Blue Cathedral
by Comets On Fire
  • Record Label: Sub Pop
  • Release Date: Jul 27, 2004
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. AllMusic
    80
    This album just may signal the beginning of an exciting new era in rock music.
  2. Almost Cool
    70
    Take some metal and stir in some prog, sludge, and psych rock and basically you've got yerself Comets On Fire.
  3. Billboard
    80
    Wild, unfettered and bone-shatteringly loud, "Blue Cathedral" will stir any fan of extreme guitar mania.
  5. cokemachineglow
    79
    While that band has yet to make a record comparable to the sludgy majesty of their live show... Blue Cathedral practically explodes from the speakers.
  6. Delusions of Adequacy
    90
    Blue Cathedral's shifting textures and long, sub-orbital freak-outs signify no lull in purpose for the Comets on Fire. It does signify a step towards a maturation of sound for a band now with three releases under its belt - specifically, a perfect place to be.
  7. Drowned In Sound
    90
    An album that is both abundant in depth and variety, as well as in terrifying walls of noise and gaping chasms of silence.
  8. Dusted Magazine
    80
    The wild humor and slash-and-burn methodology of Comets on Fire have outlived any pretense to trend; Blue Cathedral makes a strong case for the permanent re-emergence of undiluted psychedelic rock.
  9. Junkmedia
    80
    Comets on Fire have also learned to harness their dynamic range, an important step for a band that pummels the listener with a seemingly unending freakout.
  10. Mojo
    80
    This time [COF] have tempered their voluminous superfuzz with scenic bliss. [Oct 2004, p.101]
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  11. Pitchfork
    85
    Sometimes bludgeoning, always regal, Blue Cathedral is a calcified, hippified holy place.
  12. ShakingThrough.net
    66
    What the band lacks in originality (not to mention coherence and subtlety), it more than makes up for with committed chops and indefatigable energy.
  13. Spin
    83
    One of the best psych-rock records of our young century. [Sep 2004, p.117]
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  14. Splendid
    90
    This is great stuff, and a significant advance over both of Comets on Fire's previous albums.
  15. Stylus Magazine
    80
    Uninhibited and hushed in all the right places, it’s safe to say that Comets on Fire have hit their stride.
  16. Tiny Mix Tapes
    100
    A masterwork that music fans will be listening to for some time in the future.
  17. Village Voice
    80
    The trick to their aural freak-out is not too different from those in the past; it hides in the arcane black box manned by Noel Harmonson. The echoplex, with its Möbius strip of tape loop, warps the guitars and yowls like parallel sheets of Mylar and sheets of acid, focusing the entire band into ray-gun pulses that match the pounding of Utrillo Belcher.

Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Best Album of 2004
90
#90 Most Discussed Album of 2004

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 28 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 28
  3. Negative: 7 out of 28
  1. Alex
    Aug 26, 2006
    9
    Dense sonic noise not for your average pop fan, Blue Cathedral is some truly psychedelic music backed up by fierce instrumentation. If Led Dense sonic noise not for your average pop fan, Blue Cathedral is some truly psychedelic music backed up by fierce instrumentation. If Led Zeppelin or Cream had made it to see the Shoegazing era, they may have recorded an album like this.… Full Review »
  2. XianB
    Feb 13, 2006
    10
    Comets On Fire is the greatest rock'n'roll band on earth! And Jaki is jus right, even if it's not him.
  3. JakiLiebezeit
    Aug 6, 2005
    10
    It's seems like people either love or hate this album. But just for the record, i'm right.
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