The Master of Horror is back, and this time, he’s trading the director’s chair for a comic book script and a heavy metal guitar riff. John Carpenter has officially announced Cathedral, a massive multimedia project featuring a brand-new studio album releasing this August on Sacred Bones Records, perfectly paired with his first-ever graphic novel dropping August 4 via Storm King Comics.
To kick things off, Carpenter and his longtime musical partners-in-crime have unleashed the project’s roaring first single, “Lord Of The Underground,” available to stream right now alongside a gorgeously grim animated visualizer.
A Movie For Your Eyes and Ears
If you’ve been dying for a new John Carpenter flick (his last traditional feature film was back in 2010), Cathedral is the closest thing you’re going to get. Inspired by a vivid nightmare Carpenter had in 2024, the album isn’t just a collection of cool synth tracks—it is a literal, track-by-track soundtrack to the graphic novel. Each song corresponds to a specific chapter, complete with liner notes to guide your descent into madness.
“It was so cinematic and vivid,” Carpenter says of the dream that started it all. “I thought, ‘I have to score this.’ It’s kind of our first heavy metal album.”
Don’t Go Into the Basement
Set in an abandoned church in downtown Los Angeles, the story kicks off when the murder of a police officer draws a team of detectives—Lieutenant Christine Marks, Paul Hernandez, and Steve Mayfield—into the long-ignored Cathedral. Naturally, because this is a John Carpenter story, their investigation leads them straight into the catacombs, where a centuries-old evil is waiting to punch its timecard.
The Band: Heavy Riffs and Dark Synths
To bring this nightmare to life, Carpenter teamed up with his son Cody Carpenter (synths) and godson Daniel Davies (guitar)—the exact trio behind the Lost Themes series and the recent Halloween trilogy scores.
Standalone Synths
While the album was meticulously engineered to be blasted while turning the comic’s pages, Carpenter insists the music kicks ass all on its own. “That’s first and foremost,” the director says. “Put this thing on and imagine you’re watching a movie. That’s what we want you to do.”
Get your first look and listen by checking out the “Lord Of The Underground” visualizer today. Both the album and graphic novel are available to pre-save and pre-order right now, ahead of the August 7 release.
