Cathedral
Statik Majik

THE REVIEW

Smell of sulfur, dust, boiling concoctions. One might talk of sorcerers out of their minds, and they'd be pretty close. What other adjectives for the English band Cathedral? Thieves of post-lysergic ideas? Fetishists of the underground progressive scene from many years ago? Or perhaps, crude metalheads with a slurred gait? All true and precise.

In 1994, this EP Statik Majik was released, and one can directly talk about it as one of the absolute peaks of their extensive discography. Straddling the line between the funeral and alcoholic litanies of the essential "Forest Of Equilibrium" and the Sabbath-inspired revival of "The Ethereal Mirror" and the magnificent "The Carnival Bizarre", this half-hour of music presents a band determined to maintain an underground aura that will distinguish them even in their later works for major labels. Originally composed of three new tracks, then in various other versions, the EP exudes aggressive and mysterious music, excellent.

"Hypnos 134" kicks off with a warlike but not militaristic stride, like their compatriots Bolt Thrower, rather ideally reminiscent of a ride by stoned bikers that hits the listener, again bringing Sabbath to mind: the leader Dorrian, with a grind-core past, is passionate about classic rock, and his graceless, slurred voice weaves through the spirals of thunderous guitars. Much more doomy and haunting is "Cosmic Funeral" (the title, again very Sabbath-like, could pair with the next year's Electric Grave), with its slow, indeed funereal pace. Cobwebs on the walls, undead skeletons wander in the crypt where the band is unearthing a random LP by Black Widow.

The third and final track "The Voyage Of The Homeless Sapien" clears up any doubts: 20 minutes of a doom suite where anything can happen, a dusty and ancestral music. How to convey a love for metal, classic rock, and progressive without hesitation. A brave and successful proposal, and at least "intellectual" in the musical culture expressed, in the year of Korn's debut and the arrival of mega-productions: a smoky recording consistent with the compositions.

From these positions, the band will move on to all future works, both the darker ones (Endtyme) and the more "hippie" ones (The Garden Of Unearthly Delights). Perhaps with this EP, they managed for a moment to find the perfect balance between the different souls, without any element being overshadowed. Outstanding.