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Lee Dorrian
Lee Dorrian
Dorrian in 2016.
Background information
Birth Name Lee Dorrian
Alias Lee Napalm, ALF Antisocial
Born 5 June 1968, Coventry, England
Occupation Musician, Record Label Owner
Genres Grindcore, Hardcore Punk, Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, Psychedelic Rock
Instrument(s) Vocals
Years active 1986 - Present
Labels Rise Above Records, Earache, Nuclear Blast, Southern Lord Records
Associated acts Napalm Death, Cathedral, Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine, Probot, With The Dead, Septic Tank
Website Rise Above Records

Lee Dorrian is a vocalist based out of Coventry, England. Active since the mid-1980s, Dorrian would begin his career as an early singer for the pioneering grindcore band Napalm Death, performing on one and a half albums. Following his departure from the band he would be best known as the lead vocalist with the doom metal band Cathedral, whom were active from 1989 - 2013. Unlike Dorrian's extreme and ferocious death grunt style of vocal mixed with hardcore screaming in Napalm Death, Dorrian would adopt a more clean and varied style with Cathedral though hints of that death grunt sound would be present in the band's earliest recordings.[1]

Dorrian is also the founder and owner of Rise Above Records, which has been active since 1988. Initially founded as a small label to release a handful of hardcore punk releases, would evolve into one of the key labels in the doom metal scene. Along with the label, Dorrian's voice would appear on two different albums with Napalm Death, ten with Cathedral and four among other projects such as Septic Tank, Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine and With The Dead.

Biography[]

Early Years and Napalm Death (1986 - 1989)[]

Dorrian was born in Coventry, England and has a long history as an anti-fascist activist. He was an anti-racist skinhead in his teens and received death threats from neo-Nazi skinheads and white supremacists. Dorrian also became a vegetarian at the age of 13, though often experimented with veganism as well. In a 2017 interview he stated that he has not eaten meat in 36 years.[2]

During his early teenage years, Dorrian was the editor of a local punk fanzine called Committed Suicide.[3] This led to him becoming a local punk promoter during the mid-late 80's, bringing bands such as B.G.K., Amebix, Antisect, Negazione, AntiCimex, Disorder, Bannlyst, Heresy, Icons of Filth, Anti System, Conflict, Concrete Sox, The Varukers and many others to various Coventry venues, such as the back room of The Hand & Heart public house on Far Gosford Street.[4] During this time he was a passionate animal rights activist and involved in various anarchist groups and demonstrations.[5] Dorrian cited among others Cal from Discharge and Sakevi Yokoyama from GISM as influences.[6]

In 1987 he became vocalist and lyricist with Napalm Death, recording one and a half albums with them, namely the second side of Scum and the whole From Enslavement to Obliteration album. During his time in the band, they were majorly championed by John Peel and recorded two sessions for his Radio One show. The band also made several significant TV appearances on BBC shows such as Snub TV, Arena and children's music show What's That Noise? They also appeared on the front cover of NME, which was the inspiration to the lyrics of a song "No Mental Effort".[7] This track appeared on Dorrian's final recording with Napalm Death, on the Mentally Murdered EP. To coincide with its release in 1989, friend Peel had helped to arrange a slot for them at Reading Festival. Unfortunately, the appearance had to be cancelled as Dorrian left the band due to disillusionment following their tour of Japan in July of that year.[8]

Dorrian has appeared on the British television show Never Mind the Buzzcocks as a guest in the line-up round. The round followed a short video segment of Dorrian performing with Napalm Death.[9]

Whilst still a member of Napalm Death, Dorrian founded his own record label, Rise Above Records in 1988. Initially intended as a means to get him off the dole, Rise Above was kick-started as part of the Enterprise Allowance Scheme. His main aim was to release a few hardcore punk 7" singles in extremely limited runs, just for fun.[10] However, the label went from strength to strength and is today one of the most revered underground independent record labels in existence. Some of the artists that Dorrian has introduced to the world via Rise Above Records include Orange Goblin, Electric Wizard, Witchcraft, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, Ghost, Blood Ceremony and many more.[11]

He presented an award to Napalm Death at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards 2007.[12]

Dorrian would make a guest appearance with Napalm Death on 21 June 2009 at Hellfest in Clisson, performing "Deceiver" and "You Suffer".[13][14]

Cathedral (1989 - 2013)[]

  • For more details, feel free to view the Riffipedia page on Cathedral.

