The Great Old Ones

Lovecraft goes hand in hand with metal. Just ask Portal, whose abstract deconstruction of death metal provides the perfect soundtrack to the meta-spatio-temporality of the Old Gods. Or, ask Innsmouth – who do a damn fine job of making old school, belligerent and filthy death metal sound a hell of a lot like the residents of that dingy, fish-infested coastal town in Dagon. The Great Old Ones tether the Lovecraft relationship to the largely hit or miss canon of black metal. I approached the three pre-production tracks available on the bandcamp page with relative hope, since the band feature some of my favourite black metal characteristics.

Hailing from France and with track titles like ‘Visions of R’yleh’ and ‘The Truth’ – The Great Old Ones conjure some ethereal, atmospheric visions of black metal apocalypse. Staying away from tried Cascadian paradigm; their music meanders somewhere between melody and threnody. It is beautiful and epic showcasing promise for a stunning full length (this is French black metal after all). Dynamic and devouring, tracks twist and vary with unflinching pride – a band with clarity of vision.

Give them a listen over at their Bandcamp page and show some support. Ones to watch.