The Carnival Bizarre

The Carnival Bizarre
Studio album by
Cathedral
Released29 September 1995 (1995-09-29)[1]
Recorded29 May – 14 June 1995
StudioParkgate Studios
GenreHeavy metal, doom metal, stoner metal
Length62:48
LabelEarache
ProducerKit Woolven
Cathedral chronology
Statik Majik
(1994) 		The Carnival Bizarre
(1995) 		Supernatural Birth Machine
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chronicles of Chaos6/10[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal9/10[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Kerrang![6]
Metal.de7/10[7]
Ox-Fanzine7/10[8]

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

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

  • Lee Dorrian – vocals, sleeve concept
  • Garry Jennings – guitar, mellotron (5, 8), keyboard (4, 10), percussion (5, 10), choir (4)
  • Leo Smee – bass, mellotron (3, 8), choir (4)
  • Brian Dixon – drums, choir (4)

Additional musicians

Technical personnel

  • Kit Woolven – production, engineering
  • Doug Cook – assistant engineering
  • Noel Summerville – mastering
  • Dave Patchett – front cover
  • Leilah Wendell – inside art
  • Ray Palmer – photography
  • Aston Stephens – layout

References

  1. ^ a b "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".


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