John Carpenter returns with Cathedral, a new album released through Sacred Bones Records alongside his first original graphic novel via Storm King Comics.
Created with Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, the project connects each track to a chapter, turning the record into a soundtrack-driven graphic novel system rather than a standard album release.
Lead single Lord Of The Underground sets the tone: heavy synth pressure, guitar weight, horror atmosphere, and animated visuals drawn from the book’s illustrations. Carpenter says of the dream that inspired the project…
It was so cinematic and vivid. I thought, ‘I have to score this.’ It’s kind of our first heavy metal album.
The story centres on an abandoned Los Angeles cathedral, a police investigation, underground catacombs, and a centuries-old evil waiting below. Classic Carpenter terrain, basically; but wired through a new format.
Daniel Davies says:
The story informed everything. John would describe a scene and say, ‘We need a heavy riff here.’ We didn’t set out to make a metal record, but it evolved that way.
While Cathedral is designed to be experienced with the graphic novel, Carpenter keeps the music strong enough to stand alone. He says:
That’s first and foremost. It’s all about making the music work. This is somewhat different sounding stuff that we’ve done, but it’s done with the same desire in mind…In other words, put this thing on and imagine you’re watching a movie. That’s what we want you to do.
With Cathedral, Carpenter pushes his scoring language into heavier territory without losing the tension, atmosphere, and world-building that made his sound instantly recognisable. Part album, part narrative system, part nightmare architecture and very much his lane.
