Forest of Equilibrium is the debut studio album by British metal band Cathedral, released on 14 October 1991 on Earache Records.[10] It is considered a classic of its genre, doom metal.[6][11][12] Forest of Equilibrium was notably inducted into Decibel magazine's Hall of Fame in February 2006 being the 12th inductee for the Decibel Hall of Fame.[13]

Forest of Equilibrium
Studio album by
Released14 October 1991 (1991-10-14)
RecordedJuly–August 1991
StudioWorkshop Studios, Redditch, England
GenreDoom metal
Length54:09
LabelEarache, Relativity
Producer
Cathedral chronology
In Memorium EP
(1990)
Forest of Equilibrium
(1991)
The Ethereal Mirror
(1993)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal6/10[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Kerrang! (1991)[5]
(2011)[6]
Metal.de9/10[7]
Ox-Fanzine[8]
Rock Hard9/10[9]

In 2009, Earache Records reissued the album along with four "bonus" songs that comprise the long out-of-print 1992 Soul Sacrifice EP. This deluxe digipak reissue also includes a poster of Dave Patchett's cover art and a new 40-minute documentary entitled "Return to the Forest" on DVD.[14]

Track listing edit

All lyrics by Lee Dorrian unless noted; all music by Garry Jennings unless noted

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Picture of Beauty & Innocence (Intro)/Commiserating the Celebration"  11:16
2."Ebony Tears"  7:46
3."Serpent Eve"Mark GriffithsJennings, Adam Lehan7:40
4."Soul Sacrifice"Griffiths 2:54
5."A Funeral Request (Ethereal Architect)"Griffiths, David Park BarnitzLehan9:17
6."Equilibrium"  6:08
7."Reaching Happiness, Touching Pain"  9:08

Personnel edit

Personnel per liner notes.[15]

Cathedral

Additional personnel

Production

  • Steve Gurney – production (credited as PBL)[1]
  • Mark Tempest – engineering
  • Dave Patchett – sleeve artwork
  • Jason Tilley – photos
  • J. Barry – layout

References edit

  1. ^ a b Bennett 2006, p. 46.
  2. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. Cathedral: Forest of Equilibrium at AllMusic. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  3. ^ Popoff 2007.
  4. ^ Larkin 1998, p. 991.
  5. ^ Gitter 1991.
  6. ^ a b Ruskell 2011.
  7. ^ Matthias (30 April 2013). "Cathedral - Forest of Equilibrium Review". metal.de. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  8. ^ Bohnensack, André (August 2009). "Review - Cathedral - Forest of Equilibrium". Ox-Fanzine (in German). Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  9. ^ Rock Hard Editorial (22 November 1991). "Forest Of Equilibrium". Rock Hard (Vol. 56) (in German). Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  10. ^ Alexander 1991.
  11. ^ Ayers 1996.
  12. ^ Badin 2006.
  13. ^ Chase, Jesse. "Cathedral – "Forest of Equilibrium"". Decibel. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  14. ^ "CATHEDRAL: 'Forest Of Equilibrium' Reissue To Include 40-Minute Documentary". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  15. ^ Cathedral (1991). Forest of Equilibrium (booklet). Earache Records. MOSH 43.

Bibliography edit