Album Review: Blue Oyster Cult - "The Symbol Remains"

 

Unfairly remembered on these shores as a mostly being a one-hit wonder (Don't Fear The Reaper just in case you've been living in a cave for the last 45 years), the truth is that Blue Oyster Cult are a band with a very worthy back catalogue and, back in their 1970s prime, could kick up a hell of a racket in their day. Put it this way, their tag as the American Black Sabbath definitely wasn't unwarranted hype as anyone who's heard This Ain't The Summer Of Love, Astronomy or Godzilla will tell you.

All of which is very well and good of course but the 1970s were a long time ago and there's a big question hanging over whether BOC have still got it now. However, as the sinister riff of That Was Me kicks in to open this album, the signs are encouraging. Box In My Head sees them veering over to their more melodic side (think a 21st century version of Burnin' For You).

Essentially The Symbol Remains is exactly what you'd want from a Blue Oyster Cult album in this day and age and takes the strongest elements of their classic sound before bringing them up to date for 2020. So we get the sinister Then Came The Last Days Of May slowie that is Tainted Blood through the swaggering riffs of Stand And Fight and Edge of the World (with the attendant conspiracy lyrics) to the epic piano-led apocalyptic odes of Nightmare Epiphany and The Alchemist and the Thin Lizzy style straight up rock anthem Return of St Cecilia with some good guitar work from long standing guitarist Buck Dharma.

There's a few curveballs here too - Train True explodes from a mid-paced opening to a turbo-charged Chuck Berry style riff-fest and There's A Crime almost goes into Dead Boys style punk territory but for the most part this is BOC sticking to what they do best and it's no worse for it. Given how many bands of their era seem content to simply phone it in on the revival circuit, it's to the band's credit that they're still putting out credible new material some forty odd years into their career. Good stuff.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)