John Carpenter Reveals Heavy New ‘Cathedral’ Album and Graphic Novel

John Carpenter is returning to horror storytelling this summer with Cathedral, an ambitious multimedia project combining a new album and the filmmaker’s first original graphic novel.

The legendary director and composer announced that Cathedral will release as both an album through Sacred Bones Records on 7 August and a graphic novel via Storm King Comics on 4 August. The project has launched alongside the debut single “Lord Of The Underground”, accompanied by an animated visualiser featuring artwork from the forthcoming book.

Created with Carpenter’s longtime collaborators Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, the album is designed to function in tandem with the graphic novel, with each track corresponding to chapters within the story. According to Carpenter, the concept emerged from a vivid dream he experienced in 2024 which eventually evolved into both a supernatural mystery and a full musical work.

Set in downtown Los Angeles, Cathedral centres on an abandoned church linked to a buried evil hidden beneath the city. The story follows Lieutenant Christine Marks alongside detectives Paul Hernandez and Steve Mayfield after the killing of a police officer draws renewed attention to the long-forgotten building and its underground catacombs.

Carpenter described the project as one of his most cinematic musical undertakings to date, while collaborator Daniel Davies noted that the material gradually developed a heavier sound during production. Davies explained that scenes and imagery from the story directly informed the music, with Carpenter frequently shaping tracks around specific moments within the plot.

The project marks Carpenter’s first original graphic novel following decades of work across cinema and television. He developed the story alongside producer and longtime creative partner Sandy King, with writer Sean Sobczak contributing to the book. Artwork comes from illustrators Federico De Luca and Luis Guaragna, with colours by Sian Mandrake and lettering by Marshall Dillon.

The release continues Carpenter’s increasingly active music career, which expanded significantly after the launch of Lost Themes in 2014. Since then, Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Davies have collaborated on multiple albums and contributed music to the recent Halloween trilogy.

Carpenter remains one of horror cinema’s defining figures, with directing credits including Halloween, The Thing, The Fog, Prince of Darkness, Christine, They Live and In The Mouth Of Madness. While he has largely stepped away from directing features in recent years, his music work has continued steadily alongside appearances at live performances and festival events.

The newly released “Lord Of The Underground” offers the first glimpse into the atmosphere of Cathedral, blending distorted guitar work with Carpenter’s trademark synthesiser-driven tension.

Cathedral the graphic novel releases on 4 August, followed by the album on 7 August 2026.

To pre-oder the soundtrack, visit: johncarpenter.lnk.to/Cathedral

To pre-order the graphic novel, visit: johncarpenterscathedral.com/

Listen to Lord of the Underground