In 1989, Lee Dorrian left Napalm Death because he was reportedly tiring of the punk scene and did not like the death metal direction which Napalm Death was taking. Cathedral was formed after Lee Dorrian and Mark Griffiths (a Carcass roadie) met and discussed their love for bands like Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Pentagram, Trouble, and Witchfinder General. The band was founded in 1989 by Dorrian, Griffiths and Garry Jennings (formerly of thrash metal band Acid Reign). Dorrian was the only founding member to remain with Cathedral for its duration, although Jennings' departure ultimately proved to be temporary. By 1990 the lineup had changed to Dorrian, Jennings, Lehan, Griffiths and drummer Ben Mochrie. The band would record a four-song demo entitled In Memorium, released in October of 1990. The band's first show took place on 12 October 1990 at the Stoker in Coventry, followed by an eleven-date tour of England alongside Saint Vitus (With one date in Scotland) and an appearance at Barnet Rock Festival. At some point going into 1991 the band would be signed by Earache Records.

The band toured, supporting Paradise Lost throughout the Netherlands, Belgium and England that spring with new drummer Mike Smail at the helm. The band would eventually record and release their debut album. Forest of Equilibrium was released via Earache on 9 December 1991 (Though in Europe it'd see release in 1992.) and has been since hailed as an essential doom album. The band would go into 1992 recording four more songs for an EP release and participate on the Gods of Grind and Campaign For Musical Destruction tours alongside a host of death metal bands, the latter of the two being the band's first American tour. The band would be offered a deal with Columbia Records much to the band's bewilderment as they closed out the year performing alongside doom bands such as The Obsessed, Saint Vitus and Trouble while working on new material.

1 February 1993 would see the release of the band's second studio album The Ethereal Mirror via Columbia and Earache, selling over 22,000 copies in the USA alone. This album took a drastic shift from the sound on Forest, evoking a nucleus of doom with elements of psychedelic rock, seventies hard rock, prog and even disco/funk. This alienated some fans who were accustomed to the borderline death/doom of the previous album. The band would tour with the likes of Sleep and Penance in Europe and Flotsam and Jetsam and Mercyful Fate for the North American leg of the tour. With Adam Lehan and Mark Wharton both leaving the band in 1994 this left the band in a place needing various musicians to fill in for an upcoming tour with Black Sabbath. The band would recruit Scott Carlson (Repulsion, Death) on bass along with Joe Hasselvander (Pentagram, Raven) on drums and Victor Griffin (Pentagram) as a second guitarist for the tour, though Barry Stern (Trouble) would fill in on some of the dates. Eventually the band would find their new rhythm section in Leo Smee and Brian Dixon as they entered the studio to begin work on their third studio album. 1994 would also see two EP releases with similar tracklists: Statik Majik (Europe, 5 April 1994) and Cosmic Requiem (30 August 1994), featuring leftovers from The Ethereal Mirror and the 22-minute multi-chapter piece "Voyage of the Homeless Sapien".

Touring Europe again with the likes of Kataklysm, Brutal Truth and Deicide would lead up to the release of the band's third album The Carnival Bizarre, released on Earache on 29 September 1995 to positive acclaim. With a blend of doom and hard rock, a guest spot by one Tony Iommi and a video for "Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)" solidified The Carnival Bizarre as one of Cathedral's penultimate releases, with Hopkins being a hit among fans. The band initially had an ill-fated tour with Trouble in the US before touring with Crowbar, Anathema and Paradise Lost in support of the record that fall. A standalone EP of Hopkins would see release the next year on 9 April 1996. The band spent that year touring Japan, Australia, the United States and Europe as the band released their fourth album Supernatural Birth Machine on 12 November 1996. The band would ease up the relentless touring in 1997 but still perform in Japan, Australia and the UK with Hawkwind and Arthur Brown. Cathedral would focus their efforts on their next record in the meantime.

