Where the hell can somebody in the US get this?
Cathedral - The Garden Of Unearthly Delights (Nuclear Blast Records)
Few would deny that Coventry (U.K.) Based act Cathedral is one of the psychedelic doom/stoner rock scenes true icons.
For close to twenty-five years, the four piece act (Who have for the last ten years kept the line-up of vocalist Lee Dorrian (Ex-Napalm Death), guitarist Gary Gaz Jennings, bassist Leo Smee and drummer Brian Dixon) have set the standard for which many have acts have measured and adhered themselves to.
After tidying up contractual obligations with Earache Records (Which resulted in the career 2004s retrospective/rarities double album set The Serpents Gold), Cathedral are back with the follow up to 2002s The VIIth Coming (Which was released through both Spitfire Records and Dreamcatcher Records) in their eighth release The Garden Of Unearthly Delight (Their first release with their new label Nuclear Blast Records).
Although following closely to the direction that has been set down by their last couple of albums, The Garden Of Unearthly Delights is definitely one of the Cathedrals most cohesive and strongest releases in years, along with a couple of surprises thrown in for those who believe that everything emerging from the Cathedral has all been said and done before.
After a suitably demonic introduction piece (Dearth AD 2005), the band thump their way through the bass heavy classic rocker Tree Of Life & Death in true Cathedral style (Much like the even heavier and crushing tracks Upon Azraels Wings and Beneath A Funeral Sun later on in the album).
Conjuring up memories of Hopkins (Witchfinder General) (Which appeared on 1995s The Carnival Bizarre), the groove laden North Berwick Witch Trials is a definite nod to the bands past (Both in the lyrical and musical sense), while the same catchy Black Sabbath riff led vibe is followed through in Corpsecycle and Oro The Manslayer (Which is preceded by the short acoustic/violin instrumental Fields Of Zagara).
The track that will attract the most attention however is the twenty-seven minute epic The Garden. Utilising female vocals, gentle folk atmospherics (Including various string instruments), skull battering heavier passages (Which really allow Jennings to stand out with his seemingly endless amount of riff ideas), sprawling doom pieces and various psychedelic effects and sounds, The Garden could well have released on its own merit, and adds to the albums rich diversity.
Cathedral have rarely missed the mark in the past, but theres something about the overall feeling when listening to The Garden Of Unearthly Delights that makes the album stand out as one of the bands most consistent and classic sounding efforts to date.
Cathedral helped reinvent the stoner/doom movement after following the lead set down by Black Sabbath, and after almost a quarter of a century later, they continue to do so in true style with The Garden Of Unearthly Delights
