive with energy. Juliana Deana’s blast beats are devastating but he does not rely on them for the entirety of the song and his playing works well with the differing tempos of both the music and the story.
After four long tracks, there is a change of pace and mood, which in regard to the overall pacing of the album and plot is quite welcome. Short instrumental The Gathering gives us the opportunity to pause and take stock of everything we have so far witnessed. This leads us to the longest track on the album - the fifteen minute instrumental Leng. Referring to a cold, arid plateau which Abdul Alhazred (a recurring character in the works of Lovecraft) describes as a place where different realities converge, Leng is a multi-faceted track. Positioned perfectly on the album, it allows the listener to conjure their own images of the location, having already learned much about the story to this point. From quiet segments with eerie repeating guitar motifs to moments of progressive metal to the vast, mountainous musical structures the band create towards the of the track, Leng is in some ways the most intriguing piece on the album.
Final track Astral Void (End of the Dream) signals the final phase of the saga. Reaching nine minutes, The Great Old Ones continue to treat each song as a chapter or movement of its own. While the guitars twist, turn and play with both melodic and dissonant elements, Guerry continues to dispense guttural expulsions in his portrayal of the tortured, disturbing images of the story. It is a chilling end to the ambitious odyssey, titanic drumming and intense riffs creating titanic, cavernous monuments of sound. Like a desperate dreamer / I jump off my flying abomination / Crossing endless voids of sentient blackness/ Comets, suns, and worlds / Spring flaming into life / Using a vision of my boyhood / I wake up / My dream is over.
As an aside, the version I was sent to review features an intriguing “bonus track” cover of Second Rendez-Vous by Jean Michel Jarre (available on vinyl and boxset versions of Kadath) adding another eleven and a half minutes to the running time. Strangely, this somehow seems to fit perfectly with the world that Lovecraft and the band have created, the title almost suggesting that Carter will one day return.
With Kadath, The Great Old Ones set a lofty target for themselves and they have more than succeeded in reaching it. With deference to Lovecraft’s writing, they have fashioned a vast world that portrays the entire story. It would have been much easier for the band to distil the story down to a few core elements and produce a shorter, less detailed album. However, fans of the band will know that this course of action would not even have been considered at the expense of potentially attracting more listeners.
Although several tracks on the album contain small moments of what appears to be calm, the band never rest there for long. There is so much going on that several listens are needed to even begin to grasp everything the band have put into the music. The layering of instruments (each of which can be picked out in the mix) achieved across the album is at times staggering, the excellent production and mixing of Francis Caste sympathetic to the nuanced playing that inhabits the album. Add to that the detailed, swirling narrative and The Great Old Ones certainly demand a lot from the listener. Nevertheless, listeners that are prepared to totally immerse themselves in the music and the lyrics will be richly rewarded (following along with these is a must to gain the most from Kadath, especially for those unfamiliar with the story). Intense, torrid and compelling, Kadath is one of the most musically pyretic and visually visceral listens you are likely to complete this year.
Kadath is released on 24th January 2025.
Pre-order & Pre-save: https://orcd.co/tgookadath
Follow The Great Old Ones:
Website: https://www.thegreatoldonesband.com/
Bandcamp: https://thegreatoldones.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thegreatoldones
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