CATHEDRAL (Eng.)
– First of all thank you so much for answering our interview. How are you guys doing right now?
Hi there. Everything here is good.
– You have just released a farewell album entitled «The Last Spire». Tell us a bit about this new opus.
We recorded this album over a 4/5 month period which was very enjoyable. We had no set deadline and also being on rise above meant we wouldn’t have to release it until we were completely satisfied with the way it turned out.it’s turnred out exactly like we wanted it to soundwise and song wise.
– I think you have done a fantastic effort. Are you satisfied with the final outcome? Is a good tribute to what CATHEDRAL has been.
oh yeah we are more than happy the way it has turned out. It’s a great way to end our career. To end the band with a record that sounds like it does is really the band almost coming full circle .
– Listening to it there’s no doubt the basis is still quite SABBATH, really Doom, but on this release I notice songs full of a huge dramatism. Are they songs built like this or have you melted your feelings with the music to create the tracks for a farewell album?
The Sabbath influence has always been the influence for which cathedral has been based on all throughout our history. But we have always tried to take on other 
aspects and influences from other styles of music. With this album there’s less prog influences and more a return to the doom stuff.
– I have liked a lot the 10 minutes of the track «An Observation»; a cosmic song with psychedelia, and the 11 minutes of «Pallbreaker» are really intense. How did those two enveloping songs born?
Well both songs were actually written around 5 years ago. They were both written for the guessing game but at the time w felt doing just a doom album at the time wasn’t the right time hence the reason the guessing game was very diverse. We wanted to go more prog/ psych at the time. So when we were comig to write songs for the last spire the songs that we had left over from then we decided to use.
– As I said, this will be the farewell record for the band. What are the reaosns behind this?
Well the band has been around for 23 years and we felt that we wanted to lay the band to rest. It’s been hard work being in cathedral. There has been many highs and many lows but at the same time it’s been a lot of fun. Also I think this album is a great way to end it. We could keep going and churning out records but many bands do that and in some cases some bands would be better off if they didn’t.
– And what’s the legacy CATHEDRAL leaves, on your eyes, into the music world?
Personally I think cathedral have been a band that have been underrated and ignored by a lot of people and that is probably due to the fact that the style of music we play, doom metal, has never had the mass attention that say black metal or death metal has. It may take a few years when we’ve actually gone for people to go back and listen to our stuff and realise we were a pretty cool band that on each record even though the Sabbath style riffs were there we did try different things with each album. Some ideas worked and some didn’t. I think cathedral has definitely been a cult band. A band that people have heard of us or seen us in magazines but have probably never bothered to listen to us and then when they do here us they actually think that we are pretty good. I know of quite a lot of people that have done that over the years. They discover us through one of their friends and they know about us but have never bothered listening to us then when they here us they get into us.
– I would like, as I guess this would be the only interview I would do to you, to review a little bit how did the band born and gets the place where is now. How was the band formed?
The band was formed back in late 1989 early 1990 by lee , griff our original bass player and myself.all we wanted to do was been in a band that worshiped Sabbath, trouble, witchfinder general, st vitus, dream death, candlemass, witchfynde, angelwitch, mercy etc……getting the band together was hard work. Back then nobody except a small group of people cared for any of them bands. Everybody was into death metal. It ‘was very difficult getting the band together but we managed it and we managed to keep it going for 23 years which is a major achievement.
– Your first album was released in 1991, «Forest of Equilibrium», and it was a smash hit. What are your memories of the release of that album and what kind of effect did it have on you?
We didn’t know at the time when we were recording the album that people would still be talking about the album 20 years later and calling it a classic and in some cases people saying it changed their outlook on life/ music. We just wanted to make a record inspired by our fave bands. We had no idea how it was gonna turn out but we had a lot of fun making it and I’m very proud to be a part of that record.
– Without any doubt the 90’s were the best years for the band. What are your memories from that decade? Your albums, tours…
Again a lot of fun but also a lot of hard work and struggles. We played with some amazing bands motorhead. Sabbath, trouble, obsessed etc…..and recording the 
albums was a lot of fun. Going to south America was incredible. Very scary though but fun.
– In the 2000s decade you kept your essence and kept on working and touring, this surely was a good era for the band. What are your memories from it?
Well as people we had grown together and matured together and I think we produced some of our best music together. Doing the garden album and the guessing game was great.
– And now, so many years later; what could be your ultimate phrase to describe this career?
Honesty.
– I would also like to know what your all-time 5 favourite albums are.
Impossible to answer as there is so many but the 5 most important ones were
Kiss- hotter than hell first record I ever bought
Black Sabbath- greatest hits second record I ever bought
Witchfinder general-death penalty
Trouble- trouble
Curved air- second album changed my whole outlook on music
– Coming back to the present; what does the future hold for the band’s members? Will you still be involved with the music world? Do you have any project?
Well lee has is label to run which will keep him busy. He also does a bit if journalism work and promotes gigs. Scott still plays with repulsion and also works for a film company in Los Angeles. I’m not to sure what Brian will be doing. And I have a solo project lined up. I’ve been working on songs for an album and I have 10 finished so far. The name of the project is death penalty.
– That’s all from our side, thank you so much for these años and good luck.
Thank you and take care.
