The Great Old Ones Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

Jeff: Since the recording, we have worked on a new live show for a tour we made in april (Roadburn festival, Belgium...), which went very well. the new album was released recently, we already have some nice reviews and we look forward for more.

2. So far the band has released 2 albums and a single, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical sound that is presented on all of thew recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

We recorded 2 albums with Cyrille Gachet. For the first one, we experimented the sound. The sound of the first album is aerial, drums may be a little setback, it's a raw album. The second one has a much more powerful sound, we spent more days to record, drums are better mixed and the whole sound is more consistent.

3.The bands name and song lyrics come form the writings of H/.P Lovecraft, can you tell us a little bit more about your interested in this author?

It's a fantasy author we read, mostly in our childness and we have pleasure in reading the stories again. We think that he really created a very special atmosphere, and with his own style he let something in his time, surely one of the greatest horror writer. "Mountains of Madness" is the perfect name, with this special dreammood. We also would recommend the Call of Cthulhu", "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" and many others.

4.Does the band have any interest in Occultism?

We are not involved in occultism but we love everything around this subject in cinema, literature and art in general

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We believe that every set is a unique moment. So it is really difficult to choose a better show on an another. We discuss after each concert in order to improve ourselves. We can say that the Hellfest 2013 and Roadburn 2014 gigs were exceptional in terms of quality. During the show, we want to create a dark atmosphere using smoke, black dresscode and recently we add a lightman in the crew in a way to really have our own atmosphere on stage.

6.Do you have nay touring or show plans for the new album?

We will make the release party of the album in our county, we also have a gig in Toulouse with Kylesa and the Under The Black Sun festival near Berlin in July, the Motocultor Festival in August and maybe a european tour in October or November .....

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?

At the moment, the return is more than favorable ..  We have a loyal fans following us in many concerts.

8.What is going on with the other musical projects these days that some of the band members are involved with?

Benjamin et I have a doom project called Drame, It's a project who speeks about the loss of the loved ones and it will be instrumental. I also have an accoustical project called « Frileuse ». Leo plays in a funk band called Massada and a jazz project, he also have a grind one named Obélix, Xavier has a drone project.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

At the moment, we focus on the promotion of the new album, and in the future, we already have some ideas, but you will know about in the right time.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We are influenced by black metal in general and bands like "Neurosis", "Cult of Luna", "Year of No Light", but we listen to many different styles,

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I am also an illustrator and painter.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thank you for this interview, you are invited to listen our new album on our bandcamp : thegreatoldones.bandcamp.com

The Great Old Ones/Tekeli-Li/Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions/2014 CD Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  The  Great  Old  Ones  which  shows  the  band  continuing  their  Lovecraft  inspired  post-atmospheric  black  metal  sound  with  the  album  being  released  in  2014  and  called  "Tekeli-Li  which  was  also  released  by  Les  Acteurs  de  i'Ombre  Productions.

  A  dark  ambient  drone  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  with  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  having  a  Morbid  Angel  style  sound  to  them  which  also  leads  up  to  some  grim  black  metal  screams  and  in  some  of  the  faster  parts  you  can  hear  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  which  also  leads  to  the  music  evolving  more  into  atmospheric  black  metal  which  also  sees  the  band  bringing  in  a  mixture  of  both  slow  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  adding  in  melodic  post  black  metal style  guitar  leads.

  As  the  album  progresses  you  can  hear  sounds  of  wind  and  more  clean  sections  along  with  some  classical  guitars  on  later  tracks  being  added  into  the  music  at  times  while  the  music  still  focuses  on  the  more  heavier  parts  and  this  recording  has  a  more  melodic  black  metal  feeling  than  the  previous  recording  and  spoken  word  parts  make  their  return  later  on  and  they  bring  a  very  ritualistic  and  occult  feeling  to the  album  and  some  of  the  slower  and  more  atmospheric  sections  of  the  recording  have  funeral  doom  metal  feeling  to  them  at  times  along  with  some  deeper  vocals  and  the  music  also  adds  in  a  Gregorian  feeling  when  synths  are  brought  in.

  The  Great  Old  Ones  have  a  much  more  heavier  and  faster  sound  with  this  recording  while  remaining  true  to t heir  melodic  and  atmospheric  post  black  metal  sound  and  continuing  their  lyrical  concept  of  Lovecraft  and  his  Cthulu  Mythos,  as  well  as  having  a  very  heavy  and  powerful  sounding  production  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  almost  each  song  has  an  average  length  of  10  minutes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Great  Old  Ones  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  and  post  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Antartica"  and  "Behind  The  Mountains". 8/5  out  of  10.

http://ladlo.bandcamp.com/album/tekeli-li

  

The Great Old Ones/Al Azif/Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions/2012 CD Review

 The  Great  Old  Ones  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  Lovecraft  inspired  form  of  atmospheric,  ambient/black  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2012  album  "Al  Azif"  which  was  released  by  Les  Acteurs  de  l'Ombre  Productions.

  A  very  slow,  dark,  melancholic,  melodic  and  atmospheric  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  the  music  goes  into  a  more  fast  and  raw  black  metal  direction  along  with  blast  beats  and  grim  screams  as  mixing  in  the  slower  and  atmospheric  sections  of  the  beginning  as  well  as  adding  in  more  melody  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  a  post  black  metal  feeling  to  the  recording  along  with  some  progressive  elements  on  some  of  the  later  tracks.

  When  the  clean  parts  are  utilized  they  bring  a  very  progressive  feeling  to  the  recording  and  in  some  of  the  slower  sections  you  can  hear  a  slight  shoegaze  feeling  but  done  in  a  more  heavy  and  dark  manner  and  the  bass  lines  also  add  in  more  post  rock  elements  and  on  one  of  the  tracks  you  can  hear  a  slight  death  metal  influence  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  ambient  sections  add  a  more  occult  feeling  to  the  recording  and  the acoustic  guitars  on  the  last  track  have  a  very  medieval  sounding  feeling  to t hem  before  the  band  goes into  a  more  fast  and  raw  direction.

  The  great  old  Ones  have  a  very  interesting  sound  and  while  you  can  hear  a lot  of  the  more  modern  post  black  metal  sound  in  the  band,  they  also  take  a  more  dark,  grim  and  occult  approach  to  this  genre  and  stay  away  from  the  more  mainstream  sounds  of  the  genre,  along  with  lyrics  that  are  based  on  the  writings  Of  Lovecraft,  Necronomicon  as  well  as  mentioning  the  more  obscure  R'lyeh  grimoire  and  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  heavy,  powerful  and  raw  feeling  to  it  along  with  a  couple  of  long  and  epic  in  length  songs.

  In  my  opinion  The  great  Old  Ones  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  Lovecraft  inspired  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Visions  Of  R'lyeh"  and  "my  Love  For  the  Stars  (Cthulhu  Fhtagn)".  8/5  out  of  10.  

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