Lovecraft is a source of inspiration for so much in pop culture to the point where even just pointing it out is needless given how deep it’s sunk its way into everything from video games to music. The Great Old Ones were far from the first band to bring them to the world of metal, but they’re easily one of the most premier bands of the style in the modern climate, especially in the realm of black metal. Their discography truly speaks for itself, but it’s here with “Cosmicism” that the band takes their sounds to new heights as well as new depths.

The writhing and other-worldly nature of anything relating to Lovecraft is an element that The Great Old Ones have had a damn good comprehension of ever since their first work and it’s only over time that their dark influence has become all the more potent with it reaching a truly venomous and all-consuming peak with these songs of absolute madness and the truest of terror that shows us they are continuously learning and they have the boons to show it. Every moment of “Cosmicism” is the exact sort of black metal that’s catered to bringing to life the very essence of anything that Lovecraft could create and each track can deliver a menacing punch that’s can leave just as much of a physical scar as it can an ethereal wound. The Great Old Ones waste very little time setting up the proper atmosphere for what’s to happen within the confines of “Cosmicism” but then they just as quickly get intense as could be such that the very weight of the universe seem to crush down upon you and the presence that this band lumbers forth with is damn near maddening but constantly awe-inspiring in virtually every way. It comes together with malicious intent to craft an amazing effort whose power is simply undeniable, and I cannot help but feel that this record is more than perfect for any fan of those who want their black metal to go into the unknown which is certainly at the very center of everything Lovecraftian.

There will always be works like this that take the very fantastical into a form that metalheads can just eat right up, and it’s no surprise that we get great works like “Cosmicism” from such a world that is more than ripe for such grand schemes. The Great Old Ones have long been at the game now doing this style with tremendous success, but it definitely has to be here that we see them at their best as well as their deadliest.

LISTEN to “Cosmicism” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE The Great Old Ones on Facebook here.