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By Mike Porciello
"The Little Band
That Could"
I really had forgotten about how much I appreciated the repertoire The
Cult has graciously bestowed upon us. Surviving breakups, mutual hatred,
and alcohol and drug abuse, the two core members, Vocalist Ian Astbury,
and Guitarist Billy Duffy, who, for arguments sake, ARE The Cult, never
cease to amaze, whenever (or if ever) they get together to brainstorm a
project. The end result usually is a bridged gap between the Alternative
and Heavy Metal worlds; not an easy task to accomplish. The band's
trademark sound of Goth Rock/Trashy Glam, utilizes healthy doses of
Industrial, Hip-Hop, Heavy Metal, Radio Friendly Hard Rock, and Southern
Rock, to cite a few of their influences they bring to the table. While the
British duo never have, and will probably never (at least in this country)
achieve both the credit and success they so deserve for being what may
very well be the first band to align two opposing forces, the likes of
which, being highly critical of each other, they always pack the house
wherever they play, and their music has always been catchy enough to stop
you dead in your tracks, making you think while you sit back, and enjoy
some Heaven between your ears! Whether or not they get along, for
constantly finding ways to ressurect a unit and sound so desperately
desired by the masses, and as well as all other reasons listed above, I've
always considered The Cult "The Little Band That Could". To say
that theirs is anything less than an enjoyable listen and a stellar live
performance, was, musically, the understatement of The 20th Century, and
remains one of the biggest understatements of The 21st Century, musically.
"Born Into This", overall, a little more of a raw, back to
basics effort, is, in my opinion, the album The Cult should have made when
they signed with Atlantic for their last studio album, "Beyond Good
and Evil". They keep it complicatedly simple, they make it STOMP!,
grind, shake, rattle, roll, and cruise along at different tempos, never
straying too far from what made them The Cult; that is, their
"blossomy blues, trashy news" deliverance. Older fans will
appreciate "Born Into This" for its rich classic sound, never
afraid to explore and conquer new territory, and "newbies"
starting out on The Cult may find them to be a breath of fresh air,
extremely talented, whilst being on top what is current. When U2 stared
out, Henry Rollins declared them to be an imitation of The Clash. While I
will personally never trash anyone in a review, I do hear similarities
between older Danzig albums, and The Cult. Could it be that Rick Rubin
produced both artists in the 1980's? Still though, I'm a HUGE fan of The
Cult, Danzig, Samhain, and the original and ONLY Misfits.
Bassist Chris Wyse starts off the album's title track with a funky, on the
money bass line, augmented by John "The Storm" Tempesta's (now
without left kick drum) high-hat, snare, kick count, to be followed by
Duffy's guitar intro, and in we go to another opus chock full of scrapes,
brusies, hooks, and melodies! (For the record, I've seen John Tempesta not
only drum for The Cult, but for Exodus, White Zombie, Rob Zombie, and
Helmet. He also blazed an inferno for Testament on "Low", and on
the re-recording of some of their all time classics, "First Strike Is
Still Deadly".)
Song two, entiled "Citizens", is The Cult at its finest. All
elements of the past are here in the future present, as the band eases
with grace from Verse to Bridge to Chorus, making it, in my opinion, the
best song on the entire album. "Dirty Little Rockstar", the lead
off single to radio, brings The Cult into 21K w/o overdoing, adding a
touch of hip-hop, a danceable backbeat, distorted bass, all set up around
Billy Duffy's sobering guitar scrapes, and Ian Astbury's vocals, warnings,
and shouts of the dangers of excess.
Now what would be a Cult album without a ballad or two, huh? "Holy
Mountain", finds Ian Astbury re-exhuming his inner Jim Morrison, with
a touch of Neil Diamond, yet keeping it his own song, singing the chorus
of "You're a wild thing, You say wild things", etc. Let us not
forget either, that Ian Astbury had indeed, a few years back, stepped into
the shoes of Jim Morrison, for what was to be a new version of The Doors,
known as The Doors of The 21st Century, only to re-emerge out of that band
to re-reunite with Billy Duffy as The Cult. (Today, the band is known as
Riders On The Storm, and singing for them is Ex-Fuel Vocalist, Ex-The X's
Vocalist, Circus Diablo Rhythm Guitarist Brett Scallions, whose hero,
growing up, was............................., you guessed it, The Cult's
Ian Astbury!) "Tiger In The Sun", the quintessential Cult power
ballad, complete with its own humanitarian mission, can catch anyone by
surprise, even the most hardened of headbangers, and force you to sit and
listen. What I also like about this song, is that if you listen closely,
you can hear Ian Astbury jump slightly ahead of the rhythm section after
the Chorus, when going back into Verse and even Bridge, which he tends to
do when excitedly belting out a soulful, heartfelt masterpiece. THAT, my
friends, is truly a man who loves his work! Closing out Guitar driven
"Born Into This" is "Sound Of Destruction", about a
self destructive drug addict, proving the street credibility of The Cult,
"Got a fist full of ice" and their approach to modernism.
In concert, the band is rounded out by Rhythm Guitarist, Mike Dimkitch, to
reproduce live, what's been recorded into their impressive history. I give
2007's "Born Into This", an incredible, and well deserved 9 out
of 10 bullets! What they've done, with minimal amount of politics and
outside influence, is not only prove that they still have it after all
these years, but simply create a really good Alternative Hard Rock album!
No matter who backs them up, Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy, have the gift of
being "on" when they're "on", and even when they're a
little "off" too! "Born Into This" lives up to the
bands legacy, and maybe even serves as a reminder, a metaphor, and even a
tribute to EVERYBODY who just can't seem to achieve the entire world, yet
can carve a big enough, and sweet enough piece for him or herself. Easily
their strongest since "Sonic Temple", and quite possibly their
most important since "Love". Although it is my understanding
that The Cult is now without a record label, go out and buy this, or
download "Born Into This", and spread the word people. This is a
band that still has quite a few years left, and we need to make them
wealthy enough to record good soul driven music, that sounds well crafted
and produced, and not like it was thrown together, 1,2,3 in a garage.
www.thecult.us
www.roadrunnerrecords.com
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