Cathedral – Supernatural Birth Machine (1996)

February 23, 2018
Cathedral – Supernatural Birth Machine (1996)

Mid-career Cathedral output is often looked at with a certain degree of scorn, which is understandable in some respects but then, mainly not so understandable in others. Playing Supernatural Birth Machine, which bursts forth from the womb into heavy metal life (I went there) with the highly entertaining and excellently heavy “Urkos Conquest” and firmly establishes itself as a cheesy doom masterpiece within a matter of minutes. Do you need any more ride bell in your life, motherfuckers?

“Dragon Ryder 13” takes the prize for worst song title in Cathedral’s back catalogue, although “Nightmare Castle” comes a close second (and also means I now am obligated to watch the movie of the same name). The latter however is a stunning romp through doom metal tropes, capped by Lee Dorrian’s mischievous sense of humour, and gives a good indication of how high this entire band probably was during this period of their existence. I approve.

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