Old Cathedral used to be old-school doom but this is a quite happy record, actually. It’s groovy stoner metal, very obviously influenced by Black Sabbath. This is not shallow at all, in fact it is one of the few albums in this "groove groove mosh" genre that I actually can stomach.

Songs like "Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)" have that certain amount of nostalgia in them, that is not only retro-nostalgia but rather gives inspiration and hope for new directions of metal. This is what metal used to be, and we still remember what it meant to us! Metal is free, metal is anti-social etc… you know the drill.

I have this one on CD but is sounds like a vinyl, definitely positive! The drums are sharp, the guitars have that warm fuzz that all the old albums used to have. It’s so pleasant to sink in the abyss of that stream of semi-melodic riffs. None of the songs are especially fast. "Night of the Seagulls" is a slower song than most. Lots of lyrical and conceptual inspiration is drawn from 50’s and 60’s cult horror movies!

Everyone is always saying how much Lee Dorrian sounds like Ozzy. I don’t think he sounds like Ozzy. But he has that same kind of undisciplined, unconventional amount of energy in his voice. He sounds like one who never "grew up", never conformed! Tony Iommi is guesting on guitars in the ultra-groovy "Utopian Blaster".

© 1999 black hate