CULTÖSAURUS ERECTUS

"Cultosaurus Erectus" was Blue Oyster Cult's 7th album. Released in 1980, it followed the very slick and polished album "Mirrors" which saw the band take a backward step towards strict commercialism. However, this album saw a return of BOC to their previous sound, which was a quick save for the band. Even with the more lackluster Mirrors album, after the release of Cultosaurus, the band continued to fill up the stadiums, and this album definitely helped to continue BOC's staying power. The first side of the album was much more progressive while the 2nd side leans toward the heavy rock anthems that the crowds were demanding, but there were really no big hits off of this album.

Starting with the amazing "Black Blade", we hear BOC at their progressive best. The track tells the story of one of Michael Moorcock's most famous characters Elric of Meinibone and his black sword Stormbringer. The lyrics are written from the point of view of the main character and boasts a track written in the style of a suite, with several main melodies, meter changes and styles. The track is one of the band's best and shows off their talents in a big way. "Monsters" continues this style with a track that also changes meter and style throughout, and this one-two punch of great album openers had the fans and the prog-heads excited.

The next track was a bit of a surprise, because it was the first time BOC had a flat out hard rocking blues track with a beat that sounded more like something from Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin than it did BOC, but that was okay because the band got to prove that they deserved to be in the same class. After this, the album starts to sound more like the heavy rock sound of "Agents of Fortune" and "Spectres" with the heavy yet melodic tracks "Deadline", and "The Marshall Plan". Then "Hungry Boys", "Fallen Angel" and "Lips in the Hills" all have infectious rhythms and strong guitar and keyboard riffs that get into your head and stay there, the sound the public loved and demanded, and what they were famous for, giving their own unique brand of heavy rock that no one else seemed to be able to copy. The last track "Unknown Tongue" however, seems to follow the same rut that the band always falls into, most of their last tracks on their albums are quite weak, and this one also follows that pattern. However, with the liveliness returning and their memorable riffs and themes, the band came back to life with this album.

Maybe they might not be the heaviest metal band out there, and they may not also be the most progressive all the time, but I still love this band. They were always unique, a little off kilter, and the songs always tended to get stuck in your head. I always loved their strange darkness that was present in their lyrics, yet their music was catchy nonetheless. I remember being elated when this album came out, and they returned to their unpolished sound again, because that was always when they were at their best.