Search - Blue Oyster Cult :: Curse of the Hidden Mirror

The Old Gods Return!

Eric Treasure | Vancouver, WA United States | 06/07/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finally! Despite the ever-delayed release date, Blue Oyster Cult's first album since 1998 is well worth the wait. From the opening riffs of "Dance On Stilts," this is classic BOC rock and roll. The songs on this album strike the right balance between the vocal stylings - Eric Bloom's surly snarl, and Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser's more ethereal sound. Buck's guitar pyrotechnics sound as brilliant as ever; the riffs are original and catchy, the solos eerie but explosive. Subject matter-wise, old school BOC fans won't be disappointed either, as the songs delve into the usual array of paranormal themes and the stranger side of the human condition. All of the band members (with the peculiar exception of keyboard/guitarist Allen Lanier) contribute to the songwriting with collaborations from several outside writers, including a second go-round with author John Shirley (see Heaven Forbid album.) Standout tracks include the sublimely ominous Lovecraftian tale "The Old Gods Return," Buck's lead-off single "Pocket", and the heavy-metal rocker "Eye Of The Hurricane." Overall, this is a superb collection of songs, well-written and well-performed, in vintage Blue Oyster Cult style."

The Cult delivers

S. R. | 10/30/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"2001 finds BOC still dark, still standoffish, still brooding, and still able to kick major butt. A very polished production makes this effort really smoke with fat, tasty grooves and some nifty picking by the Buck man himself. The Rythm section is bruising and Buck Dharma's songs really shine. This album is more about grooves than older BOC releases and I find it refreshing, this is really a tight group and you just can't expect this rythm section to lay back and chug along, this rythm section needs to charge and charge hard and that's what they do here. Albert B. had a killer jazzy sound and played basically unconvention rock drums and that was a huge plus to the early BOC sound, but these two guys they have here...wow...they're like a bulldozier that can go 100mph! There is Only a couple of tracks don't live up to BOC standards, but the rest are soo good, it is forgiven. High Spots - Showtime, Pocket, Here comes that feeling. Low spots - I just Like to be Bad."

Who says stars of the 1970s can't be relevant in 2001?

John Swartz | Winchester, MA USA | 06/07/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's been 20 years since Blue Oyster Cult (BOC) had a Top-40 hit (and no, it wasn't "Don't Fear The Reaper" from 1976, but 1981's "Burnin' For You"), but if people give it a listen, that could change -- the album's first single "Pocket", has was just recently listed as the number 5 "Most Added" song to radio playlists per FMQB.com. The song is incredibly catchy, and filled with the sizzling guitar work from BOC's Buck Dharma - a guitarist that who can rip it up with the best of them, but demonstrates that it's not the number of notes you play, but the notes themselves. The chorus will have you singing along over and over ("Are you in the Pocket of the moment?").But potential future hits don't stop there - the opening track "Dance on Stilts" is filled with some cruchy guitars that show that this band is not stuck in the 70s, along with some rich harmonies that lend a real depth to the song. Check out "One Step Ahead of the Devil" for pedal-to-the-metal riffology, or "Eye Of The Hurricane" for the epic rock that made bands like Dio and Iron Maiden big in the 80s. More variety from the smooth tones of "Showtime" and "Here Comes That Feeling", to the jazzy "Good To Feel Hungry" to the head-banging "Old Gods Return" (a sentiment being echoed this week by BOC fans all over the world).If you like BOC, you'll love this album. If you never heard of BOC, you owe it to yourself to check this one out. And if you're one of the hundreds of fans that thought the band's previous effort (1988's *Heaven Forbid*) was great...this one is even better.One editorial note on the original Amazon.com review - Jerry Shirley of Humble Pie does not contribute lyrics to this album (nor any BOC album) -- it's sci-fi/cyberpunk author John Shirley that provides many of the lyrics."