Long before doom metal burst into popularity with both metalheads and non-metalheads alike at the end of the 90's, there was Cathedral, the British band that helped to reshape the sound of doom and push it into new areas of sonic extremism, and who became the flagship band for Rise Above Records, the label that would bring such titans of slow n' low heaviness as Church Of Misery, Moss, Electric Wizard, Unearthly Trance, Witchcraft, Orange Goblin, Sunn O))), Sleep and Goatsnake to your stereo. During the 80's, there were a handful of bands that continued to fly the flag of trad doom that Sabbath kickstarted, Saint Vitus, Candlemass, Trouble, and the whole Maryland doom crowd, for instance, but there wasn't anybody as slow or as heavy as Cathedral, who took the notion of the crawling Sabbathian riff to whole new levels of torpor. Formed after singer Lee Dorrian bailed from grindcore pioneers Napalm Death in 1989, Cathedral combined the heaviest modes of classic doom with Dorrian's unique vocal style, a love of 70's prog rock, and a guitar sound that seems as if it had been carved out of slabs of pure granite. They signed to Earache and released their debut album Forest Of Equilibrium, which has become one of the all time classics in the doom metal pantheon; later albums would pursue a groovier, more rocking sound that the band pretty much perfected on 1993's The Ethereal Mirror. Both of these crucial early albums have just been reissued by Earache in expanded packages that have the original albums bundled with previously out-of-print bonus material, and each comes with a DVD that features a documentary on the making of the album; both are fucking ESSENTIAL for doom metal fans.

Depending on who you ask, Cathedral's second album The Ethereal Mirror might be the best album they ever recorded. While it's hard for me to choose between the crawling prog-doom brilliance of their debut Forest Of Equilibrium and this album (I love 'em both equally!), Ethereal did see the band begin to make the shift into groovier, more rocking territory, experimenting with their crushing doom sound more while at the same time becoming more accessible, with the catchiest song Cathedral ever wrote included here: if Cathedral ever had a "hit", it was "Midnight Mountain", possibly one of the best stoner rock songs of all time. Starting off with that instantly recognizable riff and Dorrian's shout of "Oh Yeah!", the guitars spit out a gnarly lick as the song crashes into an undulating, insanely funky groove that'll bore into the skull of any doom/stoner rock junkie that hears it. The twin harmonies and infectious riffing builds over a chorus-heavy bridge, then kicks into the impossibly catchy, fist-pumping hook, complete with hand claps; total genius. Across the album, Ethereal Mirror moves between stomping, doom-laden heaviness carried over from the debut ("Jaded Entity", "Phantasmagoria" ) and the pummeling psychedelic doom-rock sound that would define the albums that followed. They crank the tempo on songs like "Midnight Mountain" and opener "Ride", which features an infectiously anthemic hook and loping groove that foreshadows what Goatsnake would be doing a couple of years later, welding their monstrous ultra-heavy guitar riffs to pounding mid-tempo tempos. You gotta hear this album if you want to see where everyone from Orange Goblin to Goatsnake to Electric Wizard got their inspiration from - this is one of the high-water marks of doom metal, make no mistake.

In addition, this limited-edition double CD set also has the Statik Majik EP, which had been out of print for years. The three song EP comes in a full color wallet sleeve that's bundled with the case, and it's a must-hear for Cathedral fans; originally released in 1994, this thirty-five minute disc includes the tracks "Hypnos 164", "Cosmic Funeral" and "The Voyage Of The Homeless Sapien", the latter a twenty-two minute slab of psychedelic metal that goes from syrupy gothic plod to pastoral psych-folk to skull-crushing glacial doom.

The Ethereal Reflections DVD has the forty-minute documentary on the recording of the album, as well as the music videos for both "Ride" and "Midnight Mountain", the latter consisting of an especially awesome/ridiculous satanic disco freakout; the documentary is an in-depth retrospective on everything to do with the album, from the recording process, touring (with lots of vintage footage of the band live), discussions with artist Dave Patchett on the album art, and revealing conversations with the band on the shift in style between Forest Of Equilibrium and The Ethereal Mirror. There's a ton of amazing information included here, and the dvd is worth the admission price all on its own.

And on top of all of that, both reissues are packaged with newly re-designed booklets and inserts that present Patchett's artwork in extended form. Both reissues come highly recommended, and are totally essential for any doom fans that don't already have these classic albums in their collection.