Description
Cathedral – The Ethereal Mirror – Cassette
The Ethereal Mirror is an album by the British doom metal band Cathedral, released in 1993.
The Ethereal Mirror by Cathedral is a significant release in the doom metal and stoner rock genres. The band is known for their heavy and psychedelic sound, characterized by slow, downtuned riffs and dark, atmospheric themes.
The album typically features a collection of doom metal tracks that showcase Cathedral’s distinctive style. “The Ethereal Mirror” includes songs like “Ride” and “Midnight Mountain” that exhibit their heavy and groove-laden approach to metal.
This album is celebrated for its contribution to the doom metal and stoner rock movements and its influence on the subgenres. Cathedral’s music is appreciated for its crushing, yet melodic, approach to heavy metal, and The Ethereal Mirror is a classic in their discography, representing the band’s role in shaping the doom metal scene.
Cathedral’s second full-length album, The Ethereal Mirror, finds the group experimenting a bit with new sounds on their path to discovering the patented sound they would polish on succeeding releases. Hints of their lumbering doom sound from Forest of Equilibrium characterize songs such as “Phantasmagoria,” but for the most part Cathedral picks up the pace and instills a welcome sense of groove into their monolithic guitar riffs.
Two songs from the album in particular stand out due to their up-beat tempos: the anthemic opener, “Ride,” and the metal-disco of “Midnight Mountain.” These two songs aren’t up-tempo in the sense of death metal or grindcore, but they actually owe a lot to late ’60s and early ’70s hard rock anthems such as Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild” and Black Sabbath’s “Supernaut.”
Singer/lyricist Lee Dorrian’s background as a member of the U.K.’s grindcore movement in the late ’80s and the ultra-heavy guitar tones of the group elevates songs such as “Ride” above generic proto-heavy metal recycling. Dorrian’s voice sounds unlike traditional rock vocalists as he tries his best to sing despite the grave darkness remaining from his past as a growling madman in Napalm Death. Furthermore, his lyrics feature more fairytale-inspired nightmarish qualities than Ozzy Osbourne ever came close to writing. But for as important as Dorrian is to Cathedral as their undeniable leader, the epic guitar riff-laden soundscapes of Garry Jennings and Adam Lehan drive these songs and set perfectly gloomy moods for Dorrian’s black magic poetry.
Earache Records
Brand new, never played and still in the factory plastic
Song List
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
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