RED HOT TRACK OF THE WEEK: THE GREAT OLD ONES

Song

Me, the Dreamer

Artist

The Great Old Ones

The Great Old Ones backstory

This act are so submerged in Lovecraftian lore they’re practically Miskatronic University’s house band.

The Cthulian quintet, who slithered out of Bordeaux in 2009, imbue their black metal with hallucinatory cosmic horror – and it’s proved a formidable proposition over the course of four albums.

However, it’s been a bit of a wait since their last recorded output: the French act’s entrancing fourth full-length, Cosmicism, hit back in 2019.

Thankfully, they’re about to make up for that. Next year, The Great Old Ones will release Kadath, a record based on HP Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle narrative, which follows protagonist Randolph Carter as he seeks the fabled city that haunts his visions.

Me, the Dreamer, is the first single to be taken from that opus.

The verdict on Me, the Dreamer

The Great Old Ones have a supreme command of blackened melodies and they use this to stunning effect on the near 11-minute Me, the Dreamer.

The track’s first part is akin to entering a wormhole into Lovecraft’s whirling mindscape, powered by Julian Deana’s surging percussion and wrapped in spectral riffs. I’s still (just about) anchored in reality. The second, heavier segment takes a darker turn. Reflecting Carter’s descent, it’s an unsettling and abrasive passage of intense BM, and The Great Old Ones exhibit all of their dramatic flair as Me, the Dreamer reaches its conclusion.