Show Notes
What exactly constitutes "Radical Research material?" We're gonna test that question with this and the next episode. With episode 148, we answer with more questions: "Is it weird?" "Is it heavy?" "Is it something we enjoy?" "Would most of the music-listening world hate it?" Yes, yes, yes and yes! And lord, do we love us some Cathedral. Especially the early era, which is the 5-year chunk of time investigated here. Herein, we hail Dorrian, Gaz, Griffiths, Lehan and the three drummers that comprise this most potent, powerful era of the UK's legendary lords of doom.
Note I: Something we knew about but failed to mention on this episode: even though the roots of Cathedral are partly based on the fateful meeting of doom-heads Lee Dorrian and Mark Griffiths, it is also rooted in a project that guitarist Gary “Gaz” Griffiths did after leaving Acid Reign. The following is from the mighty Metal Archives, to help fill in the gap here: “Morbid Doom recorded a demo entitled ‘Sorrow's Epitaph’ in late 1989 or early '90, which contained about 9 songs. Two of the tracks on it would later become Cathedral songs: ‘Sorrows End’ became ‘Jaded Entity", and ‘Suffocation of Mankind’ became ‘Phantasmagoria.’ The reworked/re-recorded versions of both ended up on 1993's The Ethereal Mirror album.”
Note II: Jeff’s Voivod book, ‘Always Moving: The Strange Multiverse of Voivod,’ is now available. You can purchase a copy of the 540-page, 3-pound behemoth HERE: radicalresearch.org/voivod
Note III: The Radical Research Patreon page is now set up and ready for your patronage. We are offering tiered subscription levels for those who want a set-it-and-forget-it donation option. As ever, if you choose to support us, we are humbled and grateful! patreon.com/RadicalResearchPodcast
Music cited in order of appearance: “Mourning of a New Day” (In Memorium demo, 1990) “Commiserating the Celebration” (Forest of Equilibrium, 1991) “Equilibrium” (Forest of Equilibrium, 1991) “Reaching Happiness, Touching Pain” (Forest of Equilibrium, 1991) “Soul Sacrifice” (Soul Sacrifice, 1992) “Autumn Twilight” (Soul Sacrifice, 1992) “Enter the Worms” (The Ethereal Mirror, 1993) “Fountain of Innocence” (The Ethereal Mirror, 1993) “Phantasmagoria” ” (The Ethereal Mirror, 1993) “Hypnos 164” (Statik Majik, 1994) “Cosmic Funeral” (Statik Majik, 1994) “Voyage of the Homeless Sapien” (Statik Majik, 1994)
Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.
More from Radical Research Podcast
Our third in the Permeable Lines series takes a query from a Radical Research listener regarding Voivod's "Rise" and Dodheimsgard's "The Snuff Dreams Are Made Of." We're game...and we invite you to send in your bids for comparison in this ongoing Point 5 series.
Much like their hometown of London, England, Akercocke at once embody urbanity and the bucolic, depravity and erudition -- constantly blurring the lines between seemingly opposite poles. In Akercocke’s world, nothing is quite as it seems. Herein, we dissect the most recent half of their discography, which is some of the most adventurous, beguiling metal we have EVER heard.
We conclude our 2-part, 4-hour deep dive into one of our favorite bands in the universe, the mighty Anathema. This second part looks at their 2001-2017 phase, surveying the six albums they released in that 18-year span. They are no longer active, but they’re very much alive in our hearts and sound systems, an eternal source of inspiration for the hosts of this podcast and their legion of fans across the globe. This is a love letter.
Liverpool, England’s Anathema are one of the bedrocks of the Radical Research musical adventure. It’s why we’ve chosen to commemorate our 150th episode with a two-part dive into their entire catalog, from the harrowing wretchedness of their early demo work to the graceful final statement of 2017’s The Optimist. We rejoice and weep, praise and cry, as we explore all of their 1990s output in episode 1 of this 2-part indulgence.
It's back to Norway for Radical Research, although this time, it's not about weirdness, unless you consider us covering an album like this a little weird. But we adore this band, especially this 30-minute masterpiece. And for years, we’d talked of spotlighting Tell No Tales with none other than Bryon Dudley and Aaron Alcott of the excellent Hair Metal Memories podcast. We finally got down to business and in this episode, we dissect all the beauty, joy, audacity and high, higher, highest of this great band’s greatest album. This collaboration felt really natural, and we might do another one with these guys, dudes who aren’t quite at opposite poles as much as one might assume. As Aaron says here, Tell No Tales is “something that should be known beyond the borders of its genre.”