Blue Öyster Cult – The Symbol Remains
Blue Öyster Cult are one of many classic rock / legacy bands who know their future has been in the past these last couple of decades, with Greatest Hits sets and "classic albums in their entirety" performances being damn near mandatory in the classic rock revisited 21st century.
Such sets sometimes include passing nods to 1998's Heaven Forbid and Curse of the Hidden Mirror (the band's last studio album, nineteen long years ago) but while both contain a handful of Öyster pearls they are far from BÖC classics.
But with a now long established and seriously solid line-up
(ever presents & co-founders Eric Bloom (vocals/ guitars/ keys) and Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser (vocals/ guitars), long-time members Richie Castellano (guitars/ keys/ vocals), bassist Danny Miranda and drummer Jules Radino) the band headed to the studio to intentionally write, record and deliver in the spirt and sound of classic Blue Öyster Cult (with a contemporary sheen).
It was a good call, because they couldn’t have come up with a better "comeback" album – nor a better named one.
The crunching guitar riff and big beat of the simply structured but highly impressive 'That Was Me' hearkens back to the band’s early "Black and White" heavy metal era.
It's also the perfect vehicle for the more commanding "I Am" styled vocal that is such an Eric Bloom trademark (he may be noticeably thinner in voice now but the 75 years young Bloom can still deliver with the mirror shaded intensity such songs require).
Providing perfect, ridiculously hooky contrast is 'Box in My Head,' Buck Dharma's bright, melodic Yin to Eric Bloom’s rockier and usually darker Yang (a dovetailing style from the Two Öyster Cult pairing that remains a major part of the band's calling card).
More significantly 'Box in My Head' is a quirky and quintessential slice of melodic "BÖC rock" that wouldn’t have been off the airwaves back in the Burnin' For You day...
Such sets sometimes include passing nods to 1998's Heaven Forbid and Curse of the Hidden Mirror (the band's last studio album, nineteen long years ago) but while both contain a handful of Öyster pearls they are far from BÖC classics.
But with a now long established and seriously solid line-up
(ever presents & co-founders Eric Bloom (vocals/ guitars/ keys) and Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser (vocals/ guitars), long-time members Richie Castellano (guitars/ keys/ vocals), bassist Danny Miranda and drummer Jules Radino) the band headed to the studio to intentionally write, record and deliver in the spirt and sound of classic Blue Öyster Cult (with a contemporary sheen).
It was a good call, because they couldn’t have come up with a better "comeback" album – nor a better named one.
The crunching guitar riff and big beat of the simply structured but highly impressive 'That Was Me' hearkens back to the band’s early "Black and White" heavy metal era.
It's also the perfect vehicle for the more commanding "I Am" styled vocal that is such an Eric Bloom trademark (he may be noticeably thinner in voice now but the 75 years young Bloom can still deliver with the mirror shaded intensity such songs require).
Providing perfect, ridiculously hooky contrast is 'Box in My Head,' Buck Dharma's bright, melodic Yin to Eric Bloom’s rockier and usually darker Yang (a dovetailing style from the Two Öyster Cult pairing that remains a major part of the band's calling card).
More significantly 'Box in My Head' is a quirky and quintessential slice of melodic "BÖC rock" that wouldn’t have been off the airwaves back in the Burnin' For You day...
Having (re)delivered the classic BÖC sounds so impressively the band then give Richie Castellano his moment to shine on 'Tainted Blood.'
The slower, melodically atmospheric Vampire number features a strong vocal from Castellano and a fluid, crying guitar solo on the outro.
Richie Castellano also features on 'The Machine,' the perfect rock and roll hybrid of new BÖC meets old BÖC (its only failing being the organ keyboard solo disappears before it ever gets a chance to start on the song’s fade-out).
The rock and roll of 'Nightmare Epiphany' (with a soupçon of fifties rockabilly) is a fun Buck Dharma led song featuring some cool call-and-answer guitar soloing before Eric Bloom steps back up to the mic for the brooding, mid-tempo rocker, 'Edge of the World.'
The latter lyricises between what could be alien abduction or "another system of control" far closer to home ("trust in everything you read, lost in your conspiracies").
Buck driven BÖC ‘n’ roll returns to belt down the tracks at a fair old speed (think middle section of 'Before the Kiss') on 'Train True (Lennie’s Song);' it's only missing a steam whistle (and some cowbell, natch).
