Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Another H.P. Lovecraft recording from Cadabra, is it Christmas already?!?

Following up their releases of "Hallowe'en In A Suburb and Other Tales" and "The Hound/Music of Erich Zann", Cadabra unleashes "The Lurking Fear". Narration is once again handled by Andrew Lehman, who really is in his element on this story. His enunciation and and diction fit this story wonderfully and he really adds some flair as the story rises and falls in intensity. This story, the second Lovecraft ever published, is not one that will capture many readers for its originality and style. It's one that is just purely entertaining and fun and really shows Lovecraft at his most outlandish with some of his most grandiose vocabulary and overuse of adjectives.

That being said though, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Lehman read this story and the music that accompanied it was pretty well done. I wish that it had been a bit more in line with the text and matchd the parts in the story. The biggest instance of this is when there is talk of severe thunder and wild storms taking place and there isn't really any rumbling thunder sounds, driving rain or anything really associated with a severe storm. There's also a point where the narrator talks about a scream that is the most inhuman sound he's ever heard yet there's no scream. I know it's more a musical background but I feel that this would have been a great place to utilize something like that in the audio. For that matter, there are also some really well-executed parts though too. There's a part where the narrator is talking about following the accounts of incidents that contribute to the plot of this story where it sounds like there are notations being made. I thought that was awesome and that it was really well used.

All in all though, this recording is one of the best yet. Lehman's tone and delivery was perfect for this story. He was definitely in his element on this story and the music, while lacking in some ways, really suited the story well and worked to add a sense of atmosphere to "The Lurking Fear". I could go on and on with nerd speak about the story itself and the context of it but this is more a review of the recording, which is another quality effort from the folks over at Cadabra Records and hopefully is evidence that there is more to come from the wild world of H.P. Lovecraft and other weird fiction authors from Cadabra.