Review Summary: In a period of musical and personal transition, Cathedral strip off their extreme Metal tendencies and deliver a masterful piece of work.
Line up:
Lee Dorrian - Vocals
Garry Jennings – Acoustic Guitars, Rhythm, Lead Guitars & Bass
Adam Lehan – Guitar
Mark Ramsay Wharton - Drums
Black Sabbath’s unmatched legacy spawned countless imitators, worshippers, wannabes and rip-offs. Of those bands who kept that legacy alive, only a handful were talented enough to write truly memorable records and even fewer of them were pioneers. Those were creative thinkers who understood that it would be much more rewarding if the music of Black Sabbath was used as a driving force rather than just a means of endless plagiarism.
One of those intellectual bands was Cathedral. Having previously released their debut, a unique album in which they presented a plodding, Death/Doom hybrid, Lee Dorrian and company embarked on an endless tour to support the album. It was during that time when the band was offered a deal from Columbia. Cathedral didn't have the best of times working for a major record label and their experience was described by Dorrian as surreal:
We weren’t deliberately trying to be pop stars or anything like that, so playing that game just felt very surreal. We weren't exactly comfortable with it. We were an underground band one minute and the next minute they were trying to present us as the next Black Crowes. Can you imagine recording Forest of Equilibrium and a major label wanted to sign you on the strength of that? It was fairly bizarre.
That deal put a lot of psychological pressure to the members and as a result of that pressure, Mark Griffiths, the original bassist and co-founder, succumbed to the weight of the newly found responsibilities and resigned from his duties. The band used Mike Hickey, who was their guitar technician, just for a couple of shows and then they finished the tour with Scott Carlson. Eventually, the empty slot wasn’t filled and Cathedral entered the studio without a regular bassist. Gary Jennings, who was proved a dedicated soldier, pledged himself as the band’s provisional bassist, while he maintained his role as a guitarist alongside Adam Lehan. Consequently, the involvement of the bass guitar got demoted. As a result, this album wasn't highlighted by exceptional bass playing. So don’t expect to hear adventurous bass lines or anything in particular that sounds astonishing, just the back-to-basics, rhythmic-playing approach.
Cathedral’s career is separated mainly in two different musical periods. During the first years of existence (1989-1991), the band played a slow and ultra-heavy style of music, with influences ranging from traditional Doom Metal to the extreme Metal scene. The second phase (1992-2013) found Cathedral experimenting with new sounds while adopting characteristics of 70’s Metal and inducing touches of Progressive and Psychedelic Rock. The result was an alloy of irresistible sounds that would affect and shape the entire Heavy Metal scene. It all began when drummer Mark Wharton joined the band. His groovy beats were the main reason behind Cathedral’s dramatic transformation from a slow and gloomy down-tuned beast to a thoughtful, groovy heavy Rock ensemble. The rest of the group was influenced so much by his playing that they were compelled to adjust the songwriting and create the patented formula they would serve until the band’s dissolution. The first superb token of this transformation is Cathedral's second album,
The Ethereal Mirror. What’s quite interesting is that careful observation reveals something else too, a change in direction in regards to the philosophy of the songwriting.
As I mentioned in a previous review, these guys were masters at composing gradually progressive music. Most of their songs presented a rich variety of riffs and numerous rhythmic rotations. Whenever a change occurred, a new idea was introduced. The style of reintroducing different phrases wasn’t absent in the first recording, yet
Forest was the case of an obsessed band with down-tuned riffs. If you examine that record you will discover that each reintroduction brings a different riff and nothing more. Post-
Forest Cathedral continued to write progressive music with the difference being their decision to embellish their sound with acoustic interludes, keyboards, handclapping, synthesizers, horns, saxophones and everything in between. So, every shift in gears bespoke something entirely new and fresh, anything but another great guitar riff. That’s the huge difference between the two worlds of Cathedral.
If you’re into Metal music you must love riffs. Those huge, bestial, monstrous riffs. You must like ugliness, brutality and distortion. Otherwise your love for this music cannot be justified. Trust me when I’m telling you that this album is like Pandora’s Box because it contains devastating power in the form of those almighty riffs, a power so huge that is capable of annihilating entire continents. Cathedral’s decision to add color doesn't mean they rely too much on effects and most certainly it doesn't mean they neglect the crude power of the fifth chords. On the contrary, the guitars create huge sonic waves that almost dominate this record. The guitar tone is fathomless in its depth. No other words can be used to describe more accurately the driving force of this record. Tracks such as the crushing
Phantasmagoria offer a kind of down-tuned devastation that I personally haven’t heard anywhere else save for that of Electric Wizard’s in
Dopethrone. The duo Jennings-Lehan creates epic guitar riff-ladden soundscapes that sets the perfect background for Dorrian to express his black poetry. The beauty of this album also lies in its optimal flow. The band utilizes cyclopean power, but there is also a psychedelic aura that all the secondary instruments bring forward.
Lee Dorrian is at his best on this album. His vocals are truly exceptional, as he sounds as terrifying and eerie as possible. In addition, Dorrian tries to introduce a short of variety with his vocals. He never truly sings; he cackles, he spits, he screams and preaches the dark lyrics with a style that differs from track to track. Known as the band’s storyteller, Dorrian is the man responsible for writing most of the lyrics but his contribution doesn’t stop there. Credit is due to him for producing the album alongside with David Bianco. Production-wise, this album and
The Carnival Bizarre are magnificent. Cathedral never sounded any better.
Just as
Forest had been a misunderstood album,
The Ethereal Mirror not only bought its first commercial breakout but also the first dissonant notes among its fanbase. Nowadays, a significant amount of Doom Metal fans complain about being “true” and blame such albums for being corrupted. If you think that Doom music is only about being slow and miserable, then you’re missing the point. Life is about contrast; night makes daylight brighter. Being in love makes solitude even harder to endure. And such groovy yet massive tracks like
Ride and
Midnight Mountain helped dirges like
Ashes You Live and
Phantasmagoria to sound even more menacing. And whereas anybody can wander like a forsaken soul in a cemetery and play as slow as possible while crying shamelessly about the negative aspects of life, not everybody can, like Cathedral, draw upon horror flicks, bleak blasts from our past and occultism and transform them into such effective songs.
With this masterpiece, Cathedral claimed their rightful position right next to legendary Doom Metal bands such as Candlemass, Saint Vitus and Trouble, not only for keeping the style alive, but for exalting, glorifying and expanding it more than any of their contemporaries. It carved new ideas, pioneered a musical style and opened new horizons for future bands to follow and explore. It is an album that has literally no fillers and excels in a field that most contemporary artists fail. The field of innovation.
Recommended Tracks:
Enter The Worms
Fountain of The Innocence
Jaded Entity
Phantasmagoria
