If you have only heard their enduring 1985 hit single 'She Sells Sanctuary' it might come as a surprise that The Cult have been around, on and off, for nearly 30 years and have released nine studio albums. Those more familiar with them will know that The Cult are still riding the wave of re-invigoration they have been enjoying since their injection of new blood in 2006. That new blood came in the form of bass player Chris Wyse (Ozzy Osbourne) and drummer John Tempesta (Helmet, White Zombie). Much like their 80s contemporaries Guns'N'Roses however, The Cult are practically a two-man game. Many may have had their hands in the pot and left their fingerprints on the discography but singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy are the true owners of the moniker. While Born Into This might have been their most engaging record in years it suffered from an identity crisis. Producer Youth (The Orb, Killing Joke) made the unusual choice in blunting Duffy's feral guitar oeuvres and pushing them deeper in the mix. The Cult might be getting on (Astbury and Duffy are anyway) but they are some of rock'n'roll's greatest survivors and they are all geared up to prove it with Choice Of Weapon.
This time around along with the
ubiquitous Bob Rock, production duties are handled by Masters Of
Reality's Chris “godfather of desert rock” Goss. As well as his
own band's storied career, Goss has lent his talents to an amazing
pantheon of rockers including Queens of the Stone Age, Stone Temple
Pilots, Kyuss, and Screaming Trees. These two men know how to make
rock'n'roll sound big, powerful, even playful and it starts right
away with 'Honey From A Knife'. The album's very first song is a fun
affair that can actually pull of a chorus as daft as “we got the
drugs” being chanted cheerleader-style ad infinitum. As we have
come to expect, when these crafty veterans a firing on all cylinders,
stand back!'Life > Death', aside from having a blatant truism for
a title, has the sound of an older, world-weary Queen and the ominous
'Lucifer' has all the ungodly swagger of a lost Black Sabbath
classic. But underneath all the stadium-sized bravado there is a
tender, wounded soul at the heart of The Cult. You can find it in
Astbury's time-worn croon on the vulnerable 'Elemental Light', easily
one of their best songs in decades. Album closer 'This Night In The
City Forever' is a majestic kiss-off that would not be out of place
in their canon if they collectively decided to hang up their bandanas
and call it a day.
Maybe this shift in energy is fueled by
behind-the-scenes politics. Between Choice of Weapon and Born
Into This the band were dropped from Roadrunner Records. Their
new appointment with Cooking Vinyl lets them breathe a little easier
and allows them to stake their claim at rock god status once again
unfettered by label interference despite the big names behind the
mixing desk. As we have come to expect from resurgent rockers all of
the good intentions in the world cannot save a lackluster or
deficient concept, and as with pretty much every Cult album there are
some definite low-points. 'The Wolf' sounds like a lukewarm Velvet
Revolver outtake (one that was left on the cutting room floor for
good reason) and 'Amnesia' barely leaves an impression. All this
means is that you have to learn to take the good with the bad,
something which should have been a mantra for fans of The Cult since
the early 90s anyway.
Rating: B+
Recommended tracks: Elemental Light, Life > Death
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