By August 1998 the band would announce their next album in the form of Caravan Beyond Redemption, revealing their tracklist through their newly created webpage. Despite listing a 1999 release, the album was released on 6 December 1998 to positive reviews and using a Japanese Bonus Track ("Black Sunday") as the music video for the album. 1999 would lead to the band going on a world tour, beginning with the Cosmic Caravan with Orange Goblin before following with appearances in Ireland, Greece, Japan, Australia and the first three editions of a fresh new festival known as Roadburn. Cathedral's touring would slow in 2000 as the group focused their efforts on their next album.

Endtyme was released on 26 February 2001 to positive reviews. In a drastic departure from recent records the band returned to a grimy doom metal sound ala Forest of Equlibrium and even featured artwork by Stephen O'Malley (Sunn O)))) rather than mainstay Dave Patchett (Though he would contribute art to the Japanese edition of the album). A 7" single as part of Southern Lord Records' Seven Inches of Doom series entitled Gargoylian saw release on 13 March 2001. The band would support Endtyme on the live stage by touring the UK with Hangnail, touring Europe and Japan the next month and then embarking on a two month European tour with Entombed. By the end of the year, Cathedral would cut ties with Earache Records.

Having departed from Earache after nearly ten years on and off with the label, the band would sign to Dream Catcher. Closing out 2002 the band would tour the UK with Electric Wizard and perform at the Stoned Wizard Festival in France.[15] The VIIth Coming was released on 21 October 2002 to positive reviews, further following on the doomier, darker side of the band but with a more contrast in terms of song consistency. The band would tour Europe and the USA (Their last USA tour) in 2003 alongside black/gothic metal band Samael in support of the record. Not long after the band would sign to Nuclear Blast, ironically even hinting at it in a 2003 interview with Scott Crawford.[16] Cathedral signed with Nuclear Blast in July 2003.[17] The band would start work on their eighth album while touring Europe in support of HIM on a tour of Europe in 2004. On 21 June 2004 Earache Records would release The Serpent's Gold, a double-disc compilation featuring a best-of (The Serpent's Treasure) and a disc of unreleased songs (The Serpent's Chest) featuring demos, rarities and unreleased songs.

Now signed to Nuclear Blast, the band would release their eighth album The Garden of Unearthly Delights (Originally intended to be named as "Seeds of Decay" with a mostly different track list.)[18] to positive reviews. This album would mesh with doom, seventies rock and was topped off by the near 30-minute multigenre piece "The Garden", which the band actually performed live with Circulus as a backing act on on 14 October 2005 at The Camden Underworld.[19] In an interview with Chronicles of Chaos, Lee Dorrian would explain the process of the making of the album and state that "Cathedral aren't going to be around forever".[20]

A proposed tour with Candlemass and Grand Magus would be intended but ultimately called off.[21] However with Electric Wizard being added into the mix in place of Candlemass this tour would happen in 2006 as the Doomed Trinity. The band followed with a host of festival appearances[22], including Japan (Loud Park)[23] and Mexico (Monterrey Metal Fest)[24]. From there the band took what was billed as a "mental break" and the live performances would become sporadic over the next three years, namely appearances at Hard Rock Laager (Estonia, 2007), Damnation Festival (2008), Roadburn Festival (2009), HellFest (2009), Kolbetasonik (Spain, 2009), Legends of Chaos (Three Dates in Italy, 2009) and Wacken Open Air (2009). 2008 and 2009 would also see Earache reissues of The Carnival Bizarre[25], Forest of Equlibrium[26] and The Ethereal Mirror[27]. The Carnival Bizarre would contain Our God Has Landed as a bonus while the latter two records reissued in that order featured EP tracks and original documentaries on their respective albums as bonuses.

On 28 October 2009, Cathedral would announce they were set to release their ninth studio album, working again with producer Warren Riker.[28] Details would later reveal this new release would actually be a 13-track double album.[29] The Guessing Game would be released on on 26 March 2010 to positive reception, proving to be one of Cathedral's most eclectic and exotic efforts with sounds ranging from prog, psych, hard rock, doom and more. The band would tour the UK and Ireland with The Gates of Slumber and Church of Misery and later Europe (Again with The Gates of Slumber) as a whole that year. On 3 December 2010, Cathedral would perform a 20th Anniversary show with two sets: A set with the original lineup performing Forest of Equilibrium in it's entirety and a second set with the current lineup performing a career-spanning set.[30]

On 6 February 2011, Cathedral would announce they were to make their "retirement" from the scene, with their final shows set for that year and to record their final studio album in 2012.[31] Leo Smee would also depart from the group and be replaced by Scott Carlson as the band's bassist. Cathedral would essentially embark on a worldwide farewell tour. This would build up to Cathedral's final show at the CMV Forum in London on 3 December 2011 alongside Gentlemans Pistols, Grand Magus and Comus. Despite being billed in their home country as their final show, the band would perform seven more shows in Australia as part of the Soundwave touring festival. Cathedral's last live performance was on 5 March 2012 at the Claremont Showgrounds in Perth, Western Australia.

