In the not too distant future, people will look back on the year 2020 and say there were a lot of things they didn’t see coming.
One of them will be the new album by Blue Oyster Cult, The Symbol Remains.
After all, it’s been 19 years since the band released their last studio effort of new material, Curse of the Hidden Mirror. In the ensuing stretch of nearly two decades, everyone just got used to them releasing assorted compilations and the occasional live album.
For most, these sorts of stopgap recordings are good indicators of a band still plugging away at it on the road somewhere or other, mostly just to keep their name in front of their loyal fans. And that’s fine: You gotta go with what you know. The trick is to know when there’s no go left in the tank. And that can be a tough call for many “legacy” rock acts, who can’t play the old material and can’t write any appealing new material either.
Fortunately, Blue Oyster Cult apparently has a cache of rocket fuel stashed away where they keep the vintage ME-262 and other assorted paraphernalia. Eric Bloom and Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser, the two remaining original members, have assembled a tight band, and have accumulated some decent songs over the years. Those two facts moved the project from why spend time “making a record that nobody’s going to buy” (Bloom) to realizing the band was “so good it would be a shame not to [record them]” (Roeser).
So, what kind of bang for your buck (no pun intended) are you going to get here? Well, “That Was Me” – the first track on The Symbol Remains – echoes a few classic Blue Oyster Cult album openers, like “This Ain’t the Summer of Love” or “Transmaniacon MC.” Eric Bloom’s snarling vocal delivery is convincing, and for a bonus, ex-BOC drummer Albert Bouchard guests on backing vocals and percussion. The second track, “Box in My Head,” showcases Buck Dharma’s songwriting skills and a lead vocal spotlight.
In fact, most of the songs on The Symbol Remains center on Bloom and Roeser, so it’s easy to overlook the contributions of guitarist/keyboardist Richie Castellano. He notably collaborates with Richard Meltzer, a lyricist from the good ol’ days, on “The Return of St. Cecilia” – a title that connects back to one of Blue Oyster Cult’s earliest incarnations as the Stalk-Forrest Group.
The Symbol Remains is maybe a little overlong at 14 songs, but after 19 years, why not? With everything else that’s going on, Blue Oyster Cult’s new album ought to give old rock fans a bit of relief from the new normal, whatever that is.
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