Everyone’s favourite French Lovercraftian black metallers are back with their fourth album – since the release of 2012’s ‘Al Azif’ it feels as though the five piece have been chasing a high that they’ve never quite managed to recapture. Weaving together black and post metal to tell tales from what lurks within the Necronomicon, The Great Old Ones are truly unique, however, once you’ve released that initial original idea it becomes difficult to conjure the same buzz as the debut received. While ‘Tekeli-li’ and ‘EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy’ were good albums, they never quite held up to majesty of the band’s debut.
‘Cosmicism’ sees the band add further depth to their sound with noticeably faster riffs, much more intense harmonies and percussion that feels as though it may blast beat its way right out of the speakers. The post metal elements of TGOO’s sound have been shelved for a murky, almost blackened death approach, and even the quieter lulls throughout the record feel like the band are simply taking a collective breath before coming back with more intensity than before. ‘Cosmicism’ gets markedly heavier as it progresses, as though building towards something sinister.
This is without a doubt TGOO’s best release since ‘Al Azif’ – they have not only captured the eldritch evil of their first album, but expanded upon it. There’s an urgency to ‘Cosmicism’ that simply wasn’t present on any of their previous releases and it makes for an album that keeps its listeners constantly on their toes, never knowing what to expect. Every instrument sounds absolutely enormous, a grandiose atmosphere is prevalent through, despite the turbulence of the crashing guitars and thunderous drums. Crawling chaos is the best description that can be attributed to this opus, which fits perfectly when considering that that closing track is titled ‘Nyarlathotep’.
(8/10 Angela Davey)
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