Cathedral - The Bridge
Posted by: Nick Lees on 10 October 2007
Move along if you were expecting the British doom metal band, this isn't about them!
This Cathedral are an American symphonic prog band who started out in the 70s in America. They produced one album in 1978 called Stained Glass Stories and it's a mellotron classic - fans of early(ish) Yes and King Crimson will like this album. Prog Archives has a track from it.
Sadly for them 1978 was a very bad year to release a prog album, no matter how good it is, and the band folded....until last year when they got back together to record a new album.
It's called The Bridge and it's absolutely brilliant. It's clearly a better group effort than their first in that the tron's mixed down a bit and the singer and rhythm section (especially nice growly bass) get a better chance to shine. It's quite a lot subtler than Stained Glass as a result and in parts sounds quite spectral, and doesn't wear it's influences quite so blatantly on its sleeve.
The production is a treat too.
Anyway their Myspace site has samples/tracks from the new one. I'd single out the edit of The Secret, though you really do need to hear the full 11 minute version.
CD Baby has shorter samples of all the tracks and with the dollar/pound ratio as it is it's a steal (and the artist gets a bigger cut too).
Definitely on my shortlist for album of the year.
This Cathedral are an American symphonic prog band who started out in the 70s in America. They produced one album in 1978 called Stained Glass Stories and it's a mellotron classic - fans of early(ish) Yes and King Crimson will like this album. Prog Archives has a track from it.
Sadly for them 1978 was a very bad year to release a prog album, no matter how good it is, and the band folded....until last year when they got back together to record a new album.
It's called The Bridge and it's absolutely brilliant. It's clearly a better group effort than their first in that the tron's mixed down a bit and the singer and rhythm section (especially nice growly bass) get a better chance to shine. It's quite a lot subtler than Stained Glass as a result and in parts sounds quite spectral, and doesn't wear it's influences quite so blatantly on its sleeve.
The production is a treat too.
Anyway their Myspace site has samples/tracks from the new one. I'd single out the edit of The Secret, though you really do need to hear the full 11 minute version.
CD Baby has shorter samples of all the tracks and with the dollar/pound ratio as it is it's a steal (and the artist gets a bigger cut too).
Definitely on my shortlist for album of the year.