Customer Reviews

Forest of Equilibrium

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Just from reading the titles like "Commiserationg the Celebration", "Ebony Tears", "Funeral Request" or "Reaching Happiness, Touching Pain" you can understand that these guys aren't the happiest lot around. But I promise, your expectations for oppressingly slow, heavy and gloomy music will be superceded by what you'll hear.

Lee Dorrian, an ex-singer for grind-core legends Napalm Death, has made a U-turn and delved into the opposite end of musical extremes. To say that this album is slow won't tell you just how painfully sluggish and crushingly heavy these riffs are. Of 58 minutes, perhaps only in 2 or 3 minute-time the tempo rises above 80 bpm. The ending part of "Ethereal Architect", while pretty mid-tempo will seem to you like a Slayer-esque break in.

The music is based on Black Sabbath inspired down-tuned dual guitar work. Solos are sparse and chaotic. Lee Dorrian shines throughout the album. His singing is mixed of 2 tracks, 1 is a tortured, low, moaning growl, and the second is painful moaning tone. These over-dubbed vocals work extremely well to create an atmosphere of cold inevitable depression. It seems that Lee's voice is coming from a grave, breaking it's way through shovel-loads of earth that are being thrown from above. The other highlight of this record is the drummer's work. It takes much of skill to be a doom-metal drummer, because you need to be inventive to fill in the gaps between the sparse rhythm beats. Mike Smail's performance is exemplary in this department. Too bad he is buried somewhat deep in the mix, and the cymbals are barely audible. And there's more to this album - the flute! It only appears in 2 tracks, but it plays in such a haunting screaming manner that it gives you chills.

This is an excellent album, that firmly steps on an unknown before ground, and stays there alone. Unless you are naturally depressed, buy this album. (If you are, then stay away from it, you might not survive, and I'm not joking).

This is the earliest Cathedral album I know of, it is definitely their darkest and most doom-laden sound. Each song is incredible, deathly lethargic masterpieces that would evoke feelings of dread and despair from the sunniest of personalities. Brooding tracks like "Ebony Tears" and "Serpent Eve" are slow and macabre, while "Soul Sacrifice" and "Comiserating the Celebration" are wickedly heavy and more aggressive. Overall, it is certainly a departure from the later neo-hippie, psychedelic great space coaster albums like "Supernatural Birth Machine". To me, this is the quintessential gloom/doom album, and no fan of the genre should be without it.

Metal is a bipolar genre, on one end of the spectrum, musicians like Jason Becker, Racer X and Yngwie Malmsteen play lightning fast guitar, sometimes at tempos exceeding 200. Then at the other side of the spectrum, bands like Cathedral crank out music that moves at snail speed. But this ain't no normal slug, this is a 200 Ton slug made out of pure metal.

The songs are long. They are played very slow. And they are mighty heavy. There is enough distortion on this album to destroy most small amplifiers. That said, I like it. I like it alot. The album starts on a good note with an ambient melody, then segues into ultra-heavy, honest to Satan, sludge metal. The vocals are few and far between, but I doubt that you will notice as you will be nodding along with the distorted yet strangely melodic guitar. Then, they start sloing. Cathedral seems to be able to take it up a notch and unleash perfectly acceptable metal solos right out of the slow moving riff. Each song, lasts for about ten minutes, giving you plenty of time to get into it.

If slow heavy music is your thing, then you really can't go wrong with Cathedral. If it is not your thing, well, then grab a joint, you it will be.

For better or worse (in my opinion it's better), "Forest" is the ultimate doom metal album. No other album so thoroughly defines the genre. So dissimilar from Cathedral's other albums, this one is difficult to compare but I believe that it is tied with Carnival Bizarre as my fave.

When Lee Dorian announced the formation of Cathedral, no one quite knew what the hell to expect. Dorian had been part of the first legendary line up of Napalm Death, so a Doom Metal band seemed like the polar opposite. Add to that a guitarist from one of the UK's leading Thrash bands of the time, and it seemed like a very odd proposition. Would this be the first ever high-speed Doom band?

The first few notes of "Comiserating The Celebration" showed what was in store. Cathedral was slow, heavy and well, doom-laden. The rhythm guitar came straight from the Tony Iommi school of riffs. Discordant guitar lines played counter to the rhythm, seemingly out of tune, but fitting perfectly. Dorian's psychotic screech was gone, replaced by a deep, soulful moan. Like a mammoth struggling for it's life in a prehistoric tar pit, the whole effect is one of sinking, a hopeless inescapable fate.

And basically, that was the tone for the entire album. The band explores the plummeting depths of despair repeatedly. There is not an element of cheer anywhere on the album. "Soul Sacrifice" picks up the pace a little, and apart from a final flourish, hardly raises the tempo beyond a slow march. "Equilibrium" also rumbles like a rolling shockwave of an earthquake across a continent.

Lee Dorian's vocals were something of a revelation. Until the release of this album, Doom vocalists basically emulated Ozzy Osbourne's high-pitched tenor. Some like Trouble's Eric Wagner favoured the tripped out, stoned Ozzy, while others like Candlemass' Messiah Marcolin went with full operatic pomposity. Paradise Lost predates `Forest Of Equilibrium', with Nich Holmes employing a similar vocal technique, but there was a large Death Metal component to Paradise Lost's sound. Cathedral was pure Doom. Dorian sounds like he's on the ultimate downer trip, all life and energy sapped from his body, his voice the croak of a man who has seen his own demise and has accepted it resignedly. The lyrics are tales of mysticism and natural majick, but Dorian would inspire dread no matter what the subject matter.

