Blue Oyster Cult are an iconic band. A hard rock ‘metal’ band before Metallica, before Motley Crue, even before the New Wave of British Metal. Like Thin Lizzy, Rainbow and Hawkwind, even Rush, they set the roots down.
That said, they have always had the reputation for being cerebral. In part to Alan Lanier’s relationship with Patti Smith, who would make significant contributions to the band, not to mention working with Jim Carroll, Richard Meltzer, Ian Hunter and even sci-fi writers Michael Moorcock and John Shirley. Not to mention Superfan Mike Watt and followers like Royal Trux and the Hoodoo Gurus
I got into the band from three angles- friends who were fans of the band, the obvious radio singles, and most of all, seeing the band live.
I dug into them, and I dug them. It was a nice diversion as I binged their records. I even picked up their last proper album Curse of the Hidden Mirror which is now 20 years old. It’s actually a quite good album though also quite forgettable as well.
So the new album comes with some expectations. We have seen a few late career resurgences and no reason why BOC wouldn’t have one. Although they have not been in the studio for awhile, they have stayed busy and for the diehard, there are a bunch of things to pick up including three live albums released last year.
The core of the band (Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom) are intact. Allen Lanier and producer Sandy Pearlman have passed. The supporting cast here all have at least 15 years with the band. Even drummer Albert Bouchard shows up on the opening track. John Shirley returns as lyricist for a few songs- including both of my favorites listed below.
This album will go down as a triumph. It will undoubtedly find an audience with the bands fans as well as fans of the genre- a group that is sizable and not always accounted for in the charts.
The question might be- what does a fan of the first three albums - think of it. Well, it certainly is a good album.
That said, one can definitely tell that this particular version of the band has listened to Metallica and Iron Maiden.
The album opens with That Was Me and although at various spots in the album reference different moments in their career, it always comes back to a certain anthemic crunch.
Like their contemporary Alice Cooper, you can’t really blame them for embracing their Metal side and no doubt, that should be pleasing to most.
For me, it works best when they go a bit off from that. Nightmare Epiphany is probably closest the band gets to something ground breaking. Florida Man is a cheesy title (there are a few clunker of lyrical ideas all about, though the band generally pulls them off) but a pretty fantastic song. It’s got a lot of the same ingredients that power Burnin For You.
Overall, not a bad album at all, just a bit out of my tastes. At 14 songs, you can probably complain that it could be pared as well. Here’s to BOC though for carrying on.
For the most of diehard fans, Eric Bouchard also has a solo record out now. It’s not my cup of tea, but should be checked out for fans of the genre.
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