UMUR "Soul Sacrifice" is an EP release by UK doom metal act Cathedral. The EP was released through Earache Records in October 1992. The EP bridges the gap between the band´s debut- and second full-length studio albums "Forest of Equilibrium (1991)" and "The Ethereal Mirror (1993)" and features 4 track and a total playing time of 24:46 minutes. So there´s quite a bit of quantity for the money...

...Quality is another matter though and in that respect "Soul Sacrifice" does come off a bit weak. The EP features a re-recorded (and a couple of minutes longer) version of "Soul Sacrifice", which was originally featured on "Forest of Equilibrium (1991)". This version is considerably faster paced than the original version and quite frankly it sounds soulless compared to the original version. I think the irresistable groove of the original version is lost in the faster pace of this re-recorded version. "Autumn Twilight" is another groove laden and rocking doom metal track, but it´s rather forgettable. "Frozen Rapture" is more slow and doomy but again we´re dealing with a very standard quality track. "Golden Blood (Flooding)" is more interesting with it´s psychadelic sections and vocals, but it´s kinda half-baked compared to later output by the band in this style.

So all in all I´m not that impressed by "Soul Sacrifice". The cold and non-organic production really doesn´t help on my impression either. I´ve had this EP since the day it was released and it hasn´t really grown on me the way some other releases do when given multible spins. In fact to my ears this EP is even less interesting today than it was upon release. It´s probably needless to say, but that´s not a good thing in my book. Now we´re not talking anything horrible here but taking into consideration the two masterpiece doom metal albums that bookend this EP I find it rather odd that Cathedral would release something of this standard. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.

arcane-beautiful As ep's go...this is pretty good. Now with an ep, the band can either add more on to what they do on albums, do something a bit different, experiment...or basically try and reach to different markets. And this ticks all these boxes, oddly enough.

After their debut, this ep showed what Cathedral had planned for us all. And it comes off well, and fans of the first album may wonder where all the slow doom songs went...well their still here, just not as much as their favoured disco prog punk style.

Their is some underlooked Cathedral could have been classics here and it does enteratin you enough for half an hour, so it bodes well as an ep.

1. Soul Sacrifice - I like how the vocals are presented, but I prefer the album version...mainly because its shorter and more precise. 9/10

2. Autumn Twilight - Great intro. Kind of like a dark Iron Maiden. Shows progression into the coming 2nd album. This song is very underlooked in my opinion, and it kicks some serious arse. 10/10

3. Frozen Rapture - A bit too slow with a lack of atmosphere. Not too bad though. 7/10

4. Golden Blood (Flooding) - I love how weird the chorus' are. Great arrangement with some pretty killer riffs. Odd but interesting nontheless. 9/10

CONCLUSION: No ep is a must have, but for an ep, this is pretty damn good.

Time Signature Doom sacrifice...

Genre: (new wave of British) heavy metal / stoner metal / doom metal

"Ethereal Mirror" is typically considered the album where Cathedral start moving away from doom metal and towards stoner metal. However, that journey already starts on the EP "Soul Sacrifice" with its uptempo songs and emphasis on melody.

The two first tracks on "Soul Sacrifice" cannot really be categorized as doom metal songs. The are mostly upbeat songs with riffage that reveal influence from New Wave of British Heavy Metal and Black Sabbath. While "Autumn Twilight" is very much a straight heavy metal song, "Sould Savrifice" is more of a stoner song, making extensive use of blues scales (maybe it's too upbeat to be a stoner song - I don't know).

While the first two tracks are upbeat, "Frozen Rapture" is as doomy as anything can get. It is down-tempo and contains traditional doom metal riffs - and even the uptempo bridge is damn heavy. Interestingly, one of the riffs reminds me of a slowed down Deep Purple - maybe because of the Hammond-simulating keyboards. This is pretty much the epitome of dark doom metal.

"Golden Blood (Flooding)" falls somewhere in between the different styles represented on this album with a feel of physchedelia added to it. It is generally uptempo, but there is a really heavy and doomy, Black Sabbath inspired bridge.

I would recommend this album to fans of heavy music and fans of traditional heavy metal who are interested in hearing a 90s interpretation of the genre. Some doomsters might like it, but hardcore doomsters might find it too upbeat and not doomy enough.