Guitarist Adam Lehan was also treading new ground. He'd formerly been a member of UK Apple Core nutters Acid Reign. It might have been tempting to play old Acid Reign riffs at half pace, but there is nothing here which even hints at Thrash. The odd ropey riff is excusable in Thrash, because playing at high speed mean it's gone again fairly quickly. However, playing at the leaden pace of Cathedral Lehan and fellow guitarist Gary Jennings had to deliberately place every note, or it would hang there rotting like a corpse in a gibbet.

`Forest Of Equilibrium' helped relaunch Doom Metal into the general Metal conscious. It attracted notice because of the band members' previous gigs, but kept the interest because of it's own musical merit. It was also Cathedral's only pure Doom release. From `The Ethereal Mirror' and beyond, a large Stoner Rock component was added to the sound. `Forest Of Equilibrium' stands alone as a dread monolith in Cathedral's career.

This is Cathedral's punishing and crushing debut effort and it's still, in my opinion, the best thing they've ever put out. I just bought this today used. I had it before, but had to pair down my CD collection when I moved to Japan a few years ago. So today was the first time I've heard it in about 3 years, but when I put it on, it sounded even better than I remember.

The only other Cathedral album that I've really liked since this one is ENDTYME. ETHEREAL MIRROR had its' moments, most of their other stuff was pretty mediocre, although I confess to not hearing anything after ENDTYME. I think one of the things I really like about this one is Lee Dorian's vocal style, which was doubled to great effect. Some of the most eerie, depressing and drunken doom vocals I've ever heard. Sadly, that eerieness was never captured quite as well on subsequent releases. Lee tried to sing after that, and well, he can't. Some of Lee's vocals on later Cathedral stuff is actually pretty embarrassing at times, sounds like he's trying too hard.

I would rate this one of my top ten Doom releases of all time. Too bad they never reached this high again. Go and grab a copy.

this album is so slow my arteries get clogged every time i listen to it, and its heaviness bashes your skull, if you truely love your music DOOOOOMish and slower than a slug carrying 10 tons of bricks then pick this up, this is definitely a landmark doom album, fans of faster thrashy music who are easily bored then beware of this disc.

Even if it is a little boring in spots, this is a required Doom Metal album. It is also, for better or worse, an album never to be replicated by Cathedral.

The album opens with a sweet little lie, a wispy flute and acoustic guitar playing a tune that evokes a woodsy feel. It would go well with a mythical forest. Then the downtuned guitars come up and flatten the whole affair. It's a brilliant intro, crushing happy hope with a low and gritty sound. This is all before you hear Lee Dorrian. His vocals aren't quite a death growl but similar, a guttural moan used to deliver lyrics that encapsulates the band's entire attitude. "We seek not life's beauty/but cherish its funeral aspects." At eleven minutes and change, this isn't your typical album opener. Fear not, riffs and tempo shift several times, keeping the song varied and interesting.

About this time you may start noticing some defects in the mix. The bass is barely audible, the drums lack something, and the lead guitar sometimes seems to be in another room. Cathedral was a small band recording with a small label, so the quality is understandable. Still, it's there. It's also a bit hard to understand Lee Dorrian at points. I like the lyrics to be clear. On the upside, the vocals are easier to understand than death metal growls and the texture brings a lot to the party.

Reeling from the opening track, you face "Ebony Tears," the doom metal version of a love song. "Together we have discovered the languid fatigue of love/interrogated all our beauty/we've turned each other inside out." The lyrics are depressing and somewhat abstract throughout the album but quite effective. "Serpent Eve" has great potential but it's too long, ending up the weakest track. "Soul Sacrifice" is a mid tempo song that will seem like thrash on speed after the first three song. Good'n'short. "A Funeral Request" is probably the best song. It blends slow entropy with a fast, headbangin' end section and some good solo work. "Equilibrium" begins at a languid pace but it becomes the most "epic" sounding piece on the record, with lead guitar work overshadowing rumbling riffs, and some of the best lyrics on the album. "Reaching Happiness, Touching Pain" employs the flute directly over the guitars, creating a great contrast, though it is eventually sucked into the gloom. This ends an album focused on misery and sadness perfectly.

This isn't for everyone, it's pondering and depressing. If you can dig that though, it's a unique experience and, for me, one of the best doom albums.

This is Cathedral's slowest album, and one of their best. If you love Doom Metal, buy this and you most definitely will not be dissapointed!

I have the original edition from Erache, in its original case. Those days were great with the golden age of Grind, Death, Thrash and other generes.

But when Lee Dorrian announced about Cathedral the expectation was high, considering his roots (the legendary Napalm Death), and when Forest of Equilibrium arouse it was an instant shock because it developed a high density DOOM!!, with slow and heavy riffs, mixed with classical guitars and flutes (some songs).

There are less songs compared with Dorrian's prior work (Scum has a lot more) and all are great, the "fast" track Soul Sacrifice at the middle is a big breath after smashing riffs.

Besides Soul Sacrifice, Forest of Equilibrium is a high rated song with slow riffs at the beginning and a hypnotic chord at the end.

Something quite special are the credits, they thank Black Sabbath for inspiration considering them the very first Doom band.

Another attribute of this album is the cover art with colorful pictures and at the same time the esscence is dark. No band name or album title in it, compared with the first LP edition of Slayer's South of Heaven.

A must have, only if you're a fan of hard to swallow music.

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