Cathedral - Forest Of Equilibrium / Soul Sacrifice (1991/92, DualDisc 2009)

"Tortured Melancholic Doom at it's mournful best" reads the sticker on the front and who am I to argue! This completely re-mastered limited expanded edition of Cathedral's 1991 megalithic doom opus "Forest of Equilibrium" also features a 40 minute brand new documentary with key early band members including long standing core duo Lee Dorrian and Garry Jennings, plus an interview with famed cover artist Dave Patchett. Besides in depth discussion of the formation of the band and the recording of the classic debut album on the DVD, the Bonus CD contains 4 bonus songs from the long deleted "Soul Sacrifice" EP. All this is packaged in a deluxe multi panel digi-pak with amazing artwork and a reversable poster.

Forest Of Equilibrium:
Along with the early material chronicled on In Memorium, Forest of Equilibrium remained an artifact of Cathedral's early gloom sound before they eventually evolved into one of the more exciting heavy metal bands of the mid-'90s. Still fresh from his infamous stint as the looming vocalist for the original and most notorious grindcore band ever, Napalm Death, vocalist Lee Dorrian teams up with the guitarist duo of Garry Jennings and Adam Lehan to create some of the most lumbering heavy metal ever heard. The group takes the grinding guitar tones of grindcore and slows them down to a nearly unbearable pace capable to either hypnotizing the listener or inducing sleep. While the two guitarists churn out their doomy guitar riffs, Dorrian does his best to balance the delicate line between singing lyrics with hints of harmony and emanating deathly growls from the depths of his dark soul. Besides the guitars and vocals, the songs themselves actually deserve some recognition despite their tendency to creep along at a sometimes tedious pace. "Ebony Tears" and "Funeral Request" in particular still stand as two of the group's more memorable songs even if this early sound has since been abandoned. In addition to these two songs, "Soul Sacrifice" deserves some notice as the one song to actually up the album's tempo towards mosh-friendly levels – though it is much better performed on the succeeding Soul Sacrifice EP. The ultra-murky sound quality of Forest of Equilibrium also makes it a unique album far different from any of the group's other releases. Like the dense layers of compressed distortion that transform the group's guitar tones into monolithic waves of bone-shaking sound, the poor sound quality gives the album a surreal sense of dense, dusty murk that nearly eclipses the music with a shroud of disorientation. This album doesn't compare to later Cathedral albums such as The Carnival Bizarre in terms of artistry or consistent style, but it does possess an undeniable aura of dark gloom that these later albums can only hope to emulate with their increasingly clean sound and hints of joy.

~ Jason Birchmeier, all media guide

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Cathedral - Forest Of Equilibrium / Soul Sacrifice (1991/92, DualDisc 2009)

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Soul Sacrifice:
The hard-to-find Soul Sacrifice EP captures the unique heavy metal band at a rare moment in their evolution away from dreary grindcore tendencies towards their own style of upbeat, groove-laden doom metal. Previous releases such as Forest of Equilibrium and In Memoriam found the group laying down snail-paced heavy metal in the vein of Black Sabbath on sedatives with ultra-thick, murky guitar tones and also found ex-Napalm Death vocalist Lee Dorrian growling like a rabid devil dog. Of course, once the group's label Earache had signed a major label deal with Columbia, the group re-recorded the song "Soul Sacrifice" from Forest of Equilibrium and released it with three new songs for curious American audiences. It's rather amazing to compare the lo-fi original version of the song to the glossy re-recorded version. The clarity of the once-blurry guitar tones brings a sense of color to Cathedral's once gray sound while Dorrian makes the transition from guttural grunting sounds to his signature style of hoarse, charismatic singing. It would be interesting to know exactly what went through the band's collective mind at this moment in their career because they sound like an entirely new band. The new "Soul Sacrifice" has metamorphosed into a raging rocker with a striking riff and cutting guitar tone. Dorrian also sounds great, delicately balancing between evil growling and intelligible singing. While the title track may be noteworthy, "Autumn Twilight" remains undoubtedly the true highlight of this EP. This song proves to be a true watermark for the group, showcasing their commitment to elated choruses and familiar song structuring without sacrificing any of their atmospheric mood or darkness.

~ Jason Birchmeier, all media guide

CD Side - Forest Of Equilibrium
1991. Length: 54:08 min

01. Picture Of Beauty & Innocence (Intro)/Commiserating The Celebration
02. Ebony Tears
03. Serpent Eve
04. Soul Sacrifice
05. A Funeral Request
06. Equilibrium
07. Reaching Happiness, Touching Pain

Produced & Mixed by PBL. Assisted by Lee Dorrian & Gary Jennings
Engineered by Mark Tempest. Recorded at Workshop Studios, Redditch, July-August '91
Remastered by Shawn Joseph at Optimum Mastering - March 2009.

• Lee Dorrian – vocals
• Garry Jennings – guitars
• Adam Lehan – guitars, acoustics
• Mark Griffiths – bass guitar
• Mike Smail – drums

guest musicians:
- Helen Acreman – flutes
- Reverend Wolski – keyboards



Bonus CD - Soul Sacrifice
1992. Length: 24:45 min

01. Soul Sacrifice
02. Autumn Twilight
03. Frozen Rapture
04. Golden Blood (Flooding)

Produced by Cathedral. Recorded by Paul Johnson at Rhythm Studios, January 14-17, 1992
No additional information provided.

• Lee Dorrian – vocals
• Garry Jennings – guitar, tambourine
• Adam Lehan – guitar
• Mark Griffiths – bass guitar
• Mark Ramsay Wharton - drums, hammond



DVD Side - New Documentary
= Return To The Forest = ~ 50 minutes

01. Lee & Napalm
02. Getting Together
03. Inspirations
04. Choosing A Name
05. The Artwork
06. Early Shows
07. Speed
08. The Start Of Something
09. Getting Signed
10. Bonus: Ebony Tears (MV)

40 min brand new documentary with key original band members, filmed in Coventry in 2009, and also featuring interviews with infamous cover artist Dave Patchett. An in depth exploration of the formation of Cathedral, the recording of "Forest of Equilibrium" and the impact of the record on the metal scene.





Originally Released: 1991/January 1992
Re-Release Date: May 5, 2009
Number of Discs: 2 (DualDisc + Bonus CD)
Format: Original Recording Remastered
Label: Earache Records (UK)
Catalog No.: MOSH-043CDD


See also:
Forest Of Equilibrium - usual pressing