Reviews
A recent perusal of the discography of UK Doom legends Cathedral resulted thusly:
Forests of Equilibrium (1991)
Rating: 85%
Cathedral's debut album was the heaviest sludge-trudge yet laid down by the early '90s. This album contains 6 agonizingly slow dirges that are broken up by only one song, "Soul Sacrifice", which rises above a chugging pace and manages to stand out among the gloom. Save that one brief respite from the drudgery, these painfests are six minutes and up of screaming feedback, seismic low end and crushing distortion.
The album opens pleasantly enough, as a morose flute weaves across a tapestry of gentle strings. Then it begins. Rising from nothingness, comes the 12-minute monster that is "Commiserating The Celebration." Twin guitar harmonies map out a sickeningly slow opening figure before the bottom end comes in and suffocates everything in its path. The bands' crumbling wall of amplifiers lets forth a thundering riff at a snail's pace. To call what it plays here a riff though, is a misnomer. Riffs are what rock music is made out of... and this 'aint rock, or metal for that matter. Taking the sound of black sabbath down to about 17 rpm is probably as close to this sound as anything you'll ever hear. The parastalsis-like chugging of the guitars continues for several minutes until front man Lee Dorrian's unmistakable growl makes its presence felt. Deep and encrusted with filth, his singing on this album is much closer to his days with Grindcore originators Napalm Death than on any Cathedral album. Gaz Jennings, former lead guitarist of UK thrash act Acid Reign, takes over with some patented Iommi-style fireworks mid-way through before the riff returns to crush the life out of you.
Aside from the comparatively accessible "Soul Sacrifice," the songs here don't vary the formula much, just the riffs. "A Funeral Request" begins with a bludgeoning wall of guitar, then inexorably builds to a furious coda, noteworthy for Jennings' outstanding lead guitar work. Some other tracks feature organs or flutes that occasionally rise above the mix, but the album's murky texture remains constant throughout. In a sound later expanded upon and perfected by Electric Wizard, the mammoth guitars are way above anything else in the mix, with the drums sounding as though they were recorded from the hallway.
This is not an album to get into Cathedral with. Despite the fact that many still consider it their greatest, and it is held in near sacramental regard in the doom and drone music communities, "Forests of Equilibrium" is unique in the Cathedral discography. Cathedral have since released 7 other full-lengths which really only hint at this style. Dorrian and Jennings, the group's only constant members, soon began to pursue a far more grooving 70's inspired stoner rock direction which allowed room for their campy sense of humor.
The album is also a document then of a particular time, a snapshot of extreme music at its most accomplished and creative. The limits of what had been achieved by Napalm Death in pure speed and brutality just a few years before were almost the polar opposite of Dorrian's new band. The limits of what could be done in the metal context had been established, now it was time to make it interesting.
Forests of Equilibrium (1991)
Rating: 85%
Cathedral's debut album was the heaviest sludge-trudge yet laid down by the early '90s. This album contains 6 agonizingly slow dirges that are broken up by only one song, "Soul Sacrifice", which rises above a chugging pace and manages to stand out among the gloom. Save that one brief respite from the drudgery, these painfests are six minutes and up of screaming feedback, seismic low end and crushing distortion.
The album opens pleasantly enough, as a morose flute weaves across a tapestry of gentle strings. Then it begins. Rising from nothingness, comes the 12-minute monster that is "Commiserating The Celebration." Twin guitar harmonies map out a sickeningly slow opening figure before the bottom end comes in and suffocates everything in its path. The bands' crumbling wall of amplifiers lets forth a thundering riff at a snail's pace. To call what it plays here a riff though, is a misnomer. Riffs are what rock music is made out of... and this 'aint rock, or metal for that matter. Taking the sound of black sabbath down to about 17 rpm is probably as close to this sound as anything you'll ever hear. The parastalsis-like chugging of the guitars continues for several minutes until front man Lee Dorrian's unmistakable growl makes its presence felt. Deep and encrusted with filth, his singing on this album is much closer to his days with Grindcore originators Napalm Death than on any Cathedral album. Gaz Jennings, former lead guitarist of UK thrash act Acid Reign, takes over with some patented Iommi-style fireworks mid-way through before the riff returns to crush the life out of you.
Aside from the comparatively accessible "Soul Sacrifice," the songs here don't vary the formula much, just the riffs. "A Funeral Request" begins with a bludgeoning wall of guitar, then inexorably builds to a furious coda, noteworthy for Jennings' outstanding lead guitar work. Some other tracks feature organs or flutes that occasionally rise above the mix, but the album's murky texture remains constant throughout. In a sound later expanded upon and perfected by Electric Wizard, the mammoth guitars are way above anything else in the mix, with the drums sounding as though they were recorded from the hallway.
This is not an album to get into Cathedral with. Despite the fact that many still consider it their greatest, and it is held in near sacramental regard in the doom and drone music communities, "Forests of Equilibrium" is unique in the Cathedral discography. Cathedral have since released 7 other full-lengths which really only hint at this style. Dorrian and Jennings, the group's only constant members, soon began to pursue a far more grooving 70's inspired stoner rock direction which allowed room for their campy sense of humor.
The album is also a document then of a particular time, a snapshot of extreme music at its most accomplished and creative. The limits of what had been achieved by Napalm Death in pure speed and brutality just a few years before were almost the polar opposite of Dorrian's new band. The limits of what could be done in the metal context had been established, now it was time to make it interesting.