The Great Old Ones – Kadath

In many ways, Kadath is the culmination of everything The Great Old Ones has done up to this point. We have the mysterious H.P. Lovecraft storytelling at the bottom of it all…but what we have behind it is even more glorious. In some way, this is the most progressive TGOO has ever been. Kadath feels almost theatrical in nature. The core of their sound is still that glorious mixture of haunting, horror inducing and blistering black metal and atmospheric sludge/post-metal but the album feels like an opera of sorts. No better example of that than the 15 minute instrumental mammoth that is (song of the year) “Leng”. The build ups, and ultimate tsunami, of the dense and tar induced riffage blended with that ever-present atmosphere weighing so heavily on you that it almost brings the listener to tears. Kadath is a monumental album full of twists, turns and eerie dread around every corner. 2025 is still in its infancy but The Great Old Ones have dropped an AOTY contender here.

-Hawks