The Carnival Bizarre

Last updated

The Carnival Bizarre
CathedralCarnivalBizarre.jpg
Studio album by
Released29 September 1995 (1995-09-29) [1]
Recorded29 May – 14 June 1995
StudioParkgate Studios
Genre Heavy metal, doom metal, stoner metal
Length62:48
Label Earache
Producer Kit Woolven
Cathedral chronology
Statik Majik
(1994)
The Carnival Bizarre
(1995)
Supernatural Birth Machine
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Chronicles of Chaos 6/10 [3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal 9/10 [4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Kerrang! Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Metal.de 7/10 [7]
Ox-Fanzine 7/10 [8]

The Carnival Bizarre is the third album by British doom metal band Cathedral, released in September 1995 through Earache. [1]

Contents

Released in 1996, the related Hopkins (The Witchfinder General) EP features that titular track along with four additional songs.

Critical reception

Jem Aswald, in Trouser Press , wrote: "Pagan idolatry aside, Carnival Bizarre is Cathedral’s best and tightest album yet, rectifying many of the indulgences of the past and concentrating on throbbing grooves and viscous riffage – and a shout-out to Huggy Bear." [9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Lee Dorrian and Garry Jennings, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Vampire Sun" (Written by Jennings, Dorrian and Scott Carlson)4:06
2."Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)"5:18
3."Utopian Blaster"5:41
4."Night of the Seagulls" (Written by Jennings, Dorrian and Carlson)7:00
5."Carnival Bizarre"8:35
6."Inertia's Cave"6:39
7."Fangalactic Supergoria"5:54
8."Blue Light"3:27
9."Palace of Fallen Majesty"7:43
10."Electric Grave"8:25
Japanese version bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."Karmacopia"5:06

Personnel

Cathedral

Additional musicians

Technical personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious</i> 1991 studio album by Carcass

Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious is the third album by British extreme metal band Carcass. It was released on 30 October 1991 through Earache Records. This album is the first to feature guitarist Michael Amott and marked the first time Carcass had recorded as a four-piece. Many of the tracks describe economical ways to dispose of dead bodies. Necroticism continues the move towards a predominant death metal sound which was started in Symphonies of Sickness, featuring songs with longer sections and complex structures, more akin to the then-burgeoning technical death metal subgenre.

<i>From Enslavement to Obliteration</i> Album by Napalm Death

From Enslavement to Obliteration is the second studio album by English grindcore band Napalm Death, released in 1988. It is the final studio album with vocalist Lee Dorrian and guitarist Bill Steer, and the first to feature bassist Shane Embury, the band's longest-tenured member. A remastered version was released on 2 April 2012. Loudwire put it on the list of the 10 best metal albums of 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral (band)</span> English doom metal band

Cathedral were a doom metal band from Coventry, England. The group gained attention upon release of its debut album, Forest of Equilibrium (1991), which is considered a classic of the genre. However, the band's sound evolved quickly and began to adopt characteristics of 1970s metal, hard rock and progressive rock. After releasing ten full-length albums and touring extensively for over two decades, Cathedral broke up after the release of The Last Spire in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Dorrian</span> British singer (born 1968)

Lee Robert Dorrian is an English singer, best known as a former member of grindcore band Napalm Death and later frontman of doom metal band Cathedral.

<i>Utopia Banished</i> 1992 studio album by Napalm Death

Utopia Banished is the fourth studio album by the British grindcore band Napalm Death. The album was released in 1992 by Earache Records. It is the first album featuring Danny Herrera on drums following the departure of Mick Harris. Metal Hammer put it on the list of the 20 best metal album of 1992.

<i>Forest of Equilibrium</i> 1991 studio album by Cathedral

Forest of Equilibrium is the debut studio album of the British doom metal band Cathedral, released on 14 October 1991 on Earache Records. It is considered a classic of its genre, doom metal. Forest of Equilibrium was notably inducted into Decibel magazine's Hall of Fame in February 2006 being the 12th inductee for the Decibel Hall of Fame.

<i>The VIIth Coming</i> 2002 studio album by Cathedral

The VIIth Coming is the seventh full-length album by the British doom metal band Cathedral. It was released on 5 November 2002 by Spitfire.

<i>The Ethereal Mirror</i> 1993 studio album by Cathedral

The Ethereal Mirror is the second studio album by British doom metal band Cathedral. It was first released on 24 May 1993 through Earache Records, and in the United States on 6 July 1993 through Columbia Records. Earache re-issued the album in 2009 with the Statik Majik EP as bonus tracks and the DVD Ethereal Reflections as DualDisc.

<i>Supernatural Birth Machine</i> 1996 studio album by Cathedral

Supernatural Birth Machine is the fourth album by British doom metal band Cathedral, released in November 12, 1996 by Earache.

