The end of seminal UK doom metal troupe Cathedral’s run as a live act is nearly upon us. Lee Dorrian and his behemothic troupe will leave the stage permanently after a December 3rd gig at the London Kentish Town Forum. Support will be provided by kindred spirits Grand Magus, Comus, and Gentleman’s Pistols.
The band will record one final studio album entitled The Last Spire to be released in 2012 as a follow-up to last year’s excellent The Guessing Game. There will be no live shows to support the album, as Dorrian claims that it’s time for Cathedral to "move on" and hopes "to leave our recorded legacy to linger."
The Quietus chatted with Mr Dorrian about the end of Cathedral, the band’s musical legacy, the uncertain future and the ever-crucial present: Did you feel you’d achieved all you could with Cathedral?
Lee Dorrian: Yes, way beyond what we ever thought we could achieve to be honest. For a start, when we first formed the band we seriously never saw beyond making a demo. What we were doing was purely out of love for our favorite doom metal bands, and they were so few and far between. To have had the opportunity to develop as a band and follow our own path has been nothing short of a miracle in the face of adversity. We had no plan, we just let it happen and we are utterly grateful to the people that have supported us, enabling it to come this far.
In some ways we were surprised to see you back with After Garden Of Unearthly Delights as this seemed to draw a line under proceedings – was it difficult topping this with The Guessing Game?
LD: Yeah, to be honest, after we recorded The Garden we didn’t know where we could go, in terms of trying to top it. In the end we thought ‘let’s not try to top it, just make an album we want to make’. This has always been our philosophy anyway. In reality the band would have ended before The Garden LP was recorded. At the same time, we felt that we needed to make a couple more albums to make up for a few that we considered to be ‘alright’ but not killer. Our legacy means the world to us and we don’t want to leave it thinking there’s still things we can do to make it feel better. We’re very happy with the last two albums, which makes it easier to sleep at night.
Were you surprised at how well The Guessing Game was received?
LD: Yes, we’re very happy that we’re still considered to be relevant after all this time, while not compromising in the way we make records and generally do what we do.
What can you tell us about The Last Spire? Is it definitely the last album?
LD: Yes – The Last Spire will be our last album. I always said that if we make it to 10 albums it would be great. I can’t tell you much about it yet, as we haven’t started rehearsing for it.
What does the future hold for the members of Cathedral?
LD: Who knows – no definite plans. We’re just making the most of these last times together at the minute.
What are your happiest and weirdest memories that you will take away with you from being the front man for the last 21 years?
LD: So many things, not just being the front man but being part of it. When me and Gaz first got the band together, we had no idea that we would become friends with members of Witchfinder General, Trouble, The Obsessed, Pentagram, et cetera. Tony
Iommi actually played on one of our albums. These are things that mean the world to us above any kind of commercial success.
