SECRET TREATIES

After a good debut and a decent follow-up BOC released their third album that I think still remains one of their best. For me it was the second that I have bought after the debut so I'm used to think to it as to the follow.up to the debut.

Effectively I think this is more similar to the debut than Tyranny and Mutations. "Career of Evil" is a slow-rock song. I'm a Patti Smith fan and as many probably know she had a relation with the keyboardist Allan Lanier and has also guested on Agents of Fortune. I think that the influence of BOC to Patti Smith's music is evident and this song reminds me to her a lot.

"Subhuman" starts when the previous ends. Also on the vinyl the two tracks are almost gapless. It's a dark bluesy song. I think that who was calling them the American Black Sabbath was not wrong. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath has a similar musical mood.

Then it comes my favorite track. "Domninance and Submission" is the first truly Rock song: speed tempo, good vocals, non-trivial chords, changes in signature and most of all the exciting coda with the background singers growing up with "Dominance" and Eric Bloom crying "Submission" each time more desperate and the final guitar solo

"ME 262" Starts as a Rock and Roll song, well, it's a rock and roll song, effectively. But it has something more inside. The falling bombs, the noises and the guitar sounding like a war siren are not just "rock and roll".

Side B now..."Cagey Cretins" is in advance with the times. It's a sort of proto-punk song. Like if the Ramones were able to play an instrument....(I don't say they weren't, they were just very able to hide their skills behind their punk). However it's also a respectable heavy metal track.

"Harvester Of Eyes" has again a dominant rock and roll flavor but it's a dark and sometimes grotesque song. The fact that all the songs can be played with no gaps should be appealing to proggers. Excellent guitar riff.

"Flaming Telepaths" is the darkest song of the album. And one of the best. "Poisons in my bloodstream.." It's a prelude to the kind of songs that BOC will release later. I think to Agents of Fortune. On this song Lanier and Buck Dharma Roeser make an excellent job.

On the sudden end of the previous track the piano introduces the closer "Astronomy". The most progressive track of the whole album, probably. Slow, based on minor chords with mainly a piano base until the quite hippy chorus. it's a captivating song.

This is my favorite BOC album and I think it can stay in any collection.