The Great Old Ones
Kadath


4.0
excellent

Review

by Vasilis S. CONTRIBUTOR (48 Reviews)
January 23rd, 2025 | 95 replies


Release Date: 01/24/2025 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Changeless guardians of the Great Abyss.

Within the pool of commonly frequented sources for inspiration among extreme metal artists, the universe of H.P. Lovecraft undoubtedly stands out. As the band name suggests, The Great Old Ones from France have exclusively drawn their creative stimulus from Lovecraft’s mythology for the last 15 years and have taken significant leaps forward since their “Al Azif” in 2012, which was great but what followed was even greater. Even if we had to wait longer than usual for a next release from them, fifth full length album “Kadath” was totally worth the anticipation and it fully embodies The Great Old Ones’ recognizable brand of post / atmospheric black metal, in peak form and firing on all cylinders.

The tradition of focusing on specific novellas continues, as the title “Kadath” most likely refers to Lovecraft’s short story “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”, which the album recounts in both lyrics and music. Following its events, the tracks also undulate between more menacing as well as melancholic melodies in a way that The Great Old Ones execute wonderfully. The record starts rather aggressively with the fierce first guitar lines of the opener “Me, The Dreamer”, yet the track twists and turns frequently, which shows the band’s versatility and expertise in their field. Also immediately noticeable is the fantastic production on “Kadath”, which allows every instrument to breathe organically, giving the weight of the compositions the justice they deserve. Amidst the fervent guitar riffs, one can notice perfectly audible and quite restless bass lines (done by Benoit Claus of Gorod), a particularly enjoyable element of the album.

Equal intensity as in the first minutes of “Me, the Dreamer” resurfaces in the beginning and end of “Under the Sign of Koth”, but The Great Old Ones do not rely solely on ferocity to establish their atmosphere. The record shines in its middle-paced sections, such as the amazing introduction of “Those From Ulthar” (which reminds a bit of Au-Dessus), but also in the few instances when clean vocals are used, like at the epic ending of the aforementioned track as well as in “In the Mouth of Madness”. As varied as things are during that part of the record, the closing track “Astral Void (End of the Dream)” expresses the same tendency but amplified, and has in its first half probably the cleanest headbanging moment of the record, before speeding up and concluding gloriously.

What pushes “Kadath” to last slightly over an hour and be the longest album in duration the band has ever composed, is the colossal, 15-minute instrumental piece “Leng”, where The Great Old Ones unload a hefty amount of compositional talent translated into outstanding atmospheric sludge, post-black metal (a brief moment of funeral doom is also somewhere in there, but it’s only a moment) with several tempo changes and a wondrous, memorable solo part in the middle that you’ll go back to listen to a second time on the spot. “Leng” is not the catchiest part of the album, but it may as well be the highlight. There are only a few minor issues I had with “Kadath” as a whole, for example the clean guitar / growling part in “Those From Ulthar”, or the one-minute interlude “The Gathering” right before “Leng”, but it is unlikely that this shakes the overall quality of the album.

The impressive streak of top-notch releases by The Great Old Ones is maintained with “Kadath”, which excels in all the aspects that make atmospheric black metal albums great. Finely produced and fueled by the appropriate storyline, the tracks are well-written, brimming with intriguing passages and exploring dynamic shifts that keep the listener locked in from start to finish. As the band keeps evolving musically, their works become more and more massive, and after one and a half decades of activity, we can confidently say that they are among the best of their time and style.



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user ratings (87)
3.8
excellent


Comments:Add a Comment 
NightOnDrunkMountain
Contributing Reviewer
January 23rd 2025


964 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Available here:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WIlAaIikqc



From tomorrow, available everywhere.

Pikazilla
January 23rd 2025


31638 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Chalk up another W for The Great Old Ones

trilo
January 23rd 2025


6754 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

sweet rev excited for tomorrow

Pikazilla
January 23rd 2025


31638 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

it's already up on yt, trilo

NightOnDrunkMountain
Contributing Reviewer
January 23rd 2025


964 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

trilo is after the vinyl listening ritual



Thanks for the comment!

trilo
January 23rd 2025


6754 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

yeah i want the full ~audio experience~ tomorrow so i shall patiently wait but man those singles are so good!!!

botb
January 23rd 2025


18858 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Band never disappoints

Egarran
January 23rd 2025


36021 Comments


THE DREAMER IS ONLY FLESH AND PREY

Hawks
January 24th 2025


97789 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Cannot wait to hear this.

Veldin
January 24th 2025


5522 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Singles were excellent. Excited to hear this tomorrow. Great review ;)

zaruyache
January 24th 2025


28025 Comments


i'm excited for this one.

Happyburial
January 24th 2025


7 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

After spinning this 4 times now, I feel like this might actually be their best so far, if only by a slim margin because the band has kept an amazing consistency since Tekeli-Li. The singles were all amazing, but lo and behold: Leng. Might top Mare Infinitum as my favorite song of theirs.

NightOnDrunkMountain
Contributing Reviewer
January 24th 2025


964 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

When I saw a fifteen minute instrumental I thought this would be the weak point but it’s actually the opposite

jemaiseyeti
January 24th 2025


310 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Nice review. Truly special band, they just don't miss don't they?

necropig
January 24th 2025


7452 Comments


pog

MTObsidian
January 24th 2025


307 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

The opening to Leng goes so hard, I love it

NightOnDrunkMountain
Contributing Reviewer
January 24th 2025


964 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

@jemaiseyeti really consistent band indeed

botb
January 24th 2025


18858 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

This is a slight step down from the past 3 or so IMO but it’s still a really great record

Zakusz
January 24th 2025


2005 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Not really familiar with this band but I recall spinning their last record five years ago a couple times. Excited to give them another shot tonight

Futures
January 24th 2025


13990 Comments


is this a good starting point for these guys? didn't know it was coming out so quick lol



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