John Carpenter is ready to drag us into the darkness again

John Carpentergenius of terror and master of synthesizers, is ready to drag us back into the darkness. The director and musician announced the release of “Cathedral”his debut graphic novel accompanied by a musical album of the same name, promising fans the hardest and most visceral sonic work of his career. The nightmare will take shape in two phases: the August 4th the graphic novel, followed by August 7 since the album’s release.

Everything comes from one night vision. As Carpenter himself revealed, the inspiration for the work comes from his dream of 2024, described as incredibly “cinematic and vivid”. The plot transports us to the decaying walls of an abandoned church in downtown Los Angeles. When the murder of a police officer suddenly puts the spotlight back on this long-ignored cathedral, three cops find themselves embroiled in an investigation that will push them deeper and deeper. By descending into the underground catacombs of the building, they will encounter a centuries-old evil, an entity that remained imprisoned in the shadows waiting to be awakened.

To bring this descent into hell to life on paper, Carpenter joined forces with his wife and longtime creative partner, the producer and editor Sandy King. The writer Sean Sobczak, the illustrators Federico De Luca and Luis Guaragna, the colorist Sian Mandrake and the letterer Marshall Dillon worked together with them.

To celebrate the announcement, the single was released “Lords of the Underground”: a mighty metal ride embellished with ghostly synth accents and those piano melodies, as familiar as they are alienating, that are Carpenter’s unmistakable trademark. On the album, each song will coincide with a chapter of the comic, and the liner notes will guide the listener step by step through the evolution of the story. The director’s historic collaborators and bandmates participated in the creation of the album: his son Cody Carpenter on synthesizers and Daniel Davies on guitar.

Although the album was born in symbiosis with the graphic novel, Carpenter was adamant on a fundamental point: music must be able to live a life of its own.

This is the top priority. It’s all about making the music work. Sure, these sounds are a little different from what we’ve done so far, but they were born with the exact same desire in mind. In other words: put this disc on and imagine you’re watching a movie. This is exactly what we want you to do.