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JOHN CARPENTER
Cathedral (Sacred Bones Records)
Add date: 8.11.2026
Release date: 8.7.2026
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An abandoned cathedral. A gruesome murder. A powerful supernatural entity living in the catacombs. It all comes to a head in downtown Los Angeles. What will happen and who will live to tell the tale? Such is the storyline of Cathedral, the thrilling new album and terrifying graphic novel from director and musician John Carpenter, based on a dream he had in 2024.
Preoccupied passers-by have long since ceased to notice the dilapidated cathedral in their midst, never mind sensing the danger and centuries old evil trapped inside its walls. A gruesome murder one late night pulls the structure into the spotlight, triggering a police investigation into the loss of one of their own.
Lieutenant Christine Marks, along with detectives Paul Hernandez and Steve Mayfield, must enter the church in search of the monster that murdered her father. Every step takes them deeper into the belly of the cathedral revealing the mystery of an ancient evil imprisoned within.
“It was so cinematic and vivid,” the director recalls of the initial dream that inspired the story. “I thought, ‘I have to score this.’ It’s kind of our first heavy metal album.”
It’s true: Cathedral has all the drama, dark atmosphere, and frenetic pacing of a classic heavy metal record. Especially designed as the soundtrack to the graphic novel, each track corresponds to a specific section of the book. The liner notes included with the album packaging feature prompts for each track, creating a fully interactive experience. Combined with the graphic novel, it’s the closest thing to a new John Carpenter film in years.
“The story informed what we were writing,” guitarist Daniel Davies says. As Carpenter’s godson and longtime musical collaborator, Davies helped fulfill the master of horror’s vision. “John would describe the scene we were working on and say, ‘We need a heavy riff here.’ We didn’t intentionally make a heavy metal record, but it evolved that way.”
On Cathedral, Carpenter and Davies are joined by Carpenter’s son, Cody, a synth wizard in his own right. Together, the trio created the acclaimed Lost Themes albums, the soundtracks for director David Gordon Green’s trilogy of reimagined Halloween sequels, new versions of Carpenter’s iconic film scores (Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998 and Anthology II: Movie Themes 1976-1988), and the score for the 2022 remake of Firestarter.
“Daniel is the adventurer of the band,” Carpenter says. “He’s pushing for new sounds, new directions, and new kinds of music at all times. Cody is the maestro, the musician of the band. He keeps us on the straight and narrow in terms of music. And I’m the experience. I’ve been there.”
The music on Cathedral retains all the eerie atmosphere and sinister propulsion of the epochal scores Carpenter created for his films Halloween, The Fog, and Assault on Precinct 13, but this is a much heavier, riff-driven enterprise. Carpenter is a firm believer that music plays a major role in what really makes something scary.
Davies’ soaring, snaky guitars take center stage on opener “Primeval,” “Elevator,” and the metal masterpiece “Lord of the Underground” while John and Cody’s synths take the lead on the ominous “Desolation in the Underworld,” the plaintive “Death of the Mapmaker,” and even converge with strings on “Abandoned Cathedral.”
The driving force of “Lord of the Underground” corresponds with a sequence in which we meet the supernatural entity lurking beneath the cathedral. “This has been my favorite song on the album since we finished all of the music,” Cody says. “I felt that the different strengths of the three of us all shone through and melded together to create a really powerful, driving tune. It's also great fun to play live.”
In a story rich with River Styx iconography, “The Ferryman” scores a scene in which we encounter the subterranean character of the same name. “I like that one because it really seems to feature all three of us in a special way,” Davies says. “It has interesting harmonies that Cody put together and John's signature pad-style string parts. It’s more of an electronic metal track in a way, but we just wanted to make it as heavy and driving as possible.”
“Revenge” soundtracks a climactic fight scene. “This dramatic climax started out as a rough demo from Daniel,” Cody says. “It contains one of the themes that appears throughout the album, combined with rocking guitars and screaming riffs. For me, it invokes images and emotions that culminate in the awesome climax.”
While Cathedral is intended to be listened to as one reads the graphic novel, it was important to Carpenter that the music stand on its own. “That’s first and foremost,” the director says. “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,” he adds. “In other words, put this thing on and imagine you're watching a movie. That’s what we want you to do.”
Whereas the Lost Themes albums were written as scores to movies of the mind, Cathedral scores the first original graphic novel written by Carpenter, his wife and long-time creative partner, producer and editor Sandy King, and writer Sean Sobczak. Illustrated by Federico De Luca and Luis Guaragna, colored by Sian Mandrake, and lettered by Marshall Dillon, Cathedral will be published by Storm King Comics.
As with all of Carpenter’s musical forays of the last decade-plus, the album will be released by Sacred Bones.
Cathedral awaits. Listen to the album. Read the graphic novel. Immerse yourself in John Carpenter’s universe all over again.
