Hear New John Carpenter Track “Lord of the Underground” from ‘Cathedral’ Album

John Carpenter and his bandmates Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies just released a brand new song from the upcoming Cathedral graphic novel soundtrack, and you can hear “Lord of the Underground” right now.

Set for release in August via Storm King Productions, Cathedral is Carpenter’s highly anticipated first original graphic novel, co-written with acclaimed producer and editor Sandy King and writer Sean Sobczak, illustrated by renowned artists Federico De Luca and Luis Guaragna, colored by Ryan Winn, and lettered by Marshall Dillon.

The middle of downtown Los Angeles sets the scene for John Carpenter’s Cathedral where an abandoned cathedral stands, fenced in and ignored by the world around it. The preoccupied passers-by have long since ceased to notice the dilapidated church 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 church revealing the mystery of an ancient evil imprisoned within.

“I saw it in a dream: a nightmare landscape deep underground filled with monsters too weird and sinister to exist in daylight,” says John Carpenter. “I knew instantly I had to get these things out of my head and into everyone else’s brains.”
Cathedral will be available on August 4, in bookstores and online, and the album will be released on August 7.

The graphic novel release will be accompanied by the album Cathedral, and today brings our fist taste with the song “Lord of the Underground”.

Designed as a fully immersive project, Cathedral functions as both soundtrack and narrative engine: each track aligns with a chapter of the graphic novel, with liner notes guiding listeners through the story. As a result the story unfurls like a film and is certainly the closest approximation to a new movie from Carpenter since 2010. “It was so cinematic and vivid,” Carpenter says of the dream that inspired the story. “I thought, ‘I have to score this.’ It’s kind of our first heavy metal album.”

Inspired by a vividly cinematic dream he had in 2024, the story centers on an abandoned church in downtown Los Angeles that shifts from a forgotten building to the site of a waking nightmare. After the killing of a police officer draws attention to the long-ignored cathedral, Lieutenant Christine Marks and detectives Paul Hernandez and Steve Mayfield are pulled into an investigation that leads them deep into its catacombs and toward a centuries-old evil imprisoned within. Both the album and graphic novel are previewed today with the release of “Lord of the Underground,” accompanied by a visual that features animated versions of illustrations from the book.

“The story informed everything,” says longtime musical collaborator Daniel Davies of the album. “John would describe a scene and say, ‘We need a heavy riff here.’ We didn’t set out to make a metal record, but it evolved that way.” Carpenter is joined by Davies and Cody Carpenter, continuing a partnership that spans the Lost Themes album series, the recent Halloween films, and multiple reworkings of Carpenter’s classic scores. On Cathedral, the trio leans into a heavier, more aggressive palette without losing the tension and atmosphere that define Carpenter’s sound.

Whereas the Lost Themes albums were written as scores to movies of the mind, Cathedral scores the first original graphic novel written by Carpenter, in collaboration with his wife and long-time creative partner, producer and editor Sandy King, and writer Sean Sobczak, fleshed out by illustrators Federico De Luca and Luis Guaragna, colored by Sian Mandrake, and lettered by Marshall Dillon. Fans can get a first peek of its look via the visualizer for “Lord Of The Underground” out today and its first chapter, as featured in John Carpenter’s anthology Tales For A HalloweeNight Vol 11.

While the Cathedral album was crafted 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.”

You can listen to “Lord of the Underground” and watch the official visualizer below.

Related: [Interview] Daniel Davies Talks ‘Lost Themes IV’, ‘Halloween’, New Music, and More

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