Cathedral Albums (10)
'Ensemble for the Midevil'
Release Date 11/28/2006
Tracks 4
Label Black Magic/Journees
See Album Tracklist and Review
'The Garden of Unearthly Delights'
Release Date 8/15/2006
Tracks 9
Label Nuclear Blast
See Album Tracklist and Review
'The VIIth Coming'
Release Date 10/21/2002
Tracks 10
Label Dream Catcher
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Having been called behind the times for much of its existence, it comes as no surprise that even after the revivalist movement of Stonehenge rockers came and went faster than you can say Man's Ruin, Cathedral neither achieved a commercial breakthrough, nor did they decide to call it a day. The former is an unsurprising bit of a shame; the latter is a blessing, since The VIIth Coming is as good a record the band has ever made, one that lacks the filler of many of the band's releases, even if it also is devoid of a signature track that stands out as a keeper. Lee Dorrian has all but abandoned his trademark menacing growl, leaving in its place a less-distinctive but much easier-on-the-ear singing voice that doesn't need to be buried in the mix as on the band's previous releases, and isn't. The musical output has a more subtle charge; sure, the Black Sabbath is still there, but the keyboards layered underneath the riff of "The Empty Mirror" and in the foreground of "Nocturnal Fist" seem a lot closer to Uriah Heep, and there are nods to more modern influences as well, such as on "Iconoclast," which sounds like slowed-down, grunged-out Pantera. ~ Brian O'Neill, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Upon its release, Cathedral's Endtyme was heavily touted as a "back to basics" album for the British doom originators -- but this isn't exactly true. After taking its neo-hippie metal as far as it could, Lee Dorrian's combo certainly seems bent on revisiting the slothful, post-Sabbath dirge that characterized its earliest releases. But unlike its record company, the group doesn't seem nearly as convinced about taking such a large step backwards. Instead, while Endtyme certainly boasts an inordinate amount of plodding down-tuned anthems, even the slowest grinds contained here ("Requiem for the Sun," "Ultra Earth") manage to retain some of the energy and diversity displayed (even if in haphazard fashion) on the group's late-'90s albums. More disappointing is the fact that, once again, Cathedral falls well short of delivering a truly consistent album -- something the band only came close to achieving with mid-era releases like The Ethereal Mirror and The Carnival Bizarre. In fact, Endtyme only boasts two or three truly excellent tracks, including the gloomy "Melancholy Emperor" and the sullen "Alchemist of Sorrows." Sabbath-isms abound throughout the album, and work both to its advantage (the "Orchid"-like guitar intro to "Sea Serpent," for instance) and disadvantage (the unoriginal "Planet Caravan" takeoff "Astral Queen"). Downright weird experiments like the silly "Whores to Oblivion," on the other hand, could hardly be classified as true doom metal. Yet, despite its air of forced excess (driven home by 13-minute monster closer "Templars Arise [The Return]"), most fans are bound to agree that Endtyme offers a more focused and satisfying experience than Cathedral's recent efforts -- but a doom classic it is not. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
'Caravan Beyond Redemption'
Release Date 9/1/1999
Tracks 12
Label Earache
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Caravan Beyond Redemption is a captivating album for all of its 70-plus-minute running time. Starting from their usual brand of doom metal, heavily influenced by Black Sabbath, but boasting an original, individual style at the same time, Cathedral throw in various surprises this time to make things interesting. While the "stoner" rock style dominates the sound, '70s funk infects the rhythms -- most of these songs feature a (more or less sublime) groove that is irresistible. Sometimes insidious wah-wah guitars recall "Shaft" ("Freedom," "Revolution"), while on other occasions a bongo section adds spice ("Voodoo Fire"). Various voice recordings appear, and "Captain Clegg" is a Hammer Horror homage, complete with movie samples. "The Caravan" is an affectionate nod to Cathedral's idols (remember "Planet Caravan"?). All of these elements are integrated organically into the music, which nonetheless is a crushing fest of heavy yet melodic riffs. Vocalist Lee Dorrian's voice is cleaner this time (actually intelligible), going with the harmonies instead of fighting against them -- though he doesn't give up his growling shouter persona. The lyrics mostly reward investigation, with a lot of social commentary and inspired madness; the words of "The Omega Man" (greetings from "Iron Man") are truly eerie, presenting a mixture of paranoia and apocalypse. After the last song (which surprises the listener by getting slower instead of faster) is over, there's five minutes of silence (Cathedral's extended version of "4'33"?), followed by some senseless crowd noises. Never mind this hidden "track"; the 12 songs on Caravan Beyond Redemption are inspired and intelligent and definitely worth seeking out. ~ Chris Genzel, All Music Guide
'Supernatural Birth Machine'
Release Date 10/8/1996
Tracks 11
Label Earache
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Having ridden out the initial explosion of grindcore to the point where stoner rock became its own revived genre, due credit for longevity has to go to Dorrian and his compatriots, not least because Dorrian helped out said genre with his Rise Above label and such signings as Sleep. As for his own band, on Supernatural, Dorrian leads everyone through more semi-tributes to the Black Sabbath sound; Dorrian's own ghost-of-Ozzy vocals often get as close to outright mimicry as possible, though generally he avoids straining for the high notes when possible. Drummer Dixon and bassist Smee do their business with relatively little fuss; if nothing else, having better production standards than the original Sabbath did allows their work to always bust forth pretty well. Jennings, meanwhile, is as monstrous and crunching as always, while wise enough to let in lighter moments from time to time, as with the mid-song break on "Stained Glass Horizon." If the subject matter and delivery is a little more self-conscious than, say, that of the Melvins, Cathedral at least has the courage of its convictions, right down to the neo-prog inner sleeve art (dragon heads, historical figures, demons, and angels in a Bosch-style landscape, and so forth). Highlights: Well, if one likes Sabbath, liking the whole album (or alternately dismissing it out of hand for the real thing) will pretty much be the end result. Though a few stand out even more, such as "Cyclops Revolution," with appropriately distorted monster-doom vocals at points, and the appropriately spooked-out vibes of "Nightmare Castle." One thing's for sure: if one wants classically pulpy SF/horror/fantasy scenarios for lyrics combined with brain-melting sludge, this is the place. Thus, song titles like "Urko's Conquest," "Birth Machine 2000," and the "can it be any more appropriate" metacrunch of "Suicide Asteroid." ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Carnival Bizarre finds Cathedral nailing down their neo-Black Sabbath sound consistently from beginning to end with no filler, setting them apart from nearly every other band in the mid-'90s heavy metal scene. The album's consistency arises most likely from the band's streamlined lineup with only vocalist/lyricist Lee Dorrian and guitarist Gaz Jennings remaining from proceeding releases. These two collaborate on each of the ten songs, perfecting their formula for gothic fairytales set to monstrous grooves of castle-sized guitar riffs. The album's title track serves as a perfect example of how Cathedral has grown and polished its unique style more easily explained by what it isn't than what it is. On this particular song, Jennings breaks off almost immediately into the song's central riff as Dorrian begins to map out his fantastic motifs: "Ride with me on a shooting star/Through galaxies of death we chase/Skeletal king of paradise." The song has a catchy chorus that has Dorrian changing the pitch of his voice from his deep, dark gravely tone to a juxtaposing high-pitched voice nearly as rough. Several tangents make this song more than just a standard rock tune in the style of "Ride" from the group's preceding album. It is at these moments that Jennings proves just how amazing of a guitar player he has become, moving through an ambient section of psychedelic-phasing guitar tones to a contemplative guitar solo with an overdubbed backing riff that takes the song on a journey to its post-eight minute conclusion. Nearly every one of the other ten songs makes small alterations on this same template, with Dorrian's mapped-out lyrics keeping the songs within the confines of traditional rock structuring and Jennings' ever-mobile guitar serving as the musical equivalent to the otherworldly lyrical topics. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Cathedral's second full-length album, The Ethereal Mirror, finds the group experimenting a bit with new sounds on their path to discovering the patented sound they would polish on succeeding releases. Hints of their lumbering doom sound from Forest of Equilibrium characterize songs such as "Phantasmagoria," but for the most part Cathedral picks up the pace and instills a welcome sense of groove into their monolithic guitar riffs. Two songs from the album in particular stand out due to their up-beat tempos: the anthemic opener, "Ride," and the metal-disco of "Midnight Mountain." These two songs aren't up-tempo in the sense of death metal or grindcore, but they actually owe a lot to late '60s and early '70s hard rock anthems such as Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" and Black Sabbath's "Supernaut." Singer/lyricist Lee Dorrian's background as a member of the U.K.'s grindcore movement in the late '80s and the ultra-heavy guitar tones of the group elevates songs such as "Ride" above generic proto-heavy metal recycling. Dorrian's voice sounds unlike traditional rock vocalists as he tries his best to sing despite the grave darkness remaining from his past as a growling madman in Napalm Death. Furthermore, his lyrics feature more fairytale-inspired nightmarish qualities than Ozzy Osbourne ever came close to writing. But for as important as Dorrian is to Cathedral as their undeniable leader, the epic guitar riff-laden soundscapes of Garry Jennings and Adam Lehan drive these songs and set perfectly gloomy moods for Dorrian's black magic poetry. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Forest of Equilibrium'
Release Date 2/11/1992
Tracks 7
Label Relativity
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Along with the early material chronicled on In Memorium, Forest of Equilibrium remained an artifact of Cathedral's early gloom sound before they eventually evolved into one of the more exciting heavy metal bands of the mid-'90s. Still fresh from his infamous stint as the looming vocalist for the original and most notorious grindcore band ever, Napalm Death, vocalist Lee Dorrian teams up with the guitarist duo of Garry Jennings and Adam Lehan to create some of the most lumbering heavy metal ever heard. The group takes the grinding guitar tones of grindcore and slows them down to a nearly unbearable pace capable to either hypnotizing the listener or inducing sleep. While the two guitarists churn out their doomy guitar riffs, Dorrian does his best to balance the delicate line between singing lyrics with hints of harmony and emanating deathly growls from the depths of his dark soul. Besides the guitars and vocals, the songs themselves actually deserve some recognition despite their tendency to creep along at a sometimes tedious pace. "Ebony Tears" and "Funeral Request" in particular still stand as two of the group's more memorable songs even if this early sound has since been abandoned. In addition to these two songs, "Soul Sacrifice" deserves some notice as the one song to actually up the album's tempo towards mosh-friendly levels -- though it is much better performed on the succeeding Soul Sacrifice EP. The ultra-murky sound quality of Forest of Equilibrium also makes it a unique album far different from any of the group's other releases. Like the dense layers of compressed distortion that transform the group's guitar tones into monolithic waves of bone-shaking sound, the poor sound quality gives the album a surreal sense of dense, dusty murk that nearly eclipses the music with a shroud of disorientation. This album doesn't compare to later Cathedral albums such as The Carnival Bizarre in terms of artistry or consistent style, but it does possess an undeniable aura of dark gloom that these later albums can only hope to emulate with their increasingly clean sound and hints of joy. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