Photo Credit: Sophie Gransard
Apple Music
Bandcamp
Official Website
Sacred Bones
Spotify
Tidal
TikTok
YouTube
An abandoned cathedral. A gruesome murder. A powerful supernatural entity living in the catacombs. It all comes to a head in downtown Los Angeles. What will happen and who will live to tell the tale? Such is the storyline of Cathedral, the thrilling new album and terrifying graphic novel from director and musician John Carpenter, based on a dream he had in 2024.
Preoccupied passers-by have long since ceased to notice the dilapidated cathedral in their midst, never mind sensing the danger and centuries old evil trapped inside its walls. A gruesome murder one late night pulls the structure into the spotlight, triggering a police investigation into the loss of one of their own.
Lieutenant Christine Marks, along with detectives Paul Hernandez and Steve Mayfield, must enter the church in search of the monster that murdered her father. Every step takes them deeper into the belly of the cathedral revealing the mystery of an ancient evil imprisoned within.
“It was so cinematic and vivid,” the director recalls of the initial dream that inspired the story. “I thought, ‘I have to score this.’ It’s kind of our first heavy metal album.”
It’s true: Cathedral has all the drama, dark atmosphere, and frenetic pacing of a classic heavy metal record. Especially designed as the soundtrack to the graphic novel, each track corresponds to a specific section of the book. The liner notes included with the album packaging feature prompts for each track, creating a fully interactive experience. Combined with the graphic novel, it’s the closest thing to a new John Carpenter film in years.
“The story informed what we were writing,” guitarist Daniel Davies says. As Carpenter’s godson and longtime musical collaborator, Davies helped fulfill the master of horror’s vision. “John would describe the scene we were working on and say, ‘We need a heavy riff here.’ We didn’t intentionally make a heavy metal record, but it evolved that way.”
On Cathedral, Carpenter and Davies are joined by Carpenter’s son, Cody, a synth wizard in his own right. Together, the trio created the acclaimed Lost Themes albums, the soundtracks for director David Gordon Green’s trilogy of reimagined Halloween sequels, new versions of Carpenter’s iconic film scores (Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998 and Anthology II: Movie Themes 1976-1988), and the score for the 2022 remake of Firestarter.
“Daniel is the adventurer of the band,” Carpenter says. “He’s pushing for new sounds, new directions, and new kinds of music at all times. Cody is the maestro, the musician of the band. He keeps us on the straight and narrow in terms of music. And I’m the experience. I’ve been there.”
The music on Cathedral retains all the eerie atmosphere and sinister propulsion of the epochal scores Carpenter created for his films Halloween, The Fog, and Assault on Precinct 13, but this is a much heavier, riff-driven enterprise. Carpenter is a firm believer that music plays a major role in what really makes something scary.
Davies’ soaring, snaky guitars take center stage on opener “Primeval,” “Elevator,” and the metal masterpiece “Lord of the Underground” while John and Cody’s synths take the lead on the ominous “Desolation in the Underworld,” the plaintive “Death of the Mapmaker,” and even converge with strings on “Abandoned Cathedral.”
The driving force of “Lord of the Underground” corresponds with a sequence in which we meet the supernatural entity lurking beneath the cathedral. “This has been my favorite song on the album since we finished all of the music,” Cody says. “I felt that the different strengths of the three of us all shone through and melded together to create a really powerful, driving tune. It's also great fun to play live.”
In a story rich with River Styx iconography, “The Ferryman” scores a scene in which we encounter the subterranean character of the same name. “I like that one because it really seems to feature all three of us in a special way,” Davies says. “It has interesting harmonies that Cody put together and John's signature pad-style string parts. It’s more of an electronic metal track in a way, but we just wanted to make it as heavy and driving as possible.”
“Revenge” soundtracks a climactic fight scene. “This dramatic climax started out as a rough demo from Daniel,” Cody says. “It contains one of the themes that appears throughout the album, combined with rocking guitars and screaming riffs. For me, it invokes images and emotions that culminate in the awesome climax.”
While Cathedral is intended to be listened to as one reads the graphic novel, it was important to Carpenter that the music stand on its own. “That’s first and foremost,” the director says. “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,” he adds. “In other words, put this thing on and imagine you're watching a movie. That’s what we want you to do.”
Whereas the Lost Themes albums were written as scores to movies of the mind, Cathedral scores the first original graphic novel written by Carpenter, his wife and long-time creative partner, producer and editor Sandy King, and writer Sean Sobczak. Illustrated by Federico De Luca and Luis Guaragna, colored by Sian Mandrake, and lettered by Marshall Dillon, Cathedral will be published by Storm King Comics.
As with all of Carpenter’s musical forays of the last decade-plus, the album will be released by Sacred Bones.
Cathedral awaits. Listen to the album. Read the graphic novel. Immerse yourself in John Carpenter’s universe all over again.
Photo Credit: Sophie Gransard