TYRANNY AND MUTATION

This is an essential Blue Oyster Cult album. Though sometimes called The American Black Sabbath (a term which Eric Bloom has somewhat rejected in interviews), Blue Oyster Cult has little in commong with Sabbath other than the fact that they were both Heavy Metal bands who had some songs about Satan (much fewer in BOC's case). Granted BOC was influenced by Sabbath (are there any metal bands who weren't?). The Black side (side one) of the album gets off to a great start with the heavy and energetic The Red and the Black. Following the first track is the 'stoned sounding' (to echo another reviewer) and somewhat strange O.D.'d on Life Itself. Next up is the aggressive Hot Rails to Hell followed by the sheer awesomeness of 7 Screaming Diz-Busters which brings a close to The Black.

The Red side starts out with the psychotic hard rock sound of Baby Ice Dog which tells the story of a man who murders his unfaithful fiancée. After this is the slow and gloomy Wings Wetted Down followed Teen Archer (quite possibly the most cryptic song on this album). Closing The Red is one of my favourite songs on this album. Mistress of the Salmon Salt starts out with a psychedelic sound and ends in quite possibly the most menacing and badass tone of any BOC song.

Even with the greatness of The Black and Red sides, an even greater treat comes when the bonus tracks begin. Of all the live a studio versions, this version of Cities on Flame is probably the heaviest I've heard. The formerly unreleased studio version of Buck's Boogie (a concert favourite) has a very danceable and somewhat Jazzy feel. After that masterpiece is a live version of 7 Screaming Diz-Busters. As is usual for BOC, it's about twelve times heavier than the studio version, sounding at times like a proto- type for Metallica. To finish it is a live version of O.D.'d on Life Itself. Overall, this album is an absolute MUST for all BOC fans and a great addition to any Prog or Metal fan's shelf.