<i>Caravan Beyond Redemption</i> 1998 studio album by Cathedral

Caravan Beyond Redemption is the fifth album of British doom metal band Cathedral, released on 6 December 1998 by Earache.

<i>Cosmic Requiem</i> 1994 EP by Cathedral

Cosmic Requiem is an EP by the British doom metal band Cathedral. It was released in 1994 on Earache Records. Tracks 1, 2 and 4 were originally released on the Statik Majik EP.

<i>The Serpents Gold</i> 2004 compilation album by Cathedral

The Serpent's Gold is a compilation album by British doom metal band Cathedral, released on 21 June 2004 through Earache. It consists of two discs, featuring a "Best of" titled "The Serpent's Treasure" and a collection of demos and rarities titled "The Serpent's Chest".

<i>Statik Majik</i> 1994 EP by Cathedral

Statik Majik is an EP by British doom metal band Cathedral, released in March 1994 through Earache. "Midnight Mountain" originally appeared on the band's second full-length album, The Ethereal Mirror. Tracks 2, 3 and 4 were also released the same year on the Cosmic Requiem EP. In 2009, Statik Majik was re-released together with 1992's Soul Sacrifice EP.

<i>The Guessing Game</i> 2010 studio album by Cathedral

The Guessing Game is the ninth full-length album by the British doom metal band Cathedral. It was released on 26 March 2010. It is the first double-album from the band.

<i>The Last Spire</i> 2013 studio album by Cathedral

The Last Spire is the tenth and final studio album by the British doom metal band Cathedral. Intended by the band as their farewell album, it was released in April 2013 on Rise Above Records and Metal Blade Records. The album was praised for returning the band to its doom roots, with Nick Green of Decibel Magazine observing that "few bands get to write their own epitaphs in such vivid, exacting terms".

<i>In Memorium</i> 1990 EP by Cathedral

In Memorium is a demo EP by British doom metal band Cathedral, released in 1990 through Rise Above. It was re-released in 1994 and was later re-released again in 1999 as In Memoriam, with additional live tracks from the 1991 the Netherlands and Belgium tours.

<i>The Complicated Futility of Ignorance</i> 1994 studio album by Fudge Tunnel

The Complicated Futility of Ignorance is the third and final studio album by English rock band Fudge Tunnel, released in September 1994 by Earache Records. The album is notable for being the band's heaviest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Septic Tank (band)</span> British punk rock band

Septic Tank are a British punk rock band formed out of Coventry doom metal band Cathedral. The band was originally formed in 1994, while Cathedral were on tour, and later reformed in 2013 after Cathedral's breakup. Once the band reunited, producer and former member of the UK band Trouble, Jaime "Gomez" Arellano, replaced drummer Barry Stern, due to his death in 2005. The band have currently released one self-titled EP and one full-length album, entitled "Rotting Civilisation".

<i>Rotting Civilisation</i> 2018 studio album by Septic Tank

Rotting Civilisation is the debut album by British punk rock band Septic Tank. The album was released on 13 April 2018 through Rise Above Records. In an interview with Blabbermouth, Dorrian said:

"We talked about doing it again many times, but it took us 20 years to make a record. Black Sabbath were doing their so-called last-ever show in Birmingham and Scott wanted to come over for that, so I suggested we got together and did an album while he was here. He stayed over for five days. 14 of the songs were already roughly written but not rehearsed, another eight or so came up on the spot and were recorded straight away, and that was it. It took us over 20 years but I'm really happy we did it."

Garry "Gaz" Jennings is an English musician best known for his work as the guitarist for doom metal band Cathedral. In addition, he has also worked as the guitarist of thrash metal band Acid Reign, punk rock band Septic Tank and heavy metal bands Lucifer and Death Penalty.

References

  1. 1 2 "Cathedral 'The Carnival Bizarre'". earache.com. Earache . Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  2. Birchmeier, Jason. Cathedral: The Carnival Bizarre at AllMusic. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  3. Filicetti, Gino (1 October 1995). "CoC : Cathedral - The Carnival Bizarre : Review". Chronicles of Chaos . Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  4. Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 74. ISBN   978-1-894959-62-9.
  5. Larkin, Colin, ed. (1998). "Cathedral". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE Inc. pp. 990–991. ISBN   0-333-74134-X via Internet Archive.
  6. Shiels, Liam (23 September 1995). "Albumz". Kerrang! . No. 564. EMAP. p. 48.
  7. Florian (27 September 1995). "Cathedral - The Carnival Bizarre Review". metal.de . Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  8. Hiller, Joachim (October 2008). "Review - Cathedral - The Carnival Bizarre". Ox-Fanzine (in German). Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  9. "Cathedral".