Cathedral, more expansive than ever
Forrest Toop | Spokane,WA | 06/13/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Cathedral latest almost defiantly displays their adherence to the principles of artistic credibility as "Guessing Game" once again sees them reinventing & refreshing their sound. Compared to the stunningly compact and HEAVY "Garden of Unearthly Delights" (an album that I credit as being one of the THE heaviest releases of all time), Guessing Game introduces a much wider array of sounds & influences that at times, borders upon the outer fringes of "progressive". Have no fear however, the massive bulldozing Sabbath-styled riffs are still omnipresent but the whole affair is distinctly left of Sabbath central...not at all unlike the way Witchfinder General once musically positioned themselves. Shiver me timbers, for the guitar heft is astonishly weighted and the power chords thus contained sound as if they could blow the bursting waistline girth of Oprah Winfrey through a giant Redwood knothole. Instead of the resulting impact being a frothy, splattered mess of entrails & Jenny Craig online cuisine, Cathedral expertly guides all of these tracks to the wondrous expanses of lunacy with laser-sharp precision. "Casket Chasers" is my personal favorite but this entire album is ambitious, accomplished & credibly part of a grander, 70+ minute whole. As the undead guide the ghost ship through the murky, moor-fringing fog, think of this band & this album, for the embedded psychological darkness that it filters through Whitechapel lanes is akin to a musical curse that only the purveyors of witchcraft urban legend could appreciate. Garlic cloves, red candles and fractured mirrors won't save you for Cathedral's after-hours visitation will maroon your audio sensibilities and reduce them to a billowing, all encompassing sense of isolation. British metal has often won on style points and Cathedral is no exception. Evidently smarter than your average "bear", Cathedral effortlessly brushstrokes yet another masterpience and I feel privileged indeed to stand in its' presence. Run for the hills, the atom smashing battering ram hath once again abruptly arrived."
Track Listings (7) - Disc #1