ALBUM REVIEW: Cosmicism – The Great Old Ones

The southern French city of Bordeaux is perhaps best known for its wine and lovely summer weather. However, Merlot and sunshine aside, there is something darker in the ancient port city that demands your attention. Lovecraftian black metallers THE GREAT OLD ONES, led by front man and lead song writer Benjamin Guerry, have been making waves in the underground for almost a decade now, releasing a trio of fantastic atmospheric forays into the cosmos of the Cthulhu Mythos. Their newest offering, Cosmicism, due today via Season Of Mist, continues the trend offering an incredibly dark and emotional ride into Lovecraftian horror. 

Intro track Cosmic Depths is a short immersion in synth-heavy, cosmic darkness before lead single The Omniscient gentle makes its presence known, building for over a minute before tremolo riffs and blistering drum work sees THE GREAT OLD ONES transition to the brutal side of their atmospheric black metal style. After a few minutes of eviscerating heaviness Guerry and co. double down on the atmosphere, soft guitars and whispers building the tension before an infectious dose of heaviness comes back around for another go, firing on all cylinders.

After an epic opening ten minutes, video single Of Dementia comes in taking no prisoners, proving to be absolutely eviscerating in its delivery with a more traditional black metal approach. The dissonant solo work of crushing, blackened death metal passages present throughout Of Dementia make it a clear stand out moment from Cosmicism. Lost Carcosa keeps the momentum building, delivering excellent blackened ferocity amid the unsettling atmosphere, fading into a lovely acoustic passages that leads into the monolithic A Thousand Young. Soft guitars and ohm-like chants build into a melancholic blast of mid-tempo aggression before mutating into an atmosphere-heavy affair. Clocking in at just shy of 12 minutes, A Thousand Young is Cosmicism‘s most epic moment.

After the monumental mutations of A Thousand Young, Dreams Of Nuclear Chaos is a perfect palate cleanser. The shortest full track that THE GREAT OLD ONES have put to tape to date, Dreams Of Nuclear Chaos makes use of every second in delivering one of the most brutalising offerings of their career. A clear highlight alongside Of Dementia, Cosmicism‘s penultimate track maintains the atmosphere the band are known for while delivering some of their biggest hooks and eviscerating passages of sheer aural aggression. Over all to soon, Dreams Of Nuclear Chaos leads into album closer Nyarlathotep. THE GREAT OLD ONES are in no rush to usher in Cosmicism‘s final seconds as the bass-heavy, stomping introduction to Nyarlathotep brings a doom influence to their arsenal. The atmosphere takes a murky, tar-like turn, with the closing track standing as the most oppressive on the record. A wonderful dose of solo work sees Nyarlathotep and Cosmicism take its final breath, leaving nothing but emptiness in their wake.

With breakthrough record Tekeli-li conceptually focusing on Lovecraft’s At The Mountains Of Madness, and their magnum opus EOD: A Tale Of Dark Legacy revolving around The Shadow Over Innsmouth, Cosmicism suffers from the unified narrative THE GREAT OLD ONES displayed in previous works. However, this is the only real stumbling block the quintet face. Cosmicism doesn’t quite match the power of EOD: A Tale Of Dark Legacy – but that is an incredibly high bar to reach. It does, however, reinforce that THE GREAT OLD ONES are masters of songcraft, one of the most exciting outfits to come from France and one of the most essential black metal bands of the 21st century.

Rating: 8/10

Cosmicism is out now via Season Of Mist. 

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