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Review

The Great Old Ones – Kadath Review

Band: The Great Old Ones
Album: Kadath
Label: Season of Mist
Genre: Black metal
Country: France
Release Date: January 24th, 2025
For Fans Of: Emperor, Ulcerate, Behemoth

Let us return to a horrifying world. Let us traverse this dimension found within our dreams.

The Great Old Ones bring us a tale of Randolph Carter and his quest to Kadath. If I wasn’t already a fan of this band, this concept alone would have captured my interest. Literature and metal continue to thrive hand-in-hand, and over the years topics such as this have sent me down endless Wikipedia rabbit holes and scouring the shelves of my local library for more. But lyrics are never the entire equation, but they contribute a significant aspect. I am of the firm belief that the music should match the tone and atmosphere of the lyric topic, and vice versa. I don’t think this is a particularly “hot take,” but it bears stating. A mismatch in expectations can lead to disappointment.

All that to say, The Great Old Ones have never missed their mark in this regard. Kadath is full of long songs that paint a dark world for our dreamer to traverse. Riffs are interspersed with repetitive, hypnotic, vamps to retain an esoteric nature. These sections will ensnare you in a trance, admiring the beauty of this dark and deadly world. And if I set aside the over-the-top metaphors, the musicianship is top-notch once again. “Precision” is not a word I typically associate with black metal. When crafting a cacophony of sound, the intent takes priority rather than the execution. But this band deliberately places each note and drum fill, and it allows for more effective moments of tension and relief. On an album where no song (except “The Gathering”) is shorter than eight minutes, boredom becomes more present in less deft hands. But since each musical phrase is consciously placed, my attention is constantly demanded and rewarded. Simultaneously beautiful and frightening, these maestros convey so much through their instruments before the vocals narrate the journey. Hell, they include the 15-minute instrumental “Leng” to carry us on to the last part of this story. But the vocals are still an essential part of this band, and they deliver us a story with clarity a haunting timbre.

I am not the most decisive of reviewers. Despite my occasional contribution to this site, I find it very difficult to review music, and my statements ultimately boil down to “I like it” or “I don’t like it.” I find it somewhat useless to constantly compare albums, and the only time I truly get negative is when the album is truly bad, whatever that may mean, since it is still subjective. I write all this to say, I really enjoyed Kadath. I love the direction this band is traversing, I love their bleak portrayal of a fictional world, I love the musicianship and precision with which they play their parts. It is a high-quality package, and the first of (hopefully) many more fantastic albums in 2025.

Rating: 8/10

Tracklist:
1. Me, The Dreamer
2. Those From Ulthar
3. In The Mouth of Madness
4. Under The Sign of Koth
5. The Gathering
6. Leng
7. Astral Void (End of The Dream)

Total Playing Time: 61:16

Click here to visit The Great Old Ones Bandcamp