Cathedral

在充滿厄運(yùn)感的吉他Riff和70年代末的硬搖滾風(fēng)格中間混入了一種健康而流行的元素，這使得以前標(biāo)榜著“Doom Metal”(厄運(yùn)金屬)風(fēng)格的Cathedral樂隊取得了更好的銷量。當(dāng)然，唱片《Forest Of Equilibrium》是樂隊在Earache旗下的第一個杰作，充滿了滯緩、扭曲的音樂風(fēng)格，樂隊深受Black Sabbath那沉重、悲慘風(fēng)格的影響。但是，Cathedral樂隊從來不會否認(rèn)他們的流行性，樂隊發(fā)展了一種完全屬于自己的風(fēng)格，象“Midnight Mountain”中的急速迪斯科金屬樂便能證明這一點(diǎn)。Cathedral被擁戴為世界上最好的厄運(yùn)金屬樂隊之一，樂隊將他們的音樂理念及動機(jī)推到了一個更高的層面，他們向70年代的根源搖滾樂表示了極大的推崇及尊敬。
 
Cathedral成立于1990年，Lee Dorrian(主音,前Napalm Death的樂手)和Mark &Griff&Griffiths(貝司手)，這兩位老朋友由于有相同的音樂品味而組建了樂隊，與此同時，Garry Jennings(吉他手)、Adam Lehan(吉他手)和Ben Mockrie(鼓手)也加入了樂隊。樂隊以這樣的陣容一直持續(xù)到他們極具生命力的一張Demo唱片《In Memorium》，這張Demo一共錄了4首歌，其中包括翻唱一首他們狂熱信拜的美國樂隊Pentagram的一首“All Your Sins ”。而另一首歌“Ebony Tears”被收錄于1991年發(fā)行的厄運(yùn)金屬經(jīng)典專輯《Dark Passages》中，以Dorrian自己的公司Rise Above的名義推出的。
 
接下來，Cathedral樂隊與另一著名的厄運(yùn)金屬的傳奇樂隊St.Vitus、日本的Hardcore英雄式的樂隊S.O.B.、英國的恐怖金屬樂隊Paradise Lost和美國的死亡金屬樂隊Morbid Angel一起進(jìn)行了英倫和歐洲的巡演，巡演之后，樂隊便簽約于Earache唱片公司，并著手于他們的首張專輯的錄制。然而此時，Mockrie離開了樂隊，Cathedral只得請了一位鼓手來幫忙，他就是前Penance/Dream Death樂隊的Mike Smail。最終專輯《Forest Of Equilibrium》于1991年底正式發(fā)行，剛一上市就受到了音樂媒體及公眾的狂熱喜好。這張充滿了厄運(yùn)感的金屬專輯立即為樂隊贏得了眾多的樂迷，盡管仍有許多人驚訝于Dorrian從Hardcore成為Doom Metal的明顯變化。事實(shí)上是Dorrian一直對更老一些的厄運(yùn)金屬音樂感興趣，而Cathedral正在按照自己的步伐前進(jìn)和發(fā)展著。
 
由于補(bǔ)充了一名永久鼓手Mark Ramsey Wharton，從而使樂隊呈現(xiàn)一種強(qiáng)勁的發(fā)展勢頭。1992年，Cathedral與Carcass、Entombed和Confessor一起完成了“Gods Of Grind”的歐洲巡演，又與Napalm Death、Carcass和Brutal Truth一起完成了“Campaign For Musical Destruction”的美國巡演，同年年初樂隊又發(fā)行了一張EP唱片《Soul Sacrifice》。這張唱片對樂隊的發(fā)展方向作了一個強(qiáng)有力的指示，用改進(jìn)了的制作技術(shù)帶出了一首首非常重的歌曲，象“Autumn Twilight”等等。1992年底，樂隊與美國的Columbia唱片公司簽訂了一張唱片合約，并在以色列和德國進(jìn)行了巡演，但在演出中，貝司手Griff由于個人原因而離開了Cathedral。
 
接下來，Cathedral完成了第二張專輯《The Ethereal Mirror》，透過這張唱片，樂隊又展示了一種放肆無禮的猛攻姿態(tài)，使樂隊的成績又達(dá)到了一個新的高度。專輯是由Dave Bianco(過去曾與Trouble、Danzig和Mick Jagger等樂隊及樂手合作過)在牛津郡的Manor Studios制作完成的。這是一張僅剩存了一點(diǎn)厄運(yùn)金屬意味的專輯。唱片中令人難忘的主題沖突就是Dorrian改變了他原來的唱腔。接著，樂隊開始進(jìn)行繁忙的巡演，與Fight、King Diamond和Mercyful Fate樂隊一起進(jìn)行了美國各州的巡演，與Earache旗下的固定成員Sleep樂隊一起參加了歐洲巡演。隨著樂隊被歐洲的樂評界所接受，樂隊的專輯也由原來被英國雜志詆毀得一錢不值而變得被大家所承認(rèn)。評論界普通認(rèn)為Cathedral是英國金屬樂最后一個偉大的希望，這是繼Judas Priest和Iron Maiden之后僅存的一支能獲得如此樂迷多年支持的樂隊。
 
Cathedral樂隊在新發(fā)行的EP唱片《Statik Majik》中將他們的音樂理念搞成混雜一片，包括了一些樂隊所錄制的極具野心的歌曲，其中“The Voyage Of The Homeless Sapien”一曲竟長達(dá)23分鐘，它展顯了樂隊的實(shí)驗(yàn)性音樂。然而在與Mercyful Fate舉行完美國巡演之后，吉他手Adam Lehan和鼓手Mark Wharton離開了樂隊，Lee Dorrian承認(rèn)他倆在長期繁重的巡演過程中，無論是精神上還是肉體上都變得筋疲力竭、極度疲勞了。樂隊為了填補(bǔ)這個空缺，立即召來來Pentagram樂隊的吉他手Victor Griffin和鼓手Joe Hasselvander。緊接著，樂隊為Black Sabbath的歐洲巡演作暖場演出，他們以極大的舞臺演出熱情感染了所有的聽眾，并且讓老一代的金屬樂迷看到了當(dāng)代金屬樂的風(fēng)采。
 
樂隊以激猛的姿態(tài)進(jìn)入了1995年，Cathedral又新召了貝司手Leo Smee和鼓手Brian Dixon，便開始制作他們的第三張大碟。最終推出了《The Carnival Bizarre》，唱片將雷霆萬鈞般的吉他Riff和Lee Dorrian似有神助的嗓音結(jié)合在一起，將經(jīng)典的金屬樂與90年代音樂溶為一體，成為一張真正有紀(jì)念意義的唱片。專輯命名為《The Carnival Bizarre》，樂隊的頭面人物Dorrian依舊保持低調(diào)，讓我們來記住他的話：“來自停尸房的宇宙般廣闊的聲音。人類注定要滅亡，讓人類在死亡的預(yù)兆中歡愉?，F(xiàn)在只有金屬才是真正強(qiáng)大的主人，摧毀或是被滅亡！”
 
將一種經(jīng)典而古老的音樂風(fēng)格溶入樂隊的個性之中，Cathedral按自己的想法去完成它，去完美它，這真是絕妙之極！
 
It's universally agreed that the originators of the doom metal genre are Black Sabbath, but there were several bands of the '80s/early '90s who kept the style alive (during Sabbath's &lean years&), such as Saint Vitus, Trouble, Candlemass, and, especially, the U.K.-based Cathedral. When singer Lee Dorrian jumped ship from grindcore godfathers Napalm Death during the late '80s, he sought to form a new outfit that would focus on the plodding sounds of Sabbath, rather than the all-out assault of his former band. As a result, Cathedral was formed in early 1990, with a lineup consisting of Dorrian, guitarists Mark Griffiths and Gary Jennings, plus drummer Andy Baker. Almost immediately, however, the new group experienced some personnel fluctuation (a sign of things to come). Baker was replaced by Ben Mochrie after only several rehearsals, Griffiths switched over to the bass, and a second guitarist was added, Adam Lehan. 1991 saw the release of a self-produced demo, In Memoriam, issued via Dorrian's own label, Rise Above Records (the album would be reissued on CD almost ten years later, with an expanded track listing).Cathedral was signed by renowned U.K. metal label Earache shortly thereafter, resulting in the release of their full-length debut, Forest of Equilibrium, in 1991. With many figuring that grindcore would become the next globally preferred sub-genre of heavy metal, U.S. major labels began signing such outfits as Entombed, Carcass, and Napalm Death. As a result of their ties to the genre, Cathedral signed on with Columbia Records, even though they displayed little resemblance musically to the aforementioned acts. Lineup instability failed to derail Cathedral, as they delivered arguably the finest album of their career, The Ethereal Mirror, in 1993. A year later, Cathedral got to open a European tour for their heroes, Black Sabbath (albeit the Tony Martin-fronted version).By this time, Dorrian and Jennings were the only members left in attendance from their early days, but more importantly, the group was dropped by Columbia after only a single album. The group has persevered nonetheless — returning back to the Earache label, and throughout the remainder of the '90s and early 21st century issued such strong releases as 1995's The Carnival Bizarre, 1996's Supernatural Birth Machine, 1998's Caravan Beyond Redemption, and 2001's Endtyme. 2002 saw Cathedral sign on with Spitfire in time for the release of their seventh full-length overall, The VIIth Coming. Despite all of their ups and downs, Cathedral can be credited for opening the door for other subsequent doom bands, as countless groups (who had obviously studied Dorrian and company) cropped up during the mid-/late '90s: Orange Goblin, Electric Wizard, Spiritual Beggars, and more.