BLUE OYSTER CULT
“HEAVEN FORBID”
Album Review by Piers Renfree

8.5/10

What-ho girls and boys, how are we all coping these days? The weather has been silly hot this past week, though thankfully we have had a bit of rain yesterday evening and today which has freshened up the air a bit. So, we’re still in lockdown (albeit a relaxed lockdown, that is lockdown but isn’t lockdown, or something – I’m confuzzled by the messages & sticking with being in lockdown. I know what I’m doing that way) and so what do we have for our lockdown soundtrack today?

Ah, here we are, the reissue of Blue Oyster Cult’s 1998 album “Heaven Forbid”. Now, as regular visitors to Metal Gods TV – which we know you are as you love to know what is hot and what is not in the rock spectrum, and we never fail you – you will know that I only recently listened to my first full Blue Oyster Cult album; the 40th Anniversary of their classic “Agents Of Fortune” album, which got a spectacular 9/10 from these ears.

However, just in case you missed that one, due to Internet schooling and homework, here is a quick recap of the band’s history for you…

Blue Oyster Cult were formed in Stoney Brook, in New York, USA in 1967, and since the release of their self-titled debut album in 1972, they have released thirteen other studio albums and sold an impressive twenty five million albums. The band’s line-up for, “Heaven Forbid”, was Eric Bloom (guitar, keyboards and vocals), “Buck Dharma” (real name Donald Roeser – guitar, keyboards and vocals), Danny Miranda (bass guitar and vocals), Chuck Burgi (drums, vocals), Bobby Rondinelli (drums on “Live For Me”), Jon Rogers (bass guitar and vocals on “Harvest Moon”, “Power Underneath Despair” & “Still Burnin’ “, Tony Perrino (additional keyboards) & George Cintron (additional vocals).

The eleven songs on this album go on for one second shy of forty five minutes. So what’s this like you ask. Well, the production here is crisp and clean. Some of the guitars have some bite to them and at times there is a bit of a Southern Country Twang in places. The vocals are clean and, as I did with the previous “Agents Of Fortune, 40th Anniversary” album, I find myself singing along to the songs here. Overall, the songs feel a bit more rocky, than on “Agents of Fortune”, but one must remember that this was first released during the late 1990s, in the post-grunge, pop-punk era, when Metallica were going through their “Load” / “Re-Load” phase, but unlike many bands during that time, Blue Oyster Cult don’t feel like they lost their identity trying to fit in – this feels natural. There are still time changes, tempo changes, light and shade. The musicianship here is top quality; each song has guitar solos and no-one is overshadowed or ignored.

I believe that this is the type of record that Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith, might have made, if his ASAP (Adrian Smith And Project) group had had better success with their great “Silver And Gold” album. The album comes to it’s conclusion with a nice, live acoustic version of “In Thee”, which is a lovely way to wrap it up. This is a fantastic record girls and boys, worthy of more spins and encouraging to dive deeper into the band’s back catalogue. 

TRACKLIST

See You In Black
Harvest Moon
Power Underneath Despair
X-Ray Eyes
Hammer Back
Damaged
Cold Gray Light Of Dawn
Real World
Live For Me
Still Burnin’
In Thee (live)

http://www.blueoystercult.com
https://www.facebook.com/blueoystercult/

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