Carnival Bizarre- sure is! (The Carnival Bizarre - Cathedral)

Member Name: Dezza

Product:	The Carnival Bizarre - Cathedral
Date:	15/05/01 (116 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: heavy, arsed, doom

Disadvantages: vocal style "different"

Carnival Bizarre is Cathedrals’ first attempt really at an album which combines both the deathly slow doom riffs of the first two Cathedral lp's, and some faster, still heavy but perhaps more energetic tracks.
And it’s also probably the album, which they’ll be most remembered for. Not that we’re talking top 40 charting exactly here! But Hopkins Witchfinder is what anyone not into Cathedral would know, and it’s the 2nd track on Carnival..

So to the tunes; Vampire Sun starts, I first heard this on an Earache label compilation, and got into Lee Dorian’s Sabbath worshipping doomers from this. It’s a straightforward riffing stoner rock style rock out, and it’s great. Little bit like various on Sabbath’s Vol4… Persevere with Dorian’s singing style, there ain’t many with this individual a style!
Then to Hopkins, with it’s twisted lyrics about witch burning and Satanism. Scared? This isn’t any Death Metal rubbish, no Cathedral always have a sense of humour and Hopkins shows this at it’s best.
Which leads to Utopian Blaster. How to confuse people; invite Tommy Iommi from the Sabs to record a track, then use the lyrics “Huggy bear oh yeah!” in the middle!
Did he see the irony? Who cares?
I just can’t skip any of the tracks on this so far, Night of the Seagulls is a real hark back to the earth-shaking slow riffs Cathedral started with, some riff.

Then the title track is light(er) relief to follow. Most like their Caravan Beyond Redemption album, as is Electric Grave
Blue Light is a Thin Lizzy sound alike, and Fan galactic Supergoria I thought I’d mention just cos WHAT A GREAT NAME! It’s also got a real sledgehammer of a guitar lick too.

Overall I’d not make this a 5 star album perhaps, although close. Just a good dollop of doomy, funky arsed 70’s rock influenced insanity. If you like it heav
y but dislike the miserable, pick up some of this!!

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