Great Old Ones: Al Azif album review by Blake Sidewalker

I was never that huge about black metal that was being shoved down my throat in highschool, but as a Man approaching middle age,I encountered a record that made me a fan of black metal. happened upon it in my YouTube feed The record I am covering is titled Al Azif, and it's by the band the great old ones. For those who don't already know, Al Azif is the original title of the necronomicon, as penned by The mad poet Abdul Alhazred at about 730AD. 

This is according to the mythos created by HP Lovecraft, but many lunatics, such as myself would argue that Lovecraft was a prophet, perhaps The reincarnation of Alhzared himself.

 I believe this album to be a method of communication with some of the beings Lovecraft spoke of. I gained more of A connection to Alhazred via the twisted soundscapes than any attempt to recreate the necronomicon that I have ever read. It's not your typical black metal album The projection is crisp enough to express the sound textures and atmosphere, some of which sound like they are being played through the hollow bones of some long extinct Leviathan, by some mysterious descendant of a civilization buried deep in the sands of history and long forgotten. 

 The Listener might know that the great old ones draw heavily from Prog Rock Staples such as strange time signatures and their complex alterations. I myself pick up more on the atmosphere. I "got" black metal after hearing this record. It gave me an ear for it.

 This album is also a great compliment to any existential dread you might be suffering. I practice the dark arts, and when my universe decides to take me to a place of such horrors, I throw this on, and become one with the darkness. The tower augments to something else, something beautiful. If the album is too long for your taste at about 45 to 55 minutes, at least soak up the title track, "Al Azif"at the beginning of the album it's not hard to imagine Alhazred, wandering in his painfully just figured exile.