Review: Cathedral ‘Society’s Pact With Satan’
When I first heard about a new release from departed British doom legends Cathedral was coming out, I was initially sad to see them turn their back on what felt like a perfect ending to an illustrious career in 2013 with The Last Spire. But when I discovered that this was in fact a long-lost recording of a track that was supposed to appear on that record and is now seeing the light of day instead of a tawdry reunion cash-in job (something that seems so utterly un-Cathedral like), my interest was instantly piqued.
The last track recorded for The Last Spire, this thirty-minute epic did not make it onto that album and in fact was lost and forgotten until producer Jaime Gomez Arellano found it amongst his old studio recordings. The band were happy to give it a proper release, which is exciting enough no matter what it sounds like, but Society’s Pact With Satanlooks to finish the band’s career in the best way possible. It is out now through Rise Above Records.
Opening with a grinding, industrial ambient fog, riddled with screams and manic laughter, this is more The Axis of Perdition than Cathedral, but as that slowly lifts into a lonely organ and Lee Dorrian‘s instantly recognisable, Ozzy-tinged voice, it becomes more familiar. That familiarity grows with the torturously slow riff that rumbles between these organ/vocal duets and reminds you just how eccentrically heavy and oddly British Cathedral would sound in their prime.
No one really manages to create such an atmosphere anymore, somewhere between Hammer Horror, Black Sabbath and the trippy parts of ‘70s prog rock. Sure, Electric Wizard do, but their sound is slashed with nihilistic intent while Cathedral approach things with a much more sombre and darkly gothic tone. It has everything you’d expect from a Cathedral record: mossy doomy slabs of guitar, Moog keyboards, folky acoustic sections, galloping trad doom stomps and sluggish, earth-shaking brutality.
titanic riffs thunder across psychedelic landscapes of classic doom…
All the elements that brought them so many fans and so much adulation by the time they hung up their boots are here and sound as vital as they ever did. The moment when the spiralling, psychedelic soloing gallop transcends back into the slow-motion crush at twenty-four minutes is a moment that should have been a foundational genre touchstone for the last twelve years. As that dark ambient, industrial fog descends once more, the track comes full circle, and we reach the end of one of Britain’s most important musical acts.
Almost thirty minutes of the finest doom we’ve managed to lose in the past twelve years, it is a poignant reminder to appreciate bands while we’ve got them. Society’s Pact With Satan is Cathedralat their omniscient, gloomy best; titanic riffs thunder across psychedelic landscapes of classic doom, and sermons of arcane magick are spoken unto this earth.
As much as The Last Spire was the perfect send off to Cathedral‘s career, Society’s Pact With Satan feels like an essential addendum that us fans have needed, a final encore of eccentric English darkness. A genuine treat in a year that has sometimes felt like it needed one.
Label: Rise Above Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify
Scribed by: Sandy Williamson