Observing this final album as a planned funeral for the band, Cathedral was free to record and finish the album throughout 2012 on their own terms. To further bring things full circle Cathedral opted to release the album on Dorrian's label Rise Above Records, the same label that would reissue the band's first demo. A flexi for album outtake Vengeance of The Blind Dead was released in the February 2013 issue of Decibel. The Last Spire was released on 29 April 2013 to significant praise for the band's return to their doomed roots ala Forest and evoking a dark epitaph for the band, devoid of anything resembling a happy ending.

Other Projects[]

Septic Tank would originally form in 1994 with the lineup of Dorrian, Gaz Jennings, Scott Carlson and Barry Stern (Trouble) whom were touring with Black Sabbath at the time. However the project would only be a concept and then shelved up to the announcement of Cathedral breaking up. The project would re-form in 2012 with drummer Jaime Gomez Arellano, conceptualizing a mix of hardcore and death metal with social and ecological themes. An eponymous EP would be released on 3 May 2013 to coincide with a gig supporting Repulsion and Necrophagia in London, England. The project would record nineteen songs a few years later, ultimately releasing Rotting Civilisation circa 13 April 2018 via Rise Above Records.

Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine were a one-off drone/doom collaborative project formed in late 2000. The project featured Greg Anderson (Sunn O))), Goatsnake, etc.), Stephen O' Malley (Sunn O))), Khanate, etc.), Justin Greaves (Iron Monkey, Electric Wizard, Crippled Black Phoenix) and Lee Dorrian (Cathedral, Napalm Death, With The Dead).

The project was founded when Stephen O'Malley was touring with Sunn O))) alongside Goatsnake and met Justin Greaves, expressing interest in a project that would be in a similar vein to early Melvins. The band even reached out to Mark Deutrom for their bassist but ultimately was unavailable. Not long after the band evolved into more of a drone project with drums. The band jammed as an instrumental trio with Marvin Gauntlett and performed live once in this incarnation at The Old Angel in Nottingham. Soon after Greg Anderson, who happened to be in England at the time, joined on bass with Lee Dorrian on vocals soon following. This lineup composed an album entitled Rampton, released in 2002 on Southern Lord and Rise Above Records. Rampton featured two original songs and a cover of "New Pants and Shirt" by Killdozer along with featuring an emphasis on drums working around the drones, something Sunn O))) would rarely ever utilize. Notably, the title of the band's name originates from a song by the band Earth and a track on Earth 2 - Special Low Frequency Version. The album's title references a mental hospital in Coventry.

Dorrian would be one of twelve vocalists to contribute to Dave Grohl's metal concept album Probot, released on 10 February 2004 via Southern Lord Records.

With The Dead would be foudned on 31st October 2014. The band started out as a collaboration between Dorrian along with well known doom musicians Mark Greening and Tim Bagshaw, both of whom previously had performed with Electric Wizard and Ramesses. Mark Greening presented to Lee Dorrian recordings with interest in forming a new band and releasing it on Rise Above Records, at one point Greening himself even intended to be the vocalist for this project.[32] Initially the intent was to make an EP but Dorrian declined in favor of it being an album. At some point during the sessions Tim Bagshaw had visited the United Kingdom to help with the recordings and Lee Dorrian was approached to join as vocalist to which he accepted. The recording sessions for the album would follow in March of 2015.[33] With the Dead's self-titled debut was released nearly a year after their formation on 16 October 2015 via Rise Above Records.

On 28th January, the band uploaded changed the information and cover photo displayed on their Facebook account, confirming that Alex Thomas (ex-Bolt Thrower) would replace Greening on drums, with Leo Smee (ex-Cathedral) also joining the band on bass in light of performances in the UK and at Roadburn Festival, along with several selected Festival dates.

