Cathedral (Band)
Cathedral is a doom metal band from England.
Band History
Cathedral was founded in 1990 by Lee Dorrian, who was the singer of Napalm Death to 1989. Other founding members were Mark Griffiths, Gary Jennings and Andy Baker. In 1990, the band released the EP, In Memorium to Dorrians own record label Rise Above Records, 1991, a demo was followed. In the same year the band was able to conclude a contract with Earache Records and released their debut album, Forest of Equilibrium, where the band heavy and slow doom metal bot. This Cathedral followed in the footsteps of Doom bands of the first generation such as Trouble, Pentagram and Saint Vitus.
Since Earache focused on extreme metal bands like Entombed, Carcass or Napalm Death, joined the band in 1992 to Columbia Records and released The Ethereal Mirror. But Columbia broke the contract with the band and she signed again with Earache. 1994 left Lehan and Wharton surprisingly the band for the upcoming tour supporting Black Sabbath succeeded Dorrian, Victor Griffin ( guitar) and Joe Hasselvander (drums ) from the doom metal legends Pentagram to undertake. However, the cooperation was not to last.
In 1995, the third studio album The Carnival Bizarre and the other albums Supernatural Birth Machine ( 1996), Caravan Beyond Redemption (1998) and followed Endtyme ( 2001). In 2002, the band once again the record label and went to Dreamcatcher / Spitfire. After the release of The VIIth Coming it was until they finally signed quiet around the band signed with Nuclear Blast, where they released the two albums The Garden of Unearthly Delights (2005) and The Guessing Game ( 2010).
In early 2011 the band gave announced its intention to dissolve after release of another studio album. This last album, The Last Spire, is to be published in April 2013 in Lee Dorrians own record label Rise Above Records.
The covers of all Cathedral albums are designed by Dave Patchett. Many of the cover can be folded out to six times the size of the CD cover and show detail and symbol rich paintings by the artist.
Style
While prevalent metal on the first publications even harder Doom, the later albums were more influenced by 70s rock. As early as the debut, the band relies explicitly on the Prog- Rocker 1970 (by the way there was in this period already an American band also called Cathedral ). Nevertheless, the band remained rooted more deeply in Heavy Metal, thanks to the brutal guitar work and gruff vocals. With the exception of the albums In Memoriam, Forest of Equilibrium and Endtyme the band, however, does not play with the typical slowness of other Doom bands.
Thematically, the volume deals not only with the typical genre clichés, but also lets humor and a penchant for horror films of the 1960s and 1970s by look. For example can be found on The Carnival Bizarre a piece called Hopkins ( Witchfinder General ), based on the horror classic The Witch Hunter starring Vincent Price. The Spanish Riding the end - bodies - series was processed in two pieces, namely Night of the Seagulls also from the album The Carnival Bizarre and Templars Arise! from the album Endtyme.
The band is known as one of the pioneers of the modern variants of doom metal, as it is played by the Spiritual Beggars or Electric Wizard.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Demos and EPs
- 2001: Our God Has Landed