Kadath

01. Me, the Dreamer02. Those from Ulthar03. In the Mouth of Madness04. Under the Sign of Koth05. The Gathering06. Leng07. Astral Void (End of the Dream)08. Second Rendez-Vous (bonus track)Essential listening for fans of Lovecraftian horror since their “Al Azif” debut back in 2012, THE GREAT OLD ONES make records that desire nothing more than complete surrender. It is the sheer, overwhelming vastness of the Frenchmen’s sound that sets them apart from other noted purveyors of adventurous post-black metal, and “Kadath” pushes everything even further into their harrowing, atmospheric void. 73 minutes of monstrous, mesmerizing and avowedly progressive black metal (if we include bonus track “Second Rendez-Vous”),with existential horror a perpetual backdrop, this is the band’s most convincing attempt to obliterate all-comers yet.This is a record with unknowable depths. THE GREAT OLD ONES construct huge, cinematic barrages of dark melody and darker sentiment, allowing each song to expand and contract as if bound by the vagaries of some lethal, spiritual storm. “Me, the Dreamer” is a glorious entry point: 11 minutes of textured bombast, it ebbs and flows, the band’s symbiotic ensemble performance striding purposefully forward like some arcane, bipedal abomination. Chaos and dissonance are offset by the emotional charge of THE GREAT OLD ONES’ subtly distinctive melodies, and frontman Benjamin Guerry’s abyssal bellow has an unmistakably human dimension to it. The combined effect of all that musical bravado is genuinely impressive. “Kadath” is huge and overwhelming.This is a cosmic pessimist’s magic carpet ride through surreal, kaleidoscopic realms, but with a bedrock of sinewy and sophisticated black metal that is irrevocably tethered to the earthly here and now. THE GREAT OLD ONES satisfy extremity’s basic demands — there are plenty of blastbeats and grimy riffs — but it is immediately obvious that songs like “In the Mouth of Madness” and “The Gathering” aim higher than that. Plenty of bands touch upon similar territory, but “Kadath” just feels more substantial than the rest. As melodies mutate and alien synths invade, that sense of incalculable hugeness becomes an end in itself. Faster and more ferocious songs like “Under the Sign of Koth” are unapologetic barn burners with a frosty finesse, but even more direct material is assimilated beautifully into the album’s treacly, volcanic flow.It reaches an apex of hugeness on “Leng”: a 15-minute fantastic voyage that is almost OPETH-like in its shape-shifting panache. THE GREAT OLD ONES have conjured splendid epics before (“A Thousand Young” from 2019’s “Cosmicism” is a doozy),but nothing with this much grandeur or swagger. It steadily builds, from the slow-motion melancholy of its opening, instrumental sprawl, to the prog-tinged, foggy mirage of a quiet, ethereal detour, and on to a staggered and staggering descent into pitch-black oblivion, with oppressive, dissonant doom riffs that gnaw like a guilty conscience. It eventually erupts into a subtly uplifting cavalcade of blastbeats and austere but unholy chord changes, hurtling towards its delicate, low-key denouement with unstoppable momentum. It’s an absolute beast of a song.It’s January and everything sucks, but music remains the greatest escape. “Kadath” is a sustained, cerebral trip to somewhere unfathomable and terrifying, with an insidious power that suggests that THE GREAT OLD ONES are growing in stature and strength. For those seeking 2025’s first certified colossus, look no further.[embedded content]