Cathedral were one of the great lost treasures of American progressive rock — a Long Island band whose sole 1970s album, “Stained Glass Stories”, has become a revered cult classic of symphonic prog. Drenched in Mellotron and built on dazzling, complex musicianship, it arrived in 1978, just as prog was falling from fashion — and went on to inspire a whole later generation of symphonic revivalists. Few American prog albums are so treasured.

The short version

Formed in the mid-1970s on New York’s Long Island, Cathedral played ambitious, Mellotron-rich symphonic progressive rock in the tradition of Yes, King Crimson and Genesis. Their one and only album of the era, “Stained Glass Stories” (1978), is widely regarded as one of the finest American prog records ever made — a complex, majestic work that became a sought-after collector’s item and a key influence on later symphonic bands. A cult classic in every sense.

Long Island: out of Odyssey

Cathedral grew out of the Long Island progressive band Odyssey, which had played the local scene since the 1960s. When Odyssey broke up in the mid-1970s, bassist Fred Callan and keyboardist Tom Doncourt set out to continue what they’d begun, forming Cathedral with guitarist Rudy Perrone. With the arrival of vocalist Paul Seal and drummer Mercury Caronia, the classic line-up was complete. Unusually for a club band, they insisted on playing their own original material, touring the Long Island circuit with an ambitious, Yes- and Crimson-inspired sound that Doncourt described as “majestic”. In 1978 they recorded “Stained Glass Stories” for the small independent Delta Records.

Mellotron-drenched symphonic prog

Cathedral’s music was rich, complex and unmistakably symphonic. At its heart was Tom Doncourt’s Mellotron — layered thick with strings and a distinctive, sharp-attack choir that became the band’s signature sound — alongside Fred Callan’s powerful, Chris-Squire-style Rickenbacker bass, mixed right up front. Rudy Perrone’s guitar moved between Steve Howe-like leads and delicate acoustic passages, while Mercury Caronia’s intricate drumming and Paul Seal’s theatrical vocals completed the picture. Drawing deeply on Yes, King Crimson, Genesis and Gentle Giant, they built ever-shifting, demanding compositions full of sudden turns — so much so that the Swedish band Änglagård would later cite them as a direct inspiration.

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The album

“Stained Glass Stories” (1978) was Cathedral’s only album of their original run, and one of the crowning achievements of American symphonic prog. Across five tracks — from the twelve-minute opener “Introspect” to the epic closer “The Search” — it moves between towering Mellotron grandeur, complex instrumental interplay and moments of delicate beauty. Released independently in a small pressing just as prog was falling out of favour, it slipped into obscurity before being rediscovered and reissued years later, becoming a treasured collector’s item and, for many, one of the very best prog albums the United States ever produced. Tap through for the full guide.

The players and afterwards

Cathedral were vocalist Paul Seal, guitarist Rudy Perrone, keyboardist Tom Doncourt, bassist Fred Callan and drummer Mercury Caronia — the line-up that made “Stained Glass Stories” before the band wound down at the end of the 1970s. Doncourt and Perrone went on to other projects, and decades later, in 2007, the band reunited for a long-belated second album, “The Bridge”. Tom Doncourt, whose distinctive Mellotron work was so central to their sound, died in 2019, having continued to compose adventurous music to the very end. The album they made together back in 1978, though, remains their enduring legacy.

Where to start

With only one album from their original era, the choice could hardly be simpler: “Stained Glass Stories” (1978) is the essential Cathedral record, and one of the defining albums of American symphonic prog. Complex and rewarding, it asks for patience — but few late-1970s prog albums repay it so richly.

Why they still matter

Cathedral matter as one of the finest and most fondly remembered bands of American progressive rock — proof that, even as prog faded elsewhere, a small group on Long Island could create something as ambitious and beautiful as anything from the genre’s golden age. “Stained Glass Stories” stands today as a cult landmark, an inspiration to the symphonic revival that followed, and a reminder of just how much great prog was made far from its British heartland. For anyone exploring American prog, it is essential listening.

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