STAINED GLASS STORIES

Cathedral was, for the longest time, a one-off symphonic prog band. The one album they made in the 20th century, Stained Glass Stories, might not have been the best album in the history of progressive rock, but it was one of the most impressive and interesting efforts of the entire Ameri-Prog scene. In this album you can hear sounds of what would become legendary prog bands like Wobbler, Änglagård, Transatlantic, and plenty of other modern symphonic prog bands. The album has this level of complexity that can challenge some of the classics from the golden years of prog in the early to mid seventies. Especially in terms of 1978, a point of transition for all the big progressive rock bands, very few artists and bands were making music as far grasping as this band. The sound can be somewhat of a time machine, bringing musically complex structures of classical music from the 19th century and that almost medieval style that so many of the Scandinavian bands are known for and mixing them together in ways not even the giants of the genre had done before. If you couldn't tell by my description of the album, this work has a sizable level of musicianship within its borders. The personnel include Paul Seal as lead vocalist, Rudy Perrone on guitar, Tom Doncourt on keyboards, Fred Callan on bass, and Mercury Caronia on drums. Out of all these musicians, the one that I thought had the most impressive performance was surprisingly Fred Callan. His talent on bass is truly unmatched by his bandmates on each of their respective instruments (though all of them are great), and with his combined speed and precision, he is able to supply an incredible contribution to the rhythm section.

The album opens with the twelve-minute-long suite, entitled Introspect. This song's nature truly sets the stage for a musical landscape that would evolve into the legendary progressive rock bands from Scandinavia (as I've already mentioned above). Its level of technicality within the structure and overall performance demonstrates progressive rock at its finest and serves as my personal favorite track off the album. Especially when it comes to the dynamics between the rapid growth of ever-changing brutally booming rhythms along with experimentation and the lush, atmospheric environment of more graceful melodies. The band pushes these aspects to their limits in these twelve minutes, and instead of focusing on flashy musicianship, the band focuses on going beyond the boundaries. The incredible keyboard work and magical guitar playing on this song are only matched by the wild rhythm sections and the pinpoint accuracy of the drums and bass, and with all these facts put together, I personally view this song as an absolute essential for progressive rock. The next song, Gong, is a great song, but a bit of a falloff compared to the monster that was Introspect. It's an instrumental composition that is composed of meticulously constructed passages that have twinges of more laid-back yet serious progressive rock, even with some acoustic sections. It's very reminiscent of Soundchaser by Yes and does a good job at creating a medieval- like soundscape that is filled with jazz fusion elements. Overall, side one sets a good tone for what this record has in store.

Side two opens with The Crossing, which serves as the shortest song on the album. This track continues the rich symphonic sound on the record, with a lot more vocal sections and fewer crazy instrumental areas. It's still very progressive in nature, with the balance of good and evil being another present of this one. Yet another great number, but most likely the weakest out of this catalogue. Days And Changes has a really ominous opening, which includes a long, sermon-like story of just the singer, that I found really interesting. Apart from that, this song is just a continuation of everything previously found on this album, but now with the added addition of a whole lot more Yes energy and execution combined with the band's sound, which really sets the mood well for the whole classical style the album was going for. This song also contains more drama and building emotion that sets itself apart from the other songs on this album, and so like how the next track would continue this build even further. The search ends off the album, and this song really recaptures their momentum. It has a much more somber and poetic tone to it, combined with the pastoral vocals and keyboards that originally somehow didn't reach this level. They still manage to keep the whole eclectic, symphonic side of their sound going, though just this added twist gave a new form to the song. The constant change in pace and energy perfectly balances everything in this song, adding tension as it goes on, and the ending is truly a great way to finish off this record.

In conclusion, this is an incredibly strong record. It has everything a good progressive rock record needs. It's got complexity, technicality, dynamics, beauty, darkness, and every other aspect. The only thing that's holding this record back from a perfect 5/5 is its less consistent of various sections compared to other parts of the numbers, and while it might still be good music, these areas still aren't original enough to truly separate them from other passages. Speaking of originality, you can hear Gentle Giant, Yes, and Genesis all over the album, and I feel they could've added more of a twist to the music. My personal opinion is around a 4.25/5 and possibly a 4.5/5, but here I'll round it up to a 4/5 when mixing all the aspects together. However, on a personal level, this is actually one of my top one hundred favorite progressive rock albums!

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to SliprKC70
• Report this review (#3189572)
• Buy CATHEDRAL music online with PA partners
• Show all CATHEDRAL MP3/Stream
• Go to CATHEDRAL page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Stained Glass Stories page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for CATHEDRAL related discussions