Review Summary: A completely useless release.
Line up:
Lee Dorrian - Vocals, Mellotron, Tambourine
Mark Ramsay Wharton - Drums, Flute, Bodhrán, Tambourine, Xylophone
Adam Lehan – Rhythm Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Garry Jennings – Acoustic Guitars, Rhythm & Lead Guitars, Bass, Mellotron, Guiro
When Cathedral sat down in the studio and decided to record
Statik Majik, they recorded four new songs. Three tracks were imported to the final track list and
Midnight Mountain, from the second LP, was chosen to round-up the EP. The recordings took place in the summer of 1993.
Statik Majik was released the following April. Just a few months on-wards, in the August of 1994, a third EP titled
Cosmic Requiem, hit the stores. It is by all means a release with no value at all.
Cosmic Requiem, was released as a re-issue of
Statik Majik. Cathedral’s policy was to give the public an EP that would include all the recordings the band made the previous summer. As a result,
Cosmic Requiem shares three out of four tracks with
Statik Majik and its only difference is a new version of
Funeral Request, a song from the band’s debut. The track-list is also slightly altered.
Funeral Request-Rebirth is a groovier, faster version of the original song. Unfortunately, it lacks inspiration as it seems like an unstudied jam. This particular song is what really hurts the album’s overall value. Being the only song that didn't make it into the track-list of
Statik Majik one would expect to hear in this song a good reason that justifies
Cosmic Requiem's release. But after listening to
Rebirth you might feel some disappointment. It is by all means a really boring song. And to think of it a bit more, it’s not even an original recording, it’s a remake. Therefore, there is nothing really substantial about this EP. It would be a safer option for Cathedral to have this song included in their previous release.
Now, let’s just say you have never heard a single note from
Statik Majik and it just so happens that you get your hands on this EP. I won’t lie; you might get yourself in an enjoyable ride. It all depends on which EP you’ll listen to first. Nonetheless, if you’re going to judge
Cosmic Requiem, you must take all points into consideration before reaching a final verdict. You must bear in mind to judge this collection, not only artistically but historically as well. And truth be told, while this EP scores some points on the artistic mark, it fails to hit the target on the historic counterpart.
This was the last release featuring Mark Wharton and Adam Lehan, as they were both resigned from their perspective roles in late 1993. These resignations triggered an unstable period during which the band had a scheduled tour with Black Sabbath. It was during that time when the roller coaster of line-up changes really started for Cathedral.
Recommended Tracks:
The Voyage of the Homeless Sapien
