John Carpenter has announced “Cathedral”, a double project that combines album and graphic novel and that reunites him with his usual collaborators Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies.
The work will be published as a crossover release: the album will be released on August 7, 2026 via Sacred Boneswhile the graphic novel will arrive on August 4 via Storm King Comics. Both formats are part of the same audiovisual narrative, where each song on the album functions as a chapter in the story.
The first preview now available is the single “Lord of the Underground”, accompanied by a visualizer with illustrations from the novel. According to Carpenter, the project was born from a very vivid dream and has been developed as a kind of “sound film”, with a heavier and closer to metal approach than his previous works, while maintaining his characteristic atmospheric sound. The song shows the most metal side of Carpenter and his team.
The story of “Cathedral” is set in an abandoned church in Los Angeles that becomes the epicenter of a supernatural mystery when a police investigation descends into its catacombs and awakens an ancient entity.
The project continues Carpenter’s line of musical exploration after his albums “Lost Themes”but here he takes another step towards the hybrid format between film, comic and concept album, reinforcing his idea of creating “movies in the listener’s mind.”
