Cathedral (band)
| Cathedral | |
|---|---|
 Lee Dorrian and Cathedral performing live during Hole in the Sky in August 2010 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Coventry, England |
| Genres | Doom metal, stoner metal, heavy metal |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Columbia / Sony, Dream Catcher, Earache, Nuclear Blast, Rise Above, Southern Lord, Ultimatum |
| Associated acts | Napalm Death, Acid Reign, Firebird, Pentagram, Place of Skulls, Chrome Hoof, The Crunched |
| Website | www.cathedralcoven.com |
| Members | |
| Lee Dorrian Garry Jennings Scott Carlson Brian Dixon |
|
Cathedral are a doom metal band from Coventry, England.[1] The group forged a link between early doom metal and a 1990s extreme metal aesthetic, making doom slower and heavier.[2] Their debut album, Forest of Equilibrium, is considered a classic of the genre.[3] They later on changed their doom style, playing it in a more uptempo and groove-oriented fashion. After releasing nine full-length albums and touring extensively for nearly three decades, Cathedral announced in February 2011 that they have decided to call it quits. Before the split, the band expect to release their final album, The Last Spire, in 2012.
Contents |
[edit] History
The band was founded in 1989 by Lee Dorrian (former singer of grindcore pioneers Napalm Death), Mark 'Griff' Griffiths (a Carcass roadie) and Garry 'Gaz' Jennings (formerly of thrash metal upstarts Acid Reign).[1] At first they played very heavy and slow doom metal that was first released through Rise Above Records, vocalist Lee Dorrian's indie label, before signing to Earache and then Columbia. They were later dropped by Columbia Records in 1994. The band continued with Earache Records until 2000. Then signed to Dream Catcher Records for one LP and a tour. In 2004 Cathedral signed to their current label Nuclear Blast.
In 1989 Lee Dorrian left his former band Napalm Death mainly because he was getting sick of the punk scene and did not like the death metal direction Napalm Death was heading towards. Cathedral was formed after Lee Dorrian and Mark Griffiths met and discussed their love for doom bands like Candlemass, Dream Death, Pentagram, Trouble, and Witchfinder General.
The only original band members in the current line-up are Lee Dorrian and Garry 'Gaz' Jennings on guitars, although Jennings did once leave the band in their early history, only to rejoin shortly afterwards.
After no news from the band since they toured for The Garden of Unearthly Delights, they played their first show in two years at Damnation Festival 2008, in Leeds. They played a new song and have confirmed dates for 2009 including Hellfest.
On 28 October 2009, MetalUnderground.com revealed that the band were planning to enter the studio the next month to record a new album entitled The Guessing Game, which is set to be released around March/April 2010. Some of the song titles confirmed include "Casket Chasers", "Journeys Into Jade", "La Noche Del Buque Maldito (aka Ghost Ship Of The Blind Dead)" and "Death Of An Anarchist".
On 15 February 2010, Cathedral announced the full details on the new album The Guessing Game, which will be released on 26 March in Europe and 20 April in the U.S.A., via Nuclear Blast Records.
