It was voted the eighth best album of the year in the Metal Hammer Magazine Critics Poll of 2010.
Describing the album as Cathedral's "magnum opus", Phil Freeman wrote for Allmusic that The Guessing Game offered the "most psychedelic, progressive material in the band's entire catalog". Writing in The Guardian, Jamie Thomson praised the "fine balance between their monolithic guitar groove and a more heady blend of prog, folk, psychedelia and even the occasional burst of Bonzo Dog Band-style jazz whimsy...these sparkling sojourns to the outer fringes of 70s rock would cheer even the most jaded metaller. Doom has rarely sounded so joyous". Viewing The Guessing Game as embodying an "unprecedented level of indulgence", The Quietus' Noel Gardner suggested that it serves as "a landmark Cathedral release" and "an ideal starting point to ease a Cathedral ignoramus into the band's self-contained world". Noting the frequency with which the double-album format suffers from bloat, Invisible Oranges' Chris Rowella praised Cathedral for coming "damned...close" to perfecting the model. Describing The Guessing Game as Cathedral's "pinnacle of...experimentation", Popmatters' Chris Colgan suggested that the album provides insight into Cathedral's diverse influences.
However, not all critics wrote favourably about the album. George Pacheco wrote for About.com that The Guessing Game is a "confounding conundrum of an album...both forward-thinking and stagnant-sounding at the same time". Pacheco identified "an overwrought sense of daring" as a key concern, which left the album "fractured and flawed".
Release dates:
- March 26th (Europe)
- April 20th (America)
Recording information:
Recorded at Chapel Studios, South Thoresby, Lincolnshire, November 2009.
Mastered at Maor Appelbaum Mastering, California, U.S.A.
Pre-production at OTR Studios, London.
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