November is Doom- Looking Back in Anger at Cathedral's " Ethereal Mirror"

 This column is where I listen back to albums that might have been of note at th time they were released and see how they hold up today, This is the album I remember spending the most time with when it  came out in 1993, I had their first album s well, but I recall listening to this one more. Lee Dorian from Napalm Death. His vocal style never really hits the mark in terms of singing and instead hold more in common with Tom Warrior, as it is a series of exclamations, granted when I was a teenager I needed for every one to able to sing like Rob Halford, so this did not quite cut the mustard. Now I can go back and appreciate this a little more since there have been decades of metal bands whose singer can not really sing either. The groove are very solid and this is an excellent record in terms of over all sound. The mix is right where every thing needs to be and the guitar were more capable then of being able to rip a mean solo than many of the band who grew up listening to this album. "Entering the Worms " being a notable song that has stood up well over the course of time. 

There is more of a rock n roll vibe to "Midnight Mountain' which is an almost obnoxious in it's boogie down jamming. My favorite song on the album might be" Fountain of Innocence" as the effects on his voice help him with his singing to make it more melodic with the watery waver of chorus. The when things ebb down with the dynamic and the guitar is strummed there is an almost Beatles like part juxtaposed again a heavier snarl vocal punch  There is not shortage of groove on this album" Grim Luxuria" is another song to high light this fact. The exclamation of Dorian is rather over the top here. his voice accents things well, to imply where a chorus would be well enough. "Jaded Enity" works off more of the creeping doom vibes that were not at the same level of prominence when this album was released. There is a creepy part in the middle of the song that gives it more personality.  

"the Ashes You Leave' has a stomp to it that makes me think of the song "Mississippi Queen" if run through the filter of many drugs. "Phantasmagoria" has one of the albums heaviest riffs, at time they go into a sludgey Pantera  like riff. They grind into a groove that would have opened up a pit or two back when this came out. Though as a whole the song stays at a mid pace.  I forgot this album ends with a short acoustic piece while it is a song it feels more like a an outro than than a song. I will give this album a 9, it is not a perfect classic, but a great album that I can see influenced other artists, though Celtic Frost did the same thing in many respects, this just had more groove fitting of when it came out,.     

With the Dead : ' s/t'

The rule of thumb seems to be that supergroups sound better on paper  than what the reality turns out to be. From the first song of With the Dead's self titled album this is not the case. Lee Dorian of Cathedral teams up with some of the guys from Electric Wizard to sludge out some oppressive fuzz dripped in darkness. The effects slathered on Dorian's voice are a good choice as it keeps this from sounding like Cathedral. Cathedral was one of the first bands that made doom hip. They dropped some of the melodrama that cloaked bands like Candlemass and Trouble and chunked it out in the 90s. Granted Lee Dorian's time in Napalm Death didn't diminish this. They are not just a doom band, not that being a doom band is a bad thing, but they hit "the Cross" with too pummeling attack to not be sludge. With this album the first song hit me pretty hard so the rest of the album has the bar set pretty high . The second song tries to over power you with the rumble you have already been hit with so you are braced for the blow. The creepy sample keep going to darken the shadows of their sound.

They take on a more Sabbath like boogie on "Nephthys"  and Dorian's voice settles into more of what you might expect from him.  The build it up into a commanding chant. These guys are all about the power, leaving a little room for the more subtle melody of the solos to warble over their pound. "Living With the Dead" has a weighty chug that offers a call and response to a creepier riff. The vocals chant the song title over and over, but it self works. In what might be the verses the vocals just add a tormented distant howl, before the song breaks down at the mid way point into something way more melodic than you expected after the dirty overdrive you have been battered with.

Dorian's more effected vocals helps to give " I am Your Virus" more form and function against the dense throb the song drags you into. This one has more of a doom cadence to it's gloom laden cloud of distortion. The album ends with the more formless drone of "Screams From My Own Grave". Not as tightly driven in it's thunder as the rest of the album, this one rings out into murky waters. For their first outing they have all the power to prove themselves, the last song kinda killed the momentum for me , but over all they are solid and look forward to hearing more from this project I'll round it up to an 8.5.

