"I'm finally here. I'm finally in Innsmouth." With these ominous introductory words, the Great Old Ones invite you into their hellish vision of Innsmouth, a fictional seaport in which this dark album unfolds.
Hailing from Bordeaux, France, the Great Old Ones' EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy is the band's third full-length venture into the world of H. P. Lovecraft, the highly revered horror writer most celebrated for his macabre and grotesque imagery.
The album explicitly draws inspiration from The Shadow Over Innsmouth, one of many novellas left behind by the American author. Though the concept might seem esoteric and uninviting to those unacquainted with Lovecraft, make no mistake: the Great Old Ones provide some of the best atmospheric black metal France has to offer.
The lyrical soundscape, forged in hellfire, works perfectly in tandem with the narrative, resulting in black metal washed with soaring dissonance, evoking a sense of abject horror. As one tours through Innsmouth, the Great Old Ones relentlessly confront you with sublime passages, suffusing the listener with nail-biting uncertainty.
The journey is diverse and dynamic, as the band maintain enough novelty throughout to remain unpredictable and engaging. While songs like "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and "The Ritual" display a more traditional black metal sound, "When the Stars Align" and "In Screams and Flames" exhibit a technical prowess akin to that of death metal musicians. The album ends with a harrowing acoustic bit that escorts the listener back to reality, with echoes of the damned still ringing through their ears.
While the concept is compelling and the music well-executed, the Great Old ones haven't ventured far from past endeavours. Long-time fans of the band will receive what is expected, while newcomers will find enough variety between tracks to hold their attention over EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy's 53-minute runtime.
(Season of Mist)Hailing from Bordeaux, France, the Great Old Ones' EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy is the band's third full-length venture into the world of H. P. Lovecraft, the highly revered horror writer most celebrated for his macabre and grotesque imagery.
The album explicitly draws inspiration from The Shadow Over Innsmouth, one of many novellas left behind by the American author. Though the concept might seem esoteric and uninviting to those unacquainted with Lovecraft, make no mistake: the Great Old Ones provide some of the best atmospheric black metal France has to offer.
The lyrical soundscape, forged in hellfire, works perfectly in tandem with the narrative, resulting in black metal washed with soaring dissonance, evoking a sense of abject horror. As one tours through Innsmouth, the Great Old Ones relentlessly confront you with sublime passages, suffusing the listener with nail-biting uncertainty.
The journey is diverse and dynamic, as the band maintain enough novelty throughout to remain unpredictable and engaging. While songs like "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and "The Ritual" display a more traditional black metal sound, "When the Stars Align" and "In Screams and Flames" exhibit a technical prowess akin to that of death metal musicians. The album ends with a harrowing acoustic bit that escorts the listener back to reality, with echoes of the damned still ringing through their ears.
While the concept is compelling and the music well-executed, the Great Old ones haven't ventured far from past endeavours. Long-time fans of the band will receive what is expected, while newcomers will find enough variety between tracks to hold their attention over EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy's 53-minute runtime.