On 6 February 2011, Cathedral announced that they will disband after one more album, entitled The Last Spire,[4] which they hope to release in 2012. Vocalist Lee Dorrian explained, "It's simply time for us to bow out. Twenty one years is a very long time and it's almost a miracle that we managed to come this far!."[5] Drummer Brian Dixon will continue to perform with The Crunched, a power trio which he formed in 2010 with Alan Kulke (ex-Caprice) and Roy 'Yozzer' Hughes (formerly of Engine).[6]
[edit] Style and lyrical themes
| “ | When we first started, the music of Cathedral was a lot more extreme than it is now, a lot more morose and depressing, because that's how we felt at the time. We'd all come out of the Death Metal scene, or the grindcore scene or whatever, and I was just as much into the slower stuff as I was into the faster stuff. I just wanted to do something a bit different, so we took all our influences like Vitus and Pentagram and the Obsessed and stuff and decided to take that kind of music one step further, bring it into the 90's, make it more extreme, more heavy and downtuned than any of those bands had done before. That was our first and foremost ambition, and I think we probably achieved that when we did our first album.[2] | ” |
Dorrian has talked in the past about his issues with the categorisation done by the music press, especially with the "stoner rock" tag:
| “ | To me, the stoner thing is just another thing for the media to try and understand something that's quite hard for them to comprehend, putting a category on it just to make it accessible to the readers, when really its just good old traditional heavy rock, heavy Metal, played with like a bit of enthusiasm and energy. I think at the end of the day, if you want to call it disco doom, which is totally fucking ridiculous, stoner doom, stoner rock, it doesn't really matter, its just heavy metal heavy rock music.[2] |
” |
[edit] Members
[edit] Current members
- Lee Dorrian - Vocals (1989–present)
- Garry "Gaz" Jennings - Guitars (1989–present) / Bass (1993–1994) / Keyboards (1994–1996)
- Scott Carlson - Bass (2011–present, also as a live musician in 1995)
- Brian Dixon - Drums (1994–present)
[edit] Former members
- Adam Lehan - Guitar (1989–1994)
- Mark Griffiths - Bass (1989–1992)
- Leo Smee - Bass (1994–2011)
- Ben Mochrie - Drums (1990)
- Mike Smail - Drums (1991)
- Mark Ramsey Wharton - Drums (1992–1994) / Keyboards (1992)
[edit] Live musicians
- Victor Griffin - Guitar (1994)
- Joe Hasselvander - Drums (1994)
- Dave Hornyak - Drums (1995)
- Max Edwards - Bass (2003–2004)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Demos
- 1990: In Memoriam
- 1991: Demo #2: Forest of Equilibrium sessions
[edit] Studio albums
- 1991: Forest of Equilibrium
- 1993: The Ethereal Mirror
- 1995: The Carnival Bizarre
- 1996: Supernatural Birth Machine
- 1998: Caravan Beyond Redemption
- 2001: Endtyme
- 2002: The VIIth Coming
- 2006: The Garden of Unearthly Delights
- 2010: The Guessing Game
- 2012: The Last Spire
[edit] EPs
- 1992: Soul Sacrifice
- 1993: Twylight Songs
- 1994: Cosmic Requiem
- 1994: Statik Majik
- 1996: Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)
- 2011: A New Ice Age
[edit] Live Albums
- 2011: Anniversary
[edit] Singles
- 1993: "Grim Luxuria"
- 1993: "Midnight Mountain"
- 1993: "Ride"
- 2001: "Gargoylian"
[edit] Best Of/Compilations
- 1992: Gods of Grind
- 1999: Statik Majik / Soul Sacrifice
- 2000: In Memoriam
- 2004: The Serpent's Gold
[edit] Videos
- 2001: Our God Has Landed
[edit] Bibliography
- Doom Top Tens: The Dephs Of Doom (2006). Terrorizer, 144, 52-53.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Sharpe-Young, Gary. "MusicMight :: Artists :: CATHEDRAL". MusicMight :: :: HOME. http://www.musicmight.com/linkto/artist/{CCA6B839-9B44-4C3B-94C3-6D1A3EC. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
- ^ a b c Kitchens, Fitted (1999-05-15). "CATHEDRAL". FKOTLD on-line. http://www.livingdamned.net/fkotld/interviews/fk2/cathedral.shtml. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
- ^ "True Doom," 2006, p. 52.
- ^ http://thequietus.com/articles/06289-cathedral-lee-dorrian-interview
- ^ Kenji. "Cathedral announces plans to disband". www.blabbermouth.net. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=153449. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
- ^ http://crewegigs.blogspot.com/2011/04/crunched-jolly-tar.html Biographical overview of The Crunched, 7 May 2011
[edit] External links
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