Band:	The Great Old Ones
Album:	Cosmicism
Style:	Ambient, Atmospheric black metal
Release date:	October 25, 2019
A review by:	Auntie Sahar

01. Cosmic Depths
02. The Omniscient
03. Of Dementia
04. Lost Carcosa
05. A Thousand Young
06. Dreams Of The Nuclear Chaos
07. Nyarlathotep
08. To A Dreamer [limited edition bonus]

Raise those tentacles high and sing to the Outer Gods. The hottest Lovecraft nerds in the French metal scene are back in town.

So yeah, The Great Old Ones. I've been a pretty big fan of these guys ever since they dropped their mesmerizing debut back in 2012 (which seems like a dog's age ago, good Yog-Sothoth are we really nearing the end of the decade?). While Lovecraft themes can often feel a bit trite within the context of metal, especially extreme metal, The Great Old Ones' take on their HP inspired, atmospheric brand of black metal has always somehow felt a lot more mature, genuine, and reflective of the proverbial "source material" than that of many other bands working with similar themes. On Cosmicism, their fourth full length, the formula is really changed very little. Soaring, entrancing black metal with a pleasant variation in tempo dominates, interspersed with various dreamlike melodic breaks that serve to reinforce a more ethereal vibe, all topped off by front man Benjamin Guerry howling tales of colors out of space, horrors at Dunwich, and crawling chaoses.

Particularly satisfying on Cosmicism, and which seem to be slightly more abundant than on past albums, are the slower, more midtempo moments. Somehow these appear to make all the grandiosity of The Great Old Ones' composition shine a tad more, allowing for a greater absorbing of all the layers on the part of the listener and offering up opportunity for a slightly more meditative, ritualistic immersion in the music that only serves to go better with all the cosmic deity themes. "Lost Carcosa" and the closing "Nyarlathotep" are especially good in this regard, the latter of which is almost flawless in recreating the feeling that you're watching the immensely powerful deity in your mind's eye as the Black Pharaoh, slowly and devilishly recruiting his followers.

One could be tempted with Cosmicism to complain about a lack of forward evolution songwriting wise for The Great Old Ones, as all of their releases including this one really aren't that different from each other, but when their formula is already so well executed and effective, what really needs changing? If Cosmicism does one thing, it only continues to prove that even if these guys choose to keep themselves somewhat resigned to one style, they're damn good at consistently generating it in top form. Here The Great Old Ones maintain themselves as having a great relevance to their scene and being a real treat for listeners looking for a bit more substance out of Lovecraft metal.

The garçons français have done our Great Lord Azathoth proud yet again. Descend once more into the murky pits of R'lyeh.