'The Return of St Cecelia' is an equally pacey rock and roller but there follows a song sequence where the album doesn’t match the highs of its opening half – 'Stand and Fight' is a gritty, mid-tempo rock-metal outing with a shouty "Hey! Hey!" chorus that’s positively cringeworthy while Buck Dharma’s musically pleasant but lightweight 'Florida Man' needs more gravitas to do the Tale of the Seminole lyric justice.
Normal Blue Öyster Cult services are resumed however with six minute monster (no, not that monster) 'The Alchemist.'
Carrying a similar musical atmosphere to 'Flaming Telepaths' (and a little 'Astronomy' for good musical measure), 'The Alchemist' then lifts to a Maiden-esque gallop before returning to its sorcerous opening remarks.
The polished melodic light of 'Secret Road' and punkier shades of 'There’s a Crime' again highlight the dovetailing musical strengths of Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom (if not with quite the same weight or panache as the opening two numbers) before the down-by-the-dusty-border sounding 'Fight' closes out the 14 song album in classy, melodic style.
('Fight' is so distinctly Dharma it sounds like a Donald Roeser solo number backed by Danny Miranda and Jules Radino – and may well be).
Weaker moments aside (and there ain’t many), this is the best Blue Öyster Cult album since Revolution By Night.
Indeed in terms of that trademark sound, with all the BÖC bells and quirky whistles, there’s an argument it’s their strongest since the original line-up’s last hurrah on Fire of Unknown Origin nearly 40 years ago.
A few names have changed since that particular Fire burned out but the symbol, most definitely, remains.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The Symbol Remains is released on Frontiers Music s.r.l. on 9th October
The slower, melodically atmospheric Vampire number features a strong vocal from Castellano and a fluid, crying guitar solo on the outro.
Richie Castellano also features on 'The Machine,' the perfect rock and roll hybrid of new BÖC meets old BÖC (its only failing being the organ keyboard solo disappears before it ever gets a chance to start on the song’s fade-out).
The rock and roll of 'Nightmare Epiphany' (with a soupçon of fifties rockabilly) is a fun Buck Dharma led song featuring some cool call-and-answer guitar soloing before Eric Bloom steps back up to the mic for the brooding, mid-tempo rocker, 'Edge of the World.'
The latter lyricises between what could be alien abduction or "another system of control" far closer to home ("trust in everything you read, lost in your conspiracies").
Buck driven BÖC ‘n’ roll returns to belt down the tracks at a fair old speed (think middle section of 'Before the Kiss') on 'Train True (Lennie’s Song);' it's only missing a steam whistle (and some cowbell, natch).
'The Return of St Cecelia' is an equally pacey rock and roller but there follows a song sequence where the album doesn’t match the highs of its opening half – 'Stand and Fight' is a gritty, mid-tempo rock-metal outing with a shouty "Hey! Hey!" chorus that’s positively cringeworthy while Buck Dharma’s musically pleasant but lightweight 'Florida Man' needs more gravitas to do the Tale of the Seminole lyric justice.
Normal Blue Öyster Cult services are resumed however with six minute monster (no, not that monster) 'The Alchemist.'
Carrying a similar musical atmosphere to 'Flaming Telepaths' (and a little 'Astronomy' for good musical measure), 'The Alchemist' then lifts to a Maiden-esque gallop before returning to its sorcerous opening remarks.
The polished melodic light of 'Secret Road' and punkier shades of 'There’s a Crime' again highlight the dovetailing musical strengths of Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom (if not with quite the same weight or panache as the opening two numbers) before the down-by-the-dusty-border sounding 'Fight' closes out the 14 song album in classy, melodic style.
('Fight' is so distinctly Dharma it sounds like a Donald Roeser solo number backed by Danny Miranda and Jules Radino – and may well be).
Weaker moments aside (and there ain’t many), this is the best Blue Öyster Cult album since Revolution By Night.
Indeed in terms of that trademark sound, with all the BÖC bells and quirky whistles, there’s an argument it’s their strongest since the original line-up’s last hurrah on Fire of Unknown Origin nearly 40 years ago.
A few names have changed since that particular Fire burned out but the symbol, most definitely, remains.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The Symbol Remains is released on Frontiers Music s.r.l. on 9th October