“You can’t believe anything you read, can you,” Brian laughs, calling in from his home just outside Liverpool. “No, it was definitely a case of, we decided at the end of last year (2010), that 2011 was going to be our final year. So we said, ‘Okay, right, we’re going to make it a busy year’. We want to do as much touring as we can. We knew we were going to do a big last show and that it was going to be in London, so we announced that. Literally announced it, and a day later we got an offer for Soundwave. So it was like, ‘Oh! What to do here?’
“Selfishly, it’s a good one for us, to come out to Australia,” he continues, “and of course it’s good for any of the fans who haven’t seen us, ’cause we haven’t been there for 13 years or so. So we thought, ‘Hmm, okay, we’ll take it’, and I don’t think too many people were that annoyed. I think we changed the advert to ‘Last UK show ever’ or something. So we will be finishing in Perth on March fifth. That’ll be the last one.”
What’s also a tad confusing is that they’ve decided to record one last album, after their recent final world tour. The album will be released mid to late 2012, and it will be a stand-alone release, with no subsequent tour to promote it.
“We’re doing one last album,” he explains, “which may seem strange. Most people would do a last album, then do a world tour to promote it and then disappear, but we’re doing it the other way around. We’ve got a new album pencilled in called The Last Spire, which we’re going to begin recording around April. We’ve kind of roughly demo’d about seven songs already. It’s going back to a heavier side of things, unlike the last album which was a bit more kind of progressive. This one’s going to be heavier, with progressive elements, but focusing on the heavy side of things. I think we’re going to produce it ourselves, along with an engineer, rather than bring in an outside producer.”
With this being the end of a very long era, the individual members of Cathedral now need to find something else to do, and possibly new musical paths to explore. “I’m not sure what we’re doing individually,” he says, “I think maybe Lee (Dorian, vocalist and former member of Napalm Death) may be concentrating on his label. Gaz (guitarist Garry Jennings) was talking about doing a solo album. And I will find another band to annoy! I’ve spoken to a few bands, but there’s nothing concrete as yet. Hopefully in the Spinal Tap fashion, some drummer will die, and I’ll be the 85th drummer in some other band,” he chuckles. “For me it’s just like, I love playing, I like touring. I don’t have kids, so it’s a great lifestyle.”
So we happen to be the lucky ones who get to see the absolute last Cathedral shows ever. And being that it’s been well over ten years since the band toured here last, chances are that the vast majority of punters rocking up to see them at Soundwave will have never seen them before. The shows promise a celebration of the band’s career, tinged of course with a touch of sadness.
“Fortunately for the Aussie punters, or unfortunately, these are our last shows, so we’re going to be psyched up for it. And Cathedral for me has always been very much a live band. We seem to have that vibe of…maybe we’ve watched too many old Black Sabbath videos from back in the day. They’re all really going for it. And we’re older now, but we still go for it. We’ll cover everything from the first album to the last album, time permitting. But it’s going to be a heavy rock show, so come out and enjoy it!
“I’m looking at the bands on the bill,” he carries on, “None of the other bands are really like us. There’s plenty of heavy bands, but we hark back to the ’70s quite a lot. We’ve got a bit of a retro feel, I think. I’m quite looking forward to seeing a couple of the bands. I like a bit of Black Label Society. Zakk’s having a good go out there. And for humour, you can’t beat a bit of Steel Panther!”
It all adds up to Cathedral being a band you should definitely catch if you’re heading along to Soundwave, not only for their massive, doom laden sound, but also to see a classic band on their last hurrah.