Cathedral: "The Last Spire"

This U.K doom band was worshipping Black Sabbath before doom was really much of a thing in 1989, along with Candlemass, Celtic Frost and St. Vitus...yes it back when Pentagram still sounded like Kiss. Lee Dorian left Napalm Death because they were making the transition from punk to death metal that he wasn't to happy about. Dorian's vocals on their Debut were a sticking point for me for some reason. I remember thinking he sounded like Scooby Doo, but his approach was not too unlike Celtic Frost's Tom Warrior and on the new album they have improved up to Wino quality. So no Ozzy but making a stab at it.

This is their last album, as they are not sort of act I can imagine they have a hard time making a living in the current industry climate. Compared to the doom of today this really sounds more like stoner rock. It's fairly straight forward when you compare it to a younger band like Pallbearer. Speaking of whom that's the name of the first real song , there an intro thing but you the actual guitars a nd metal sounds begin with this song. The churning chug took its time to grow on me. Dorian benefits from today's production as his drugged sneer benefits from some delay to create the illusion he is not just oddly talking his way through the songs. The female vocals which creep in with an oddly timed accent are certainly a quirky creative touch nd the first of a few that pop up through the course of the album. The songs does take enough twists and turns to justify the eleven minute running time. The chant of "War, famine, drought, disease" doesn't really do a helluva lot for me but the song balances itself out. There is an acoustic interlude and a tempo change which creates a greater sense of dynamics.

Dorian takes another stab at singing on "Cathedral of the Damned" is more of a stacatto shout like what Tom Ayraya might do on something mid tempo. There is a spoken section that sounds like what Iggy does in Balck Sunshine for White Zombie, so it could be Iggy again or Rollins or Randy Blythe or Phil Anselmo for that matter. It's a pretty straight forward song , yet the chorus gets stuck in my head despite its lack of melody so they are doing something right and working wi what they have got. It slows down into some'ore menacing for "Tower of Silence" it shuffles into a more solid groove, the riffs are thick and metal any way you take a sword to them so it's hard to dislike them. I'm not sure how the younger metal heads will take to the vocals as they are not quite sung by not growled either and kids these days don't think something is metal unless it's screamed In some fashion.

Its slows down to the speed of rigor Mortis setting in on "Infestation of Grey Death" the vocals turn in a more Celtic frost direction in the phrasing though when he tries to sing actual note she sounds like Wino. The change in the vocals on the second verse don't flow as well. The guitar in parts picks out the chords like the song Seasons in the Abyss. I remember when they came out in 89 thinking the album felt weird and it still does though a little more familiar of a feeling. The drums when they build into double bass stay away from getting thrash, though their is an aggressive stomp to it.

"An Observation" darkens things with a descent into a string section. When the band kicks back in it has more punch and proves very effective. The effects on Dorian's work really . The odd section where everything drops out from under the guitar is really different and makes the transition even more powerful than the first. The really weird angular proggy section totally comes unexpectated. The keyboard solo pops out of nowhere. I had to check my iPod and see if it switched bands by mistake. The heavier riff in the last minute is pretty cool as well, I wouldn't call it trash as how the bass amd drum pound at a slower pace behind it.

"This Body thy Tomb" toils out with the ring of another dirge. The lyrics are vaguely interesting even if the song does plod a bit. the song takes a turn for the sentimental before the four minute mark. The harmony guitar solo is a nice touch but not really wowing anyone. The soundscape that follows is hereof and gives them more bang for their buck when they bust back in. They do hang on the riff a bit excessively and don't build it up to really go any where but jam land.

Overall they aren't looking to upset Voi Vod's come back on this one, the doom riffs sound food as does the album as a whole, but these guy have been in the game for sometime so quality product should go with out saying.I will go ahead and give this an 8 because when they hit it they does so in a pretty spectacular manner I don't remember them sounding Thisn good back in the day, so the maturation of age and the willingness to experiment with different sounds plays into their favor here. Who kows which way this one will grow me.