The Ethereal Mirror

Cathedral | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 6, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000DTD2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,336 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Violet Vortex (Intro)

2. Ride

3. Enter the Worms

4. Midnight Mountain

5. Fountain of Innocence

6. Grim Luxuria

7. Jaded Entity

8. Ashes You Leave

9. Phantasmagoria

10. Imprisoned in Flesh

Editorial Reviews

The Ethereal Mirror

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ride into Violet Vortex!!!!!!!!!!, May 13, 2005

By 

J. H. Infante (Guadalajara, Ja, Mex) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ethereal Mirror (Audio CD)

The Ethereal Mirror marks the begining of cathedral into experimentation and the mixture of a variety of influences, such as groovy 70s styles , pyscodelic tunes, death and doom metal, and of course Sabbath (Sabbath adjective never is missing with them) because in "forrest of equilibrium" sound can be appreciated as all doom , and the texture of sounds is pretty mouch the same in every track of that debut album, but with "The Ethereal Mirror" this band from Birmingham England entered the "big leagues" of grindcore and doom groups that at the time (mid 90s) catched the eye of record labels interested in the global distribution of the new wave of extreme metal mostly from Earache label catalogue (entombed, carcass, fudge tunnel), so that new perspective inspired Cathedral to improve their sound with the influences before mentioned without compromise their integrity and they did it great! cathedral can be now considered as one of the most interesting bands in Brittish Metal history,

Now, "The Ethereal Mirror" is maybe Cathedrals most "comercial" release therefore is one of their best recorded albums due to "columbia/earache" brief association , this album is like caviar, the more you test it , the more you like it, "ride" , "enter the worms", "midnigth mountain" and the beautifull and acoustic "impresioned in flesh" made of "The Ethereal Mirror" and album that worths every cent.

Note: i get good news about forthcoming cathedral album titled by now "The garden of unearthly deligths" wich is in recording process since last may/8/2005 and schedulled for autumm 2005 release, i cant wait, i dont know about you all

HM

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cathedral's best album, May 24, 2004

By 

Pablosa (Buenos Aires, Capital Federal Argentina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ethereal Mirror (Audio CD)

After leaving Napalm Death, Lee Dorrian formed Cathedral. From the ultra fast, to the ultra slow. Cathedral's first effort "Forest of equilibrium", it's 100%doom metal. All the songs are ultra slow, deppressive and, honestly, you should have a patient ear or twisted mind =) to listen to the whole album. The same goes for Napalm Death's first releases (in both cases, you0re in the edges of extremity, whether if it's slow or fast). In "The Ethereal Mirror", Cathedral's second release, the thing is a bit different. First of all, a proper sound, much better than "Forest...", and more diversity in the music, makes this album more "listeneable". Well, everything is a matter of tastes, that's for sure. I found T.M.E. more rich and diverse. There are different speeds and tempos. Of course, when you talk about "speed" and "tempos", I'm talking about more of "fast mid-tempos", than fast songs, because Cathedral manages to create a heavy, punishing and dense atmospheres, and never speeds up like a death metal band. And the sound plays an important role, helping in the creation of these backgrounds, filled with 70's looks, using in the titles words such as "luxuria", "phantasmagoria", "funeral", ashes", etc, plus Dorrian's deppressing voices, you have a final product that stands out for its DARKNESS and BIZARRE atmpospheres, which are Cathedral's trademark.
"Ride", "Midnight mountain" and "Grim Luxuria" are Cathedral's classics, and perfect examples of the band's talent. From song 1 to 6 you have diversity, like the songs mentioned above, quite different from their debut "Forest...". But from 7 to 10 you have the ultra slow and dense songs more likely to "Forest...", with different changes of rhythms and longer than 7 minutes aprox. Personally, "Phantasmagoria" is my favorite.
And the bonus material is great. "Sky lifter", a fast heavy but rockin instrumental, faster than any other Cathedral song, with lots of changes of rhythm. Totally worthy! And the '93 version of "A funeral request" is much better, and a little bit faster than "Forest..." version...

Overall, a great release from Cathedral's doomsters. Heavy, doomy, bizzare, but diverse. Not ultra fast, but equal extreme...totally worth the buy, even if you're not a doom metal fan!!!!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Doom Goes Huggy Bear, March 23, 2003

By 

"lprzok" (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ethereal Mirror (Audio CD)

Cathedral, at the begining of thier tenure, unleashed upon the world thouroughly harsh, slow as mollasses DOOOOOMMMM. The Ethereal Mirror, although ostensibly Doom metal, sees Cathedral lightening up a little bit; acoustic touches, a more positive lyrical quality and hippy-ish groovy breakdowns.Songs such as "Ride" showcase the new Cathedral well, while songs such as "Jaded Entity" reach emotionally tortured peaks-harkening back to early Cathedral only this time sped up and contained in a more traditional structure.Solid retro riffing and subject matter work most of the time; at others they seem such an obvious affectation that it boarders on gimmickry.Many suspected that a major label deal had a lot to do with this change, while I, and others, see it as a natural (organic duuude) progression. Still, a solid slab of doomy retro heaviness regardless.