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/:: Artist :: The Great Old Ones ::\
:: Album :: EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy ::
:: Year :: 2017 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Season of Mist R.date :: 2017.02.01 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: SOM403D Size :: 85,80 MB __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 263kbps : .
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint Stereo .
. .
Website :: http://www.thegreatoldonesband.com/
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. Searching for R. Olmstead 00:28 ::
:: 02. The Shadow Over Innsmouth 09:25 ::
:: 03. When the Stars Align 04:49 ::
:: 04. The Ritual 09:31 ::
:: 05. Wanderings 01:16 ::
:: 06. In Screams and Flames 07:51 ::
:: 07. Mare Infinitum 11:05 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 44:25 ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: Lovecraftian atmosphere in music is a tricky thing to nail ::
:: down. The number of metal bands attempting to emulate H.P. ::
:: Lovecraft's pioneering brand of cosmic horror in aural form ::
:: seems to increase exponentially from year to year, and while ::
:: many of them come close, most fall short. I believe this is ::
:: because people underestimate how many elements Lovecraft ::
:: pulled together to craft his fiction. His works aren't just ::
:: about ancient gods famed for their tentacles; they ::
:: successfully intersect classic horror with themes of ::
:: insanity, religion, and the supernatural at an intersection ::
:: that teeters on the edge of our grounded, minuscule ::
:: existence and the vastness of what lies beyond the realm of ::
:: human comprehension. Make no mistake: France's post-black ::
:: metal outfit The Great Old Ones get Lovecraft, perhaps more ::
:: than any other band I've encountered. Their third outing, ::
:: EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy, is the best product of their ::
:: vision to date, even though it comes with a shoggoth-sized ::
:: caveat. ::
:: ::
:: A sort of musical fan fiction that acts as a sequel to The ::
:: Shadow Over Innsmouth, EOD feels monumental despite its ::
:: sub-forty five-minute runtime. TGOO has recorded an ::
:: impressive and engrossing production with this album. Their ::
:: three guitarists never rest on their laurels, constantly ::
:: working in tandem to create a rich tapestry that feels ::
:: authentically cosmic, and the peppering of larger-than-life ::
:: choirs and organ performances make it feel like the ::
:: soundtrack to some twisted, extra-dimensional Sunday mass. ::
:: Despite the majesty, EOD is easily the most chaotic and ::
:: violent sounding of TGOO's works; the twisting maelstrom of ::
:: riffs in the latter half of "The Ritual," for instance, ::
:: recall the frigid blasts of Immortal at their most vicious, ::
:: while LΘo Isnard's drumming possesses a newfound vigor ::
:: that's death metal-like in its delivery. I never knew I ::
:: needed death metal fills in Altar of Plagues-inspired post- ::
:: black metal, and yet here they are, and I fucking adore ::
:: them. ::
:: ::
:: While this record has given me every reason to love it, ::
:: you've probably detected a foreboding "but" lurking under ::
:: the surface of the review thanks to my first paragraph. ::
:: Recall how I described EOD as a richly layered album, and ::
:: then take a look at that DR value down below. That's right, ::
:: folks; TGOO has built a brickwall between their listeners ::
:: and this album, and they're making their eardrums pay for ::
:: it. EOD is a record so immaculately textured that it's ::
:: practically begging for a great master, and yet everything ::
:: sounds like it's been congealed by an ooze secreted from ::
:: some hideous, eldritch being. I absolutely loathe the way ::
:: this album has been mastered, and I feel there are great ::
:: elements of it that I'm completely missing out on because ::
:: they're locked away beneath the heavy compression. As it's ::
:: been produced, though, it feels like TGOO's ambitions have ::
:: been squandered in favor of making them the latest casualty ::
:: of the Loudness War. ::
:: ::
:: I may detest how EOD's been crushed to oblivion, but that ::
:: doesn't mean the production isn't without merit. The drums ::
:: still manage to pop despite the compression, and I love how ::
:: punchy and dense they sound in contrast with the ethereal ::
:: guitar distortion. I'm also pleased to hear that TGOO is ::
:: still implementing the slow, doomy passages that helped them ::
:: stand out from the post-black crowd from the beginning; the ::
:: inclusion of such sections makes for excellent build-ups, ::
:: especially when serving as the introduction of the colossal ::
:: closing track "Mare Infinitum." This is my hands-down ::
:: favorite of EOD, a would-be dark masterpiece (again, blame ::
:: the mastering) that features some of the band's most ::
:: effective melodies and impressive performances thus far. The ::
:: haunting cello melody that serves as a prelude is really ::
:: something else. ::
:: ::
:: We're not even a full month into 2017 yet, and already I ::
:: have a solid pick for the album in greatest need of a ::
:: remaster this year. I really, really want to love EOD: A ::
:: Tale of Dark Legacy; it's the first fully realized vision ::
:: from a band that never quite met my expectations, and every ::
:: moment of it (aside from the hokey, spoken word interludes) ::
:: feels carefully crafted. The mastering undoubtedly puts a ::
:: damper on The Great Old Ones' achievement, but that's ::
:: certainly not a reason to miss out on it. It's a record that ::
:: a lot of people are going to love unconditionally, and as ::
:: the year wears on, I may eventually find myself in that ::
:: place as well. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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