My #2 Album

in 2009

Released

in 2004 by Cold Fusion Music

    I have been wanting this album for years.  In fact, some years ago I tried to special order it through Borders, but they could not obtain it.  Finally, I decided I’d better hurry up and buy it before it got too rare and the price got too high.

    I was already familiar with the names of most of the bands on this CD from reading the now-defunct Automata magazine, which covered the underground dark Christian music scene.  A couple of the songs on this album I already had, in fact -- “Vampyr” by Paradoxx, from the album Atomika, my  #7 album of 2006, and “This Womb Like Liquid Honey” by Tara VanFlower, from the album by the same name, my #9 album of 2006.  But the rest, though I knew the names, I had no musical sound to precisely connect to them, so this album has provided that opportunity.

    Actually, I’d heard some of these bands before on the CDs that came free with each Automata magazine.  I have to admit, a big reason I wanted this album was because of the album cover and the title.  It’s so awesome.  I love dark music, I much prefer going to church at night rather than the morning, and an imaginary place called Moonlight Cathedral, shown in the picture on the cover, conjures up images within me of beautiful candlelit worship with dark music and enchanting poetry.  So, I confess, the title and album cover were the main driver in my desiring this album so.  The inside picture and message is the icing on the cake.  (Shown below.)

    The album opens up with “Lead Us” by Fearful Symmetry, a song with a mixture of guitars and electronics, featuring a male singer with a low voice.  One line in this song is “Father in heaven who is above, holy is your name.” 

    The second song, “Voices” by Wyrmwood The Legacy, is electronic with female vocals, with a beat that could be danceable if the beat were mixed out front.

    The next two songs feature low male voices and a mixture of electronics and guitars.  Track #4, “Whisper” by The Last Dance, is a little more upfront with the electronics, and has an emotionally climactic end that is powerful.  (You can find an interview with the band from 2005 here.)

    The fifth song totally breaks the mood of the album, but I like the song so much I don’t mind.  While everything before and after is dark and serious, “Christian America” by Dead Artist Syndrome is a hilarious satire about the excesses of American Christianity.

    Another song on the album I particularly like is “Letter No. 4 from ‘Letters From The Earth’” from the Polish group Undish. In this song, the singer says at one point, “Keep watch with me, Lord.”  The song begins with pretty acoustic guitar backed with electronics, and later electric guitar chords and solos appear in the song.

    My favorite song on this album is “Silence” by Creta.  It gives me goosebumps with its dark, rich electronics and haunting female vocals.  The song describes the way God speaks to us...in silence rather than with words.  I have desperately searched to find more music by this artist, but apparently this is the only song that exists now...such a shame.  See below for more about Creta.

    “You, Pt. 2 - The Chameleon’s Rise” by Veer Chasm is straight out electric guitars, such that people not into goth but who like heavy alternative rock might like this one.  The same is true for “Nedtegnet Fra Ensom Virkelighet” by Groede.

    After those two songs, which for me are the weak points of the album, the album returns to goth for its closing song, “The End Of The Age” by Saviour Machine.    “The hour of redemption is upon us, and the Day of Judgment will bring the end of the nightmare, the end of the fighting,  the end of all the days....”  The slow, dramatic chorus is a fitting ending for this album.

    Throughout 2009 and continuing into 2010, Moonlight Cathedral has been in my CD player very frequently, my preferred choice most often in the times when I want some music to connect with God in worship and reflection.  Though I have other  compilations with this genre of music, none of them are put together as well as this one, bringing the total spiritual experience -- quite connected for an album of all different artists -- into something deeply meaningful.

    I love this album.

If you are not familiar with gothic, industrial and other dark alternative Christian music, Moonlight Cathedral is a good introduction to this world.

This page was first posted March 21, 2010. A new hit counter was added July 15, 2012. Before the reset, this page had 280 hits.

Artists featured on this compilation:

Fearful Symmetry

Wyrmwood The Legacy

The Awakening

The Last Dance

Dead Artist Syndrome

Visionaire

Undish

Paradoxx

Bridgeshadows

Creta

Veer Chasm

Tara Vanflower

Groede

Saviour Machine

ABOUT CRETA

Rick Joyce, guitarist for The Last Dance, explains Creta:

“Creta is a side project that I am involved in with a dear friend of mine Esther Hernandez. It is basically her project, dream, and music that I help write and produce. It is a Christian project, and comes from the heart of Esther and her amazing life and passion. The one song we released called "Silence" came out on a couple compilations, one a Christian label, one a Goth label and the response was really good... currently we have songs and ideas in the works but this is a work in progress that in my world falls second to The Last Dance and my responsibility towards taking care of my family, so when we are touring lots or writing / recording I have not much time for Creta... so watch for things... they will happen, but in their own time.”

From a 2005 interview with The Last Dance found at Innenseiten.

I wish he could find time for Creta because her music is awesome!

Aria of Wyrmwood The Legacy

Jimmy P. Brown II

of Fearful Symmetry

Undish

Saviour Machine

Rick Joyce of The Last Dance

   This album is the highest ranking spiritually-focused album on my 2009 list.  While #1 Bon Voyage is a Christian group, the lyrics have a Christian worldview focus rather than directly spiritual.  So, Moonlight Cathedral was the album I turned to in 2009, more than any other, when I wanted music to help me focus on God.

Aria of Wyrmwood The Legacy

LISTEN TO CRETA

Click the play button above to hear Creta’s song “Silence” found on Moonlight Cathedral