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CATHEDRAL
The Last Spire

Rise Above (2013)
Rating: 8.5/10

And so it has come to pass, the final curtain descends, the last nail driven into the oaken coffin. Mighty doom metal kings Cathedral have spoken their last words, ending a dazzling career that has taken them from the crushing weight of their 1991 debut Forest Of Equilibrium to the band’s final offering The Last Spire, and what a bizarre ride to the far side it has been.

Cathedral mainman Lee Dorrian (vocals) and his sombre stalwarts have treated us to all manner of melancholic levels; strange places tinged with kaleidoscopic psychedelia and distant cosmic plateaus daubed in miserable grey.

The Last Spire sees the English doom merchants bowing out by returning to the monolithic sludge of their debut album with rarely a trace of the glitter that was sprinkled onto such classic tracks as ‘Ride’ (from 1993’s The Ethereal Mirror). The quartet, also consisting of Gary Jennings (guitar), Scott Carlson (bass) and Brian Dixon (drums), have stood the test time, their sound bridging the gap between Black Sabbath-styled blues-doom and late 60s / early 70s acid-drenched ghoul-a-go-go atmospheres.

Dorrian’s lead vocal is unlike any other, a very British drooling sneer that has effortlessly transformed itself into a watery growl one moment, the next a soulful snigger. On The Last Spire, Dorrian opts for more mournful dribbles, yawning his way through the epic grey avalanche that is the 12-minute ‘Pallbearer’ which, give or take a brief interlude of soulful female vocal and meadowsweet acoustic, is simply a punishing doom dirge.

‘Cathedral Of The Damned’ may only be half the length of ‘Pallbearer’ but it oozes from the speakers with a fuzzoid guitar and pounding drum which rarely skips beyond the pace of a slowing heartbeat. The track features a killer, twisting, cavorting riff, but for the most part it’s a song that sticks to its grating chords, only pausing to breathe with a brief xylophone-type ping and guttural growl which sounds as if Dorrian has gone for a bathe in quicksand.

‘Tower Of Silence’ (accompanied by a killer video starring Purson’s Rosalie Cunningham) begins as another slug-like crawl but features an infectious Lee Dorrian drool, with singer sneering, “As twilight surrounds me night becomes my home, Melancholic emotions possess this aching soul”, amidst a sea of ashen riffing and dreary drums.

There’s no time for breath as the nine-and-a-half minute ‘Infestation Of Grey Death’ lives up to its name – clambering from the tomb like some cumbersome, limbless zombie. It’s another slow motion secretion, and a mighty two fingers to those who might have expected Cathedral to throw in the towel by way of a multi-coloured sing and dance. The track decides to up the pace halfway through, but still only exhibits the grace of an iron elephant marching through mud.

And just when you thought it was safe to emerge from the ivy-strewn shadows, the ten-minute ‘An Observation’ raises its prehistoric head from its watery grave. The drums are the fading pulse of this truly great machine, and with the grueling bass are the cogs for this entity that for over two decades has laden us with its bizarre meanderings.

The final sermon, ‘This Body, Thy Tomb’, is a fitting epitaph that evokes images of a giant coffin being lowered into the welcoming soil. The distorted guitar, the hammering drum and the leaden bass all coming to one, forming a gargantuan creature, with Dorrian its booming voice commanding its followers to follow no more. The monster of doom stops to drink, as halfway through the layers of crushing silt the track stalls, almost in silence, until one last cascade of doom.

The beast known as Cathedral turns and now seemingly tired it dissipates to dust, leaving those orgasmic guitars and orgiastic drums of doom to echo into the night… and so it is no more, but what a great adventure it’s been. Thanks for the memories.

Neil Arnold

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