[.ca] Ethereal Mirror

Wow.:
Could "dave from alamo usa" below be the worst reviewer on Amazon? For a jaw-droppingly bad experience and some laughs take a look at his history of reviews. Like a train wreck it's difficult not to look. Dear God let's hope his "painting" isn't like his writing.

What do you call doom with major groove?:
I wouldn't call this a doom album as a whole, but whatever it is it's a classic! Personally, I found The Ethereal Mirror a refreshing digression from the boringly tedious plod of Forest of Equilibrium, which is basically unlistenable unless you're super stoned, with it's faster tempos and ultra-heavy groove-laden songs. It seems to me that Lee Dorian really "assisted" in promoting the alleged "disco" vibe by approving the video for 'Midnight Mountain', with it's discotheque type of scenery and his 70s "look", so if he doesn't like it then he can only blame himself for encouraging the image. Disco metal? Not really, but it definitely has a 70s vibe with the funky wah-wah and trippy themes. Midnight Mountain is really the only song of that nature on here anyway, and not a bad one by any means. The rest are just killer metal with the Cathedral twist. Particular stand-out tracks are the groove-heavy "Ride" and "Enter the Worms", and the bleak, doomy "Jaded Entity", but they are all excellent. This is a great METAL album--heavy, bouncy groove with the occasional doom fluorish to darken it up. Ethereal Mirror is more like "stoner rock" rather than DOOM--it's closer to Electric Wizard than Candlemass--and Lee's bell-bottoms lend credence to that assessment. The only low point this time around--as on all Cathedral albums--are the vocals. I'm sorry, but Lee Dorian doesn't have a pleasant voice to listen to, and it almost sounds like he's sarcastically mocking the art of singing rather than trying to deliver the lyrics with any feeling. But musically it's a classic! (I like how Amazon screwed up by titling it "Etheral Mirror". It's EtherEal, you boneheads!)

SO WHAT:
never captured my attention nothing remotely rememerable, SOUNDS POOR MIDDLE OF THE ROAD latter day weve lost it VITALITY,black,sabatoge; ill take Manilla road any day OR even ORCHESTRAL MANUEVERS IN THE dark any time over this carbon copy vacancy, ALTHOUGH THE cover art is FINE.

Maybe, Cathedral's best...:
After leaving Napalm Death, Lee Dorrian formed Cathedral. From the ultra fast, to the ultra slow. Cathedral's first effort "Forest of equilibrium", it's 100%doom metal. All the songs are ultra slow, deppressive and, honestly, you should have a patient ear or twisted mind =) to listen to the whole album. The same goes for Napalm Death's first releases (in both cases, you0re in the edges of extremity, whether if it's slow or fast). In "The Ethereal Mirror", Cathedral's second release, the thing is a bit different. First of all, a proper sound, much better than "Forest...", and more diversity in the music, makes this album more "listeneable". Well, everything is a matter of tastes, that's for sure. I found T.M.E. more rich and diverse. There are different speeds and tempos. Of course, when you talk about "speed" and "tempos", I'm talking about more of "fast mid-tempos", than fast songs, because Cathedral manages to create a heavy, punishing and dense atmospheres, and never speeds up like a death metal band. And the sound plays an important role, helping in the creation of these backgrounds, filled with 70's looks, using in the titles words such as "luxuria", "phantasmagoria", "funeral", ashes", etc, plus Dorrian's deppressing voices, you have a final product that stands out for its DARKNESS and BIZARRE atmpospheres, which are Cathedral's trademark. "Ride", "Midnight mountain" and "Grim Luxuria" are Cathedral's classics, and perfect examples of the band's talent. From song 1 to 6 you have diversity, like the songs mentioned above, quite different from their debut "Forest...". But from 7 to 10 you have the ultra slow and dense songs more likely to "Forest...", with different changes of rhythms and longer than 7 minutes aprox. Personally, "Phantasmagoria" is my favorite. And the bonus material is great. "Sky lifter", a fast heavy but rockin instrumental, faster than any other Cathedral song, with lots of changes of rhythm. Totally worthy! And the '93 version of "A funeral request" is much better, and a little bit faster than "Forest..." version... Overall, a great release from Cathedral's doomsters. Heavy, doomy, bizzare, but diverse. Not ultra fast, but equal extreme...totally worth the buy, even if you're not a doom metal fan!!!!!

Crushingly heavy.:
Unbelievable reviews. 5 stars by 9 out of 10 of you is just incredible. I just found the right forum. I hope Lee Dorrian found time to read your reviews because he kept on putting Ethereal Mirror down to the metal press, describing it a "disco" album for the way it came out. As it was, Dorrian was unhappy because the record company (Columbia?) was the one that brought in the producer. Though Cathedral was still with Earache Records, Columbia licensed some of the artists on the Earache roster. After Forrest Of Equilibrium, Cathedral recorded the EP Soul Sacrifice for Columbia. I think Columbia wanted to test Cathedral's marketability. Then Ethereal Mirror was unleashed, not just to the doom metal masses, but to the HEAVY METAL world. Ironically, the metal press who got advance copies of the CD hailed it to no end. But as soon as Lee Dorrian was giving interviews and calling his CD disco, the press began parroting him. They still do until now. Fortunately, Ethereal Mirror came out exactly like it did. It is clean, loud and very thick that it is so crushingly heavy. Don't be fooled by tracks 2,3 and 4 (track 1 being an intro) for their hard rocking, headbanging, galloping tempos--outstanding heavy metal songs nevertheless, because the succeeding songs get really incredibly HEAVY. Lyrically, some are lighter and some are dark but I don't care. I'm a sucker for humongous riffs and this one's loaded with it. The Ethereal Mirror possesses no boundaries for its appeal is unlimited. Lee Dorrian's vocals are brutal and at times dementedly clean but not quite as death metal guttural as in Forrest Of Equilibrium and In Memoriam. Ultimately, every Cathedral CD is worth checking out but the Ethereal Mirror stands out as the bottom line among Cathedral's releases. I bought the Ethereal Mirror CD in late '95 on the strength of the reviews and recommendations of the press, and read in dismay the negative comments of most metal press people and fan mail on metal magazines of it as they parroted Lee Dorrian's disgruntlement with it all these years. But deep in my heart I always knew what a great CD it is. Simply said, it is one of my all time favorites. If you are a heavy metal freak who loves all things heavy, do yourself a favor by buying the Ethereal Mirror.

• Violet Vortex (Intro)
• Ride
• Enter the Worms
• Midnight Mountain
• Fountain of Innocence
• Grim Luxuria
• Jaded Entity
• Ashes You Leave
• Phantasmagoria
• Imprisoned in Flesh
• Sky Lifter \o*\c
• Funeral Request \oNew Version 1993\c\o*\c