Review Summary: The trippy excursion of a homeless band.
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
With two studio albums under their belt, Cathedral had more than enough material to support their next tour. Their second outing,
The Ethereal Mirror received good reviews from critics and the music videos of
Midnight Mountain and
Ride boosted the popularity of the band. The sales increased significantly. Financially, that album was more successful than
Forest of Equilibrium. But apparently it wasn’t enough for Columbia who believed they had found the goose with the golden eggs. Unfortunately, for them, signing up the Brits was a bad investment. Cathedral was never meant to reach the platinum plateau in record sales. The band members were very apprehensive about this whole situation as they knew they would never hit the top of the charts. They expected their deal with Columbia to end sooner rather than later.
Few months had passed since the release of the
Ethereal Mirror and the group found some free time from the touring and ceased the opportunity to write and record new music. I have no explanation as to why they returned so fast in the studio. I searched the net and read interviews to find out why they did this, but I couldn’t find any information. I only read somewhere that Cathedral’s intention was to test Columbia’s commitment for independence in the studio to create whatever they liked. However, I cannot verify that evidence. It doesn’t really matter. The final result was all the same. A song from that EP was the drop that overflowed the glass. The last track,
The Voyage of the Homeless Sapien, was probably at the time Cathedral’s creative pinnacle, but the record label rejected it as they thought it was too long for an EP. Hence, contrary to what they had first promised, Columbia wasn’t all that supportive. Cathedral refused to fulfill their request and, as a result, they were kicked out from the record label.
After being dropped by Columbia, Cathedral re-established a partnership with Earache Records and continued with the second leg of the on-going tour.
Statik Majik hit the stores the following year. It is an important EP because it exhibits the transitional phase the band went through between
Ethereal Mirror and
Carnival Bizarre. It’s also the first time Cathedral is going into full progressive mode in the studio.
The Voyage is a 23 minutes opus and by all means, it is one of the most ambitious pieces of music I have ever heard. Until 2005, it was their longest recording too. This song is one hell of a trippy, wacky journey. It features everything. From
Planet Caravan aesthetics to devastating Iommic homage. More specifically, it’s a combination of some numerous BIG riffs, soft, psychedelic interludes with keyboards playing in the background, and fully-acoustic, folky passages. You also get to hear some crazy effects as well, like the sounds of some singing birds, and a number of different instruments like flutes, mellotron and xylophones. It seems as if the band wandered around the studio during the recording sessions, looking for the weirdest possible effects to throw into the jam. The instrumentation is very ambitious in its scope, but it is also quite unpredictable. The arrangements sound impressive but the inexperienced listeners will get themselves into some serious trouble as they try to filter Cathedral’s peculiar approach to creating music. The truth is that sometimes this band can turn you into a skeptical person because of a tendency they have to self-contradicting.
So, while you’re listening to
The Voyage you’re thinking. You want to understand and you try to explain how the hell they can start playing as effectively as they do in this number and after 10 minutes of jamming they destroy everything they created. All they have to do is lie back, silence their guitars and let Dorrian sing “la la la la la la la”. Cathedral has these goofy moments within their music and occasionally, their attempts at retro soundscapes are so immoderate that it almost seems like a joke. I’m not going to lie. If you choose to expose your ears to these guys, there will be moments that you’ll think the music sounds like self-mockery. It’s not, though. This band is dead serious about what they’re doing and the approach, that is taken to creating music, is solemn in playing, production and presentation. After the “la la la” section, the
Voyage reaches its grand finale with a marvelous riff that sounds like
Iron Man. Then, the volumes slow down and the song ends in some weird church-like organ (probably coming from the mellotron) and some bizarre talking. It sounds like Dorrian saying absurdities. After that, it all ends in a huge and majestic way, as Dorrian…flushes this EP down the toilet !!! I have never heard any other album ending this way. It was probably an appropriate way for Cathedral to show their appreciation towards Columbia.
Aside from the last epic track, the rest of the catalogue also features
Midnight Mountain which is taken straight away from
The Ethereal Mirror,
Hypnos 164 which is quite groovy and reminiscent to the
Vampire Sun from their next LP and
Cosmic Funeral, a song that became a live staple.
Cosmic Funeral is quite unusual for a band like Cathedral. It is ultra-melodic in nature and quite melancholic. It sounds as if the band tried for the first and the last time to imitate Candlemass. These two tracks (I’m not counting
Midnight Mountain) are an indication of a band with the ability to fuse many different ideas and riffs from bands like Sabbath, Candlemass, Trouble and Saint Vitus and present them in their own fashion.
Statik Majik is not essential. If you’re not a huge fan, don't bother yourself with it. But if you can’t get enough of Cathedral’s music or if you’re just attracted to interesting, progressive Heavy Metal, this EP is definitely for you. It has shedloads of grooves and riffs and the musicianship is quite solid. I will not force you to listen to the entire EP. But I feel the obligation to urge you to at least try out the trippy excursion of
The Voyage. Despite its length, it's perfectly listenable, thanks to its odd, multi-part structuring and the sheer contrast of styles presented, which ensures it never gets unexciting. Do not miss it.
Recommended Tracks:
The Voyage of the Homeless Sapien
