John Carpenter, the horror maestro who brought us classics such as Halloween (1978) and The Thing (1982), hasn’t made a movie since 2010’s The Ward. Now 78 years old, it appears the director has retired from filmmaking. Since that time, however, Carpenter has begun a second career as a musician. This shift should come as no surprise for Carpenter fans as he scored his early films, including the iconic chilling piano motif that soundtracks the Halloween franchise. 

Since 2015, Carpenter has released a quartet of “Lost Themes” albums on Sacred Bones, a series of collaborations with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies that sound like music looking for a good film to score. Now, Carpenter has released Cathedral, another collection of darkly evocative music that works in tandem with a graphic novel the musician has published under the same name.

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Based on a nightmare that has haunted him, Carpenter intends for the graphic novel and album to be consumed at the same time. “It was so cinematic and vivid,” he said about the dream that involves a series of murders tied to an old church. “I thought, ‘I have to score this.’” 

The music is what you’d expect from Carpenter: sinuous synth lines, atmospheric electronics, and good use of negative space. This time, however, Carpenter goes heavier with the guitars. “It’s kind of our first heavy metal album,” he said. The idea of soundtracking a graphic novel is an interesting one, and when enjoyed together, Cathedral can be an immersive experience. On its own, the album often feels like a lost theme, and at times an incomplete statement.

Like much of Carpenter’s soundtrack work, Cathedral possesses a distinct sound. Even when the director brought in the legendary Ennio Morricone to score The Thing, the veteran musician came up with something that sounded like Carpenter had written it. Since this album leans more heavily on the electric guitar, some of it sounds like the soundtrack work of Goblin, who frequently collaborated with Dario Argento on films like Deep Red and Suspiria.

Working again with Cody on keys and Davies on guitar, Carpenter seems to have dialed in a post-film career in music. Yes, Cathedral is a deeply haunting record and rather than dream up a horror story to accompany it, Carpenter has given us a portal to his nightmares with the graphic novel. Still, it may be difficult not to return to the Halloween soundtrack after giving this a listen. Everything else pales in comparison.

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