In November of 2016, the band announced a second album was in the works, set for release in 2017. On 30 March 2017 the band released a new track entitled Vessel of Solitude for the 2017 May issue of the Decibel Magazine's Flexi Series though the song will not be on the forthcoming album.[34] On 13 July 2017 the band would announce a tracklist and album cover for their second studio album: Love from With The Dead. The album is set to be released on 22 September 2017.[35] The band would announce a small handful of live performances in the UK, Finland and The United States in the summer of 2018. On 9 July 2018 it would be announced in an update from the crypt that Darren Verni (Unearthly Trance, Serpentine Path) would be taking over on the drums for the band's 2018 live performances.[36]

Bands[]

Discography[]

With Napalm Death (Selected Dicography)[]

  • Scum (Studio Album; Tracks 12 - 28) (1987, Earache)
  • The Peel Sessions (Live Album) (1987, Strange Fruit)
  • From Enslavement to Obliteration (Studio Album) (1988, Earache)
  • The Curse (Single) (1988, Earache)
  • Napalm Death / S.O.B. (Split with S.O.B.) (1989, Sound of Burial)
  • Live EP (Live EP) (1989, Rise Above Records)
  • Mentally Murdered (Single) (1989, Earache Records)
  • Death By Manipulation (Compilation; Tracks 8 - 19) (1991, Earache)
  • Noise For Music's Sake (Compilation; Selected Tracks) (2003, Earache)

With Cathedral (Selected Discography)[]

Other Releases and Guest Appearances[]

  • S.O.B. - Thrash Night (EP; Backing Vocals Throughout) (1989, Rise Above Records)
  • Paul Chain - Alkahest (Studio Album; Backing Vocals on Track 3; Lead Vocals and Lyrics on tracks 6 - 9) (1995, Godhead Recordings)
  • Paradise Lost - Symbol of Life (Studio Album; Vocals on "Erased") (2002, Supersonic)
  • Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine - Rampton (Studio Album) (2002, Rise Above Records/Southern Lord Records)
  • Probot (Studio Album; Vocals on "Ice Cold Man") (2004, Southern Lord Records)
  • To Separate the Flesh from the Bones - Utopia Sadistica (Studio Album; Vocals on "The Rot") (2004, Spikefarm)
  • Septic Tank - Septic Tank (EP) (2013, MCR Company)
  • With The Dead - With The Dead (Studio Album) (2015, Rise Above Records)
  • With The Dead - Vessel of Solitude (Flexi Single) (2017, Decibel Magazine)
  • With The Dead - Love From With The Dead (Studio Album) (2017, Rise Above Records)
  • Septic Tank - Rotting Civilisation (Studio Album) (2018, Rise Above Records)
  • Septic Tank - Burning Bridges (Flexi Single) (2018, Decibel Magazine)

External Links[]

References[]

V·T·E Cathedral
Final Lineup Lee DorrianGaz JenningsBrian DixonScott Carlson
Selected Past Members Mark GriffithsAdam LehanMike SmailMark Ramsey WhartonLeo SmeeVictor GriffinJoe HasselvanderBarry Stern
Studio Albums Forest of EquilibriumThe Ethereal MirrorThe Carnival BizarreSupernatural Birth MachineCaravan Beyond RedemptionEndtymeThe VIIth ComingThe Garden of Unearthly DelightsThe Guessing GameThe Last Spire
Extended Plays In MemoriamSoul SacrificeTwylight SongsStatik MajikHopkins (The Witchfinder General)GargoylianA New Ice Age
Other Releases Our God Has LandedThe Serpent's GoldAnniversaryHappy Fucking Birthday
Selected Associated Bands, Etc. Rise Above RecordsDave PatchettTeeth of Lions Rule the DivineFirebirdPenanceDeath PenaltyThe SkullWorkshedWith The DeadSeptic TankLucifer • Napalm Death • Repulsion • Acid Reign • Chrome Hoof
V·T·E With The Dead
Current Members Lee DorrianTim BagshawLeo SmeeDarren Verni
Past Members Mark GreeningAlex Thomas
Releases With The DeadVessel of SolitudeLove from With The Dead
Associated Bands and Artists CathedralElectric WizardRamesses11ParanoiasSerpentine PathDead WitchesUnearthly Trance • Bolt Thrower
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