BLUE ÖYSTER CULT

''BÖC'' was know as a hard / heavy rock band in the early seventies. I will discover many years later ( in '76), their huge influence on some great bands on the New York new wave/ punk scene which I have praised quite a bunch.

I was of course surprised to discover them available for review on PA. But if such is the possibility, I will take advantage to describe their music as faithfully as I can. Needless to say that this album holds a bunch of psychedelia feeling (''Before The Kiss''). Just listen to the gorgeous ''Then Came the Last Days of May'' to fall under the charm.

The mood of this album is rather dark and obsessional (''Screams'', ''She's As Beautiful As A Foot''). The only ''heavy'' feeling is provided by a famous bass play but it is not really invading this album which is more mainstream rock oriented.

There is a permanent care of mixing some fine vocal harmonies and hypnotic music. This combination is quite effective I should say. The tone is of course different with ''Cities.'' which is frankly heading in the heavy territories. But that's what this band is all about, right?

All songs are shortly formatted and several of them sound quite outdated. When compared to other hard/heavy rock giants, this debut falls shy IMO. It is pleasant, but mostly interesting for what it will convey throughout not only the Cult's career, but also to the hordes of metal and heavy bands which will deeply be influenced by BÖC.

Several bonus tracks were added on the CD release. Nothing revolutionary but ''Donavan's Monkey'' is quite ''Velvet Underground'' oriented and some premises of the NY Dolls can definitely be heard. The rock'n'roll revival ''Betty Lou..'' is also fun to listen to.

Three stars.