MIRRORS

The swing back around to heavier material was just around the corner, but there was a way to go yet before it arrived. Mirrors catches the Cult at the most extreme swing swing of the pendulum towards pop they'd air in the 1970s, and in that respect is something of a development of the sound of Spectres.

I Am the Storm even suggests, in a mild way, the sheer power the band used to take for granted in their classic days, but other songs such as The Great Sun Jester or In Thee present a gentler, harmony-oriented musical approach, and Doctor Music sounds like a KISS parody.

I didn't think much of this album at first, but it finally clicked with me when I realised what this was - as the title implies, this is Blue Oyster Cult in retro mode, using the slickest 1970s rock techniques to evoke the spirit of the 1950s. There's a classic rock and roll air to proceedings which increases as the album continues, and which has a certain charm to it all of its own - but to really embrace this you need to abandon any expectation of the band hitting the level of heaviness they displayed in their earlier works. From a hard rock or proto-metal perspective, it's disappointing - from a pop perspective, I'd say it's a strong improvement over Spectres.