Blue Öyster Cult will release their first new album in nearly two decades, The Symbol Remains on October 9th, Today (September 2nd), the band has released a music video for the single That Was Me, watch it below.
Fans can hear another new song, Box In My Head below. and/or on their favorite digital music service.
As the old saying goes, “good things come to those who wait” and the 14 songs showcased on The Symbol Remains embody that. The BÖC faithful will be delighted given that the band has delivered an extremely inspired album. Ultimately, this sounds like a band looking back at their storied catalog and giving the fans a bit of everything they’ve ever loved about BÖC, while simultaneously continuing to evolve.
Blue Öyster Cult started sessions for the new album in earnest in 2019, bringing songs to the table that had previously been in the works as well as working on new ones. The goal was to craft an album that gives an appropriate portrait of where the band is in the here and now.
“With the song demos emerging for this record, we realized there was as much if not more variety in style and content on this record as any in our history,” tells Eric Bloom “We embraced this and the thing tying all the disparate elements together is the band’s sound and performance.”
“The goal was for the new music to stand up to the quality and vitality of our legacy recordings, and I believe we have successfully done that,” adds Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser. “Other than that, the sound of our voices and style of our writing and playing can’t help but sound familiar to fans of our work.”
“The album title, The Symbol Remains comes from a quote of an old Sandy Pearlman lyric, which basically we are using to show that the band is back and still rocking after all these years. To me, it means we’re still here and doing what we do…” explains Eric Bloom.
As fans well know, Bloom and Roeser are the two steadfast members remaining from the “classic” lineup of the band, but Jules Radino, Danny Miranda, and Richie Castellano are all long time members. Their constant touring has truly caused them to gel as a unit and you can hear it in the performances on The Symbol Remains. Jules, Danny, and Richie here have left their mark on the 50+ years of Blue Öyster Cult history.
“We wanted to record the current band’s lineup for some time and the result of Jules, Danny, Richie, Eric and myself giving our all on “The Symbol Remains speaks for itself,” says Buck Dharma.
While the current world situation caused some distress, the band is still very happy with the final result. “The Covid-19 lockdown slowed the completion of the record. We were prevented from traveling and collaborating in person. But luckily we had already done the basic tracks. We resorted to video conferencing and producing each other over the internet. Fortunately, the technology exists at this moment in time to do that. The live performance cancellations gave us a little more time to carefully consider the finishing touches. We also sent the album out to be mixed by Tom Lord-Alge and we worked together over the internet on that as well,” adds Buck Dharma.
The album will be available on CD, 2xLP, Limited Edition Color 2xLP, and Digital formats, pre-order here.
The Symbol Remains track listing:
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
Line up:
Eric Bloom
Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser
Richie Castellano
Danny Miranda
Jules Radino
Follow Blue Öyster Cult online at: blueoystercult.com and facebook.com/blueoystercult.
Formed on Long Island at the end of the ’60s, Blue Öyster Cult are best known for their massive singles (Don’t Fear) The Reaper, Burnin’ for You, and Godzilla. Riff-heavy and head-banging while intelligently hook-laden, the band remains a constant touring presence and as relevant as ever. Pioneering the heavy metal style while providing inspiration to psychedelic jam bands and arena rockers alike, genre-benders Blue Öyster Cult is a widely respected classic rock band with a storied catalog., The band has been covered by everyone from Metallica and HIM to moe, which showcases the wide ranging influence of their music.
5 Responses
The song is ok. nothing special , guitar tone is heavier, if there would have been an actual hook in the riff or the chorus something that gets stuck In your head it could have been great , they are certainly capable of it -I would think after 20 years they would have come up with another unforgettable tune. I already forgot this one ~
Sounds good. Not great but I think I would like it better after more listens much like the new Kansas album which I’ve become fond of after hearing it more.
I had seen this line up of BOC not too long ago and they put on a decent set with some deep cuts in it. No visual effects like they once had back in the late 70s, 80s but a good show at a fair price, and like Kansas, the music of BOC was featured in the Supernatural series.
Glad 2 see there still at it. Always thought they never got enuff credit. Last time I seen them was 20 years ago in a club in Hershey PA.
Nice touch working in the cowbell on the video . I’m having an SNL flashback
The Buck songs is pretty fresh..nice chords…the song’s off the beaten path…I like the first one too..they haven’t lost their sense of humor …that middle section is intentionally funny.