BLUE ÖYSTER CULT

On the verge of the release of their eponimous debut album, it's told that Allen Lanier added the umlaut to the last version of the band's name. After Stalk Forest Group and Soft White Underbelly and a pair of demos for Elektra, they decided to name themselves as the Blue Öyster Cult and were signed to Columbia, helped by visionary and messianic visions of Richard Meltzer and Sandy Pearlman who really gave an important contribution in build up the litterature-conspirational atmosphere in their lyrics.

The hook-and-cross boys released then a strong debut album, featuring many classics as the Buck Dharma's aggressive piece "Cities on Flame (With Rock and Roll), rich of dark imagery and crying loud guitars; the fetishesque theme on "Before the Kiss, A Redcap" and "She's As Beautiful As a Foot"; the sad "Then Came the Last Days of May" ("...they couldn't know they weren't going far...").

The sound is obviously rougher than that of the following releases, less keyboards and less gentle arrengements. All in all, it remains one of their best works, I think, since the genuine sound and the freshness of compositions. All their typical elements are here.

Many fans of the heavy and prog metal may find the roots of their favourite genre. An important album, enriched by the interesting bonus tracks on the Sony-Legacy remaster, the old demo recordings for Elektra records, never published before.

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