Cathedral Is John Carpenter’s First Graphic Novel and His Heaviest Album Yet

John Carpenter announces Cathedral, an album due August 7 on Sacred Bones Records, recorded with Cody Carpenter (synths) and Daniel Davies (guitar). The release coincides with Carpenter’s first graphic novel, also titled Cathedral, out August 4 via Storm King Comics.

Title: Cathedral
Artist: John Carpenter
Release Date: 2026-08-07
Genres: Darkwave, Heavy Metal
Description: John Carpenter's Cathedral album (Sacred Bones, Aug 7) and graphic novel (Storm King Comics, Aug 4) arrive together in 2026. First single out now.

Featured image: Cody Carpenter, John Carpenter, Daniel Davies. Photo credit Sophie Gransard

The project began with a dream Carpenter had in 2024. “It was so cinematic and vivid,” he says. “I thought, ‘I have to score this.’ It’s kind of our first heavy metal album.” The story is set in an abandoned church in downtown Los Angeles. After the killing of a police officer draws attention to the building, Lieutenant Christine Marks and detectives Paul Hernandez and Steve Mayfield investigate a series of events that pull them into the church’s catacombs and toward what the narrative describes as a centuries-old evil.

Each track on the album corresponds to a chapter of the graphic novel, with liner notes intended to guide listeners through the story. The graphic novel was written by Carpenter with his wife and producing partner Sandy King and writer Sean Sobczak; illustrations are by Federico De Luca and Luis Guaragna, with color by Sian Mandrake and lettering by Marshall Dillon. A preview of the first chapter appeared in John Carpenter’s Tales For A HalloweeNight Vol. 11.

The trio released “Lord of the Underground” as the first single, accompanied by a visual using animated illustrations from the book. Davies describes how the heavier direction developed: “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 has been explicit that the album is designed to function independently of the graphic novel. “That’s first and foremost,” he says. “It’s all about making the music work.”

The Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Davies collaboration extends back through the Lost Themes series and the recent Halloween films. Carpenter released his first non-soundtrack album, Lost Themes, in 2014. He was born in Carthage, New York, raised in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and lives in Hollywood.

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