Cathedral [CD]

An abandoned cathedral. A gruesome murder. A powerful supernatural entity living in the catacombs. It all comes to a head in downtown Los Angeles. What will happen and who will live to tell the tale? Such is the storyline of Cathedral, the thrilling new album and terrifying graphic novel from director and musician John Carpenter, based on a dream Carpenter had in 2024. 

Cathedral has all the drama, dark atmosphere, and frenetic pacing of a classic heavy metal record. Especially designed as the soundtrack to the graphic novel, each track corresponds to a specific section of the book. The liner notes included with the album packaging feature prompts for each track, creating a fully interactive experience. Combined with the graphic novel, it’s the closest thing to a new John Carpenter film in years. 

The music on Cathedral retains all the eerie atmosphere and sinister propulsion of the epochal scores Carpenter created for his films Halloween, The Fog, and Assault on Precinct 13, but this is a much heavier, riff-driven enterprise. Carpenter is a firm believer that music plays a major role in what really makes something scary. That’s first and foremost,” the director says. “It’s all about making the music work.” “This is somewhat different sounding stuff that we’ve done, but it’s done with the same desire in mind,” he adds. “In other words, put this thing on and imagine you’re watching a movie. That’s what we want you to do.” 

Daniel Davies’ soaring, snaky guitars take center stage on opener “Primeval,” “Elevator,” and the metal masterpiece “Lord of the Underground” while John Carpenter and Cody Carpenter’s synths take the lead on the ominous “Desolation in the Underworld,” the plaintive “Death of the Mapmaker,” and even converge with strings on “Abandoned Cathedral.” 

Whereas the Lost Themes albums were written as scores to movies of the mind, Cathedral scores the first original graphic novel written by Carpenter, his wife and long-time creative partner, producer and editor Sandy King, and writer Sean Sobczak, published by Storm King Comics. As with all of Carpenter’s musical forays of the last decade-plus, the album will be released by Sacred Bones. 

Cathedral awaits. Immerse yourself in John Carpenter’s universe all over again.