Izvajalec: Cult, The
Založba: Roadrunner Records
Izid: 2007
A full six years have passed since the veterans of the British hard rock scene Cult showed their last signs of life worth mentioning. And if Beyond Good And Evil made it seem like the band had been hit at the turn of the millennium by some mildly mannered syndrome of creative stagnation, half a dozen years later that “cute” little nuisance has unexpectedly mutated into a horrifying monster of second-rate fiddling around. With their eighth studio album in a row, probably thanks in part to its tantalizingly promising title, it does open a new chapter for the legendary band, but sadly an incomprehensible one.
The long-awaited follow-up to Ian and company’s more-or-less successful European adventure has thus found its epilogue in the semantically impoverished monotony of Born Into This. One quick look back at the greatness of the “cultish” legacy is enough to see it’s definitely the weakest Cult album, one that’s slowly walking the well-worn path of that already-read-a-hundred-times script of the inevitable fading of the glory of those iconic eighties rock figures. Sