Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Cathedral - Forest of Equilibrium (1991)
Getting past Lee Dorian’s vocals has been a life-long challenge of mine. His exploits in Cathedral’s debut are only tolerable because everything that is going on is so good that I have sufficient distraction from his tepid attempts at vocal work. His croak is lost to some degree under the sheer weight of the mix and on any other album I would probably call this out as a problem, but on Forest of Equilibrium it is a perfect imperfection for me. That having been said, when he allows his voice to drop to a more mournful tone, he can croon well enough I find. As another criticism (let us get the moans out of the way early on) the drums are also a victim of the knob-twiddling that went on to get the album out of the door. They sound cloaked to the point of being suppressed, which overall is a shame because there are some neat fills being run here and an obvious energy to the skin work (I mean check out Ebony Tears and tell me I am wrong).
What rules the day here are absolutely the best parts of the album. A guitar tone that rattles the windows in their frames and comes with a drenching of dirge that is a functional pre-requisite for doom. Supported by heck of a chug in the bass, the deft and mournfully melodic playing of Lehan and Jennings really shines (albeit in a dark and horrific way of course). Lurching the album forwards with each torturously slow riff they create their own atmosphere – arguably an ecosystem of dank air and acrid fumes in which only the most rarefied beasts can survive, perhaps those depicted on the bizarre album cover?
The best parts of the record are when the guitars are allowed to simply run away with themselves as they pummel their agonising riffs repeatedly, knowing just when to go with the consistent punishment but then also add the necessary variety as harrowing melodies. It is an album that almost needs no vocal input (for me at least) to get its message across; quite easily these seven tracks could entertain me as instrumentals. It is not to say that I am completely ignorant of the placing of the vocals though. They are clearly there for added atmosphere and threat and I can even see how on some level they work. I guess I am just not that interested in them overall.
As a band who I have no further knowledge of beyond their debut effort I feel that their sound alone deserves more exploration through their discography, but it is not a desire that I have engaged enough with to understand whether there can be more reward to be gained from expanding my experience of a band I sort of only half like. The heavy metal credentials of Soul Sacrifice suggest more to the band than just aching doom drudgery, but I am unsure of just how far my interest can go really beyond the debut.