The 70’s was a great decade to be a rock-fan in. Ok, so I was only 12 when the 80’s began and I spent most of my time cranking up my Sweet and Kiss vinyls, missing out on most of the 70’s stuff, stuff I discovered a bit later. But just think about it – Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Rainbow, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, AC/DC – man if I could have been blessed with a rock-digging big brother, I wouldn’t have missed out on all that as a kid. That said, there are 70’s bands, big ones, that fell out of my radar even when I started to pick up on all the 70’s rock-bands. Uriah Heep was one of those bands. Blue Öyster Cult is another. To this day, I still haven’t managed to make those acts stick.
For the last year, Frontiers has made sure that Blue Öyster Cult releases has been raining cats and dogs over us – more live-releases than I can count, re-mixes and anniversary editions has been entering my mailbox monthly. Since I run this site all alone, I have to draw the line somewhere as time doesn’t exactly grow on trees so live-albums and rereleases has to, with very few exceptions, stand back. But their arrivals has made me listen to BÖC properly for the first time in my life. What I can say is that I understand why they at one point were huge and that I like their music but still, I this band just seem to not be able to connect with me full-time. But now, BÖC has decided to release a new album – their first in nineteen years – and it would be a major fail to not pay attention to that.
Opening up with the album’s leading single “That Was Me”, BÖC brings out the heavy artillery right away. It’s a slammin’, upbeat, punchy and raw rocker that adds pieces of Metal into the Classic Rock stomp, going for an in-your-face outlook. It’s strong and concise with a chorus that doesn’t say hit but “hey, we’re back”. It’s a good song but I could have don’t without the short reggae-laden part. Doesn’t suit the song at all. The Buck Dharma sung “Box In My Head” follows. Uptempo and groovy, the tune is a bit slicker than the opener with clear pop-melodies. That said, it’s still earthy and organic, brought up on 70’s Classic Rock. It’s a decent track with memorable melodies and a catchy refrain.
Also a single, “Tainted Blood” brings out the band’s slower side and is sniffing around the corners of power balladry. It’s sung by keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Richie Castellano – his first lead vocal in BÖC – and the tune catches on right off the bat. While a ballad, the song is also meaty and fat with a Classic Rock vibe all over and a crispy hook, making the immediate chorus super glue for melodies. Feels like a hit, dudes and dudettes. Great stuff. “Nightmare Epiphany” throws a juicy, big swing on us that’s even danceable, bringing out some 70’s grooves and a 60’s melody-twist. Nice vocal-harmonies, a rhythmic beat and raw guitars is all well and dandy but unfortunately, the song doesn’t really last. It’s ok, not more.
“Edge Of The World” brings the tempo down a notch, it’s slightly darker in mood but with an intense, slow groove. The rhythms are pumping, the guitars are crunchy and the melodies are quite smooth with more splendid vocal-harmonies on top. The fine mix of classic Hard Rock and the more pop-laden chorus works like a charm and said chorus stays on after one spin – very good indeed. “The Machine” is more of a straight-forward rocker on a solid, boogie-rock beat with big mid 70’s vibes and a chunky Hammond organ roaring loose. With all of that as a foundation, it’s never even close to get mawkish with the big hooks, slick melodies and a direct and effective chorus. It all blends like the most natural thing in the world. I dig this.
“Train True (Lennie’s Song)” is an uptempo rock ‘n’ roll swinger. Punchy and in-your-face, it holds a stripped and concise outlook on a straight ahead rhythm. This is an old-time rock ‘n’ roll stomper and while all that is fine, the tune is quite a bagatelle and has faded from my memory even before the song has ended. Sure, we all love high energy rock but it needs to be memorable as well and this one just isn’t. Coming across as a mix of Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy, “The Return Of St Cecilia” is an uptempo and pumping Classic Rock belter. This is old-school Rock, a bang-on-target belter with chunky, juicy groove with the 70’s written all over it and more of those fabulous harmony-vocals and an addictive refrain that sticks without going off into pop-AOR land at all. A great song and best so far.
“Stand And Fight” is heavy, dark, rowdy and aggressive where the guitars takes a stroll down metal-lane with their intense and fat riffing. The rhythms are of the harder kind, balls-out punchy and the effective and direct kick of the chorus makes it a memorable one. The tune is a bit of curve-ball here but the heaviness makes for some great dynamics. I like it. The 70’s comes back with “Florida Man” albeit in a much poppier way. It’s a groovy Classic Rock tune at the bottom but the added big-hook pop-melodies brings on an 80’s feel as well and the big chorus takes the tune right into AOR territory – something that fits them surprisingly well. It’s a softer tune but it’s still driving on an up-beat. Very good.
Latest single “The Alchemist” is a gritty one, dark, heavy and ominous where 70’s Alice Cooper meets classic BÖC in a slower pace. The Metal vibes are at front especially the solo-part which sends a nod over to Iron Maiden. An eerie and moody piano broadens the dynamics as well and the beefy chorus goes right for the throat, making an escape impossible. This is great – my favorite track off the album. “Secret Road” continues the slower path and takes a laid-back turn albeit with big backing vocals with some melancholy waved in. It’s quite mellow, blues-rock laden but also straight-forward with with crispy guitars and a solid rhythm. While all this sounds really cool, the song isn’t all that special. An ok tune.
“There’s A Crime” is the album’s low-point. While it’s raw and rowdy with a whole bunch of attitude, it also feels unstructured and rushed. It’s straight-forward, punky, low on nuances and the vocal- arrangements sounds like something a band like Bang Tango could have done on a bad day with a couple of spliffs too many consumed. It would be interesting to hear what a hardcore BÖC-fan will think of this. Closing track “Fight” is a mid-paced, somewhat poppy rocker, mid 70’s style. It’s dramatic, held-back and earthy with a chunky and crispy rhythm and it also brings along a solid, stellar chorus with a whole bunch of hooks that makes it stay on – moody yet catchy.
First off, this whole “let’s put all the songs we can on a record” is getting old. Back in 1990 it was fun to get all that because it was a new thing but now 14 songs are at least three too many. Keep the killers, lose the fillers. Fortunately, the fillers are kept at a low here but it only means what I just wrote here, with a 10 or 11-track album, the score would have gotten higher. That being said, it’s really great to hear just how fresh and vital these old men sounds today – and that they have kept their skills of song writing intact. Being someone who hasn’t grown up on BÖC, I have no problem what so ever with Castellano taking lead vocals for three tracks besides Dharma and Eric Bloom, the hardcore has to be the judge if that works or not. Besides the production being a bit too modern and compressed, this album is a qualified effort to my ears. Time will tell what the BÖC-fans will think of it.
6/10
Tracklist:
1. That Was Me
2. Box In My Head
3. Tainted Blood
4. Nightmare Epiphany
5. Edge Of The World
6. The Machine
7. Train True (Lennie’s Song)
8. The Return Of St. Cecilia
9. Stand And Fight
10. Florida Man
11. The Alchemist
12. Secret Road
13. There’s A Crime
14. Fight
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