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Rating:
THE REVIEW
Interesting path taken by the band of Lee Dorrian, "the coolest doomster of all", certainly, it's risky; they started walking on tightropes from 2005 till now, but they keep moving forward without ever showing a loss of balance.
Balance indeed, it was 1991 when "Forest of Equilibrium" was released. A killer album by the Madonna di Loreto, that Doom to be clear, a tank driven by Galeazzi with Giuliano Ferrara at the cannon, definitely to be handled with care, since prolonged listening could cause permanent damage to you and to others. Dorrian in the future managed to do something even more cruel only with the Sunni and the drummer of Electric Wizard, in the project Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine.
Now Cathedral have started coloring doom. Something not entirely new, because first Electric Wizard and then copying them greatly, Ufomammut, added a whole series of lysergic colors to the black of doom. But they chose the strangest pastels. They started coloring it blue and pink, which sounds strange, but that's exactly the sensation: it's as if Lee Dorrian started doing Doom with the Teletubbies.
There's a certain arrogance in the structure of the tracks and the riffs that (remotely) reminds me of Songs For the Deaf by QOTSA, without the vocal melody because fortunately at the microphone Lee remains that good old doomster from occultism in a pub amid rivers of beer. At times, I also hear the compact immediacy of Karma to Burn. I feel there's something else but I could go on for long, luckily there's also the wall of glor... OOPS! I meant to say wall of sound.
The Guessing Game, an album with a bit of this and a bit of that, pleasing for the Dorrian factor, I wish them to proceed cautiously, as the leap from here to Brit-Pop is short.
(score 3.66)
P.P. (Postilla Paraculo): to be honest the track "Cats, Incense, Candles & Wine" slightly contradicts this whole review, in the sense that they've already stepped in a Brit Pop mess, but it's 1 track VS 12, the virus is there, but the Doom antibodies are strong.
"FEAR!"
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Summary by Bot
Cathedral's The Guessing Game takes a risky but successful step in evolving doom metal by adding unusual pastel psychedelic colors. Lee Dorrian's iconic presence anchors the album with a familiar doom vibe despite some experimental deviations. The album mixes influences from various rock and metal bands and manages to keep balance amidst sonic risk-taking. While one track hints at a pop influence, the core doom identity remains intact. Overall, a fascinating and bold album pushing genre boundaries.Tracklist Videos
Cathedral
Cathedral were an English doom-metal band founded by Lee Dorrian after his departure from Napalm Death. Their early releases are described as extremely slow, oppressive doom, later expanding toward seventies-rooted hard rock, psychedelia, prog touches, and stoner rock nuances. The band’s run is repeatedly framed as spanning roughly 1990 to 2013, ending with the final release “The Last Spire.”20 Reviews
Other reviews
By March Horses
Mammoth, no other word could more appropriately describe "The Guessing Game" by the freak-doomsters Cathedral.
Cathedral reconfirm themselves as one of the most intelligent and courageous remnants of the "old" metal.
