The Great Old Ones – Kadath (Review)

The Great Old Ones are a French black metal band and this is their fifth album.

It’s been six long years since 2019’s Cosmicism, but we finally have some new material from The Great Old Ones. I thoroughly enjoy their work, (also check out 2014’s Tekeli-li and 2017’s EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy), so greedily consuming Kadath as soon as I could was always going to happen.

This has been the longest gap between albums for The Great Old Ones, and they’ve compensated by producing the longest record in their discography. Across a whopping 73 minutes, (with bonus Jean-Michel Jarre cover song, 61 minutes without), Kadath takes the listener on a journey that’s sure to leave an indelible impression. It’s a diverse and absorbing path that the band have laid out before us, meaning that it’s a record that doesn’t feel as lengthy as it actually is.

Kadath is a feast of atmospheric black metal, with progressive and post-black metal flavourings, making for a satisfying meal that’s very enjoyable. There’s more of a progressive feel on Kadath, at least in places, and the feeling of journeying through a flowing narrative is strong. This has resulted in Kadath being the band’s most varied album overall; within their stylistic framework, The Great Old Ones soar to epic heights as well as diving into abyssal depths.

This is an album of rich melody and expressive worldbuilding. There are an array of barbed riffs which underpin this, backed by drums that sound massive, keyboards that drip with presence, and a bass that actually has a role to play. The Great Old Ones are adept at ferocity and aggression, and there is plenty of that on Kadath, but the main aim of their music is the creation of dark esoteric atmosphere. The band excel at this sort of work, crafting structures of blackened intensity and malevolent grandeur that captivate and immerse the listener with ease. Imbued with a sombre cosmic power that’s surely powered by otherworldly entities, these songs are potent exemplars of the band’s evocative art.

The songwriting is strong, and the tracks visit a range of different ideas, moods, and sounds as the album unfolds. There’s nuance, texture, and intricacy, as well as black metal’s fiery wrath, all given nightmarish form by a band that know exactly what they’re doing.

Kadath is a record of intrigue and dread; The Great Old Ones conjure up whole vistas of engrossing and horrifying sights and sounds to entertain and terrify the listener as they travel through the music’s well-rendered self-created soundscape.

I really like this. Is Kadath the best album so far from The Great Old Ones? Tough call, but there is certainly a strong argument in its favour. All I know is that 2025 is off to a hugely impressive start. The return of The Great Old Ones is something to celebrate.

Essential listening.