Cathedral - Forest of Equilibrium (1991/2009)

Hard to believe it’s been eighteen years since Cathedral’s colossal doom debut titled, ‘Forest of Equilibrium’ was originally released. Back in 1991 I was ten years old and only just then starting to break free of the musical confines my parents had placed on me, which pretty much consisted of just oldies. Flash forward another ten years and I’m twenty and hearing this record for the first time and thinking, “This is amazing!” Yes my readers in case you didn’t know Cathedral fucking rules.

Earlier this year this doom classic was re-issued by Earache Records with the ‘Soul Sacrifice’ EP as bonus tracks and an additional DVD that features a documentary with the Forest of Equilibrium line-up and the ‘Ebony Tears’ music video.

Generally viewed as the first band in the second wave of doom metal, on this initial release Cathedral borrowed a lot of influence from the classic Black Sabbath sound of the early 70’s and 80’s doom bands like Saint Vitus, Trouble, and Pentagram. The guitars are extremely low tuned to create the heaviest thickest tone imaginable while the speed of the music generally shifts between utterly painfully slow parts to faster classic doom metal groovy parts. The inclusion of the flute on a few songs and the well placed acoustic guitars make it all the more enthralling too. The vocals of Lee Dorian are woeful groans of agony and pain and through these voices he treats us to some wonderful poetry while sounding completely downhearted in the process.

I've always found the mood of this record to be strange since at times it can make you feel completely desolate and at other times it can get you banging your head to the groovier rocking parts. All in all though its a tough album to describe.

As for the DVD it includes a documentary with the line-up of this album and basically it’s all four of them in a pub discussing everything from Lee’s early years with Napalm Death to the formation of Cathedral, inspirations, getting signed, early shows and choosing an artist to do the cover artwork. The Ebony Tears video is also included and while it’s not the most visually stunning video you’ll ever see I still do find it to be quite enjoyable.

As far as I know the original pressing of this album is out of print and quite hard to find these days and as such I highly recommend you acquaint yourself with not only one of the best albums ever but definitely one of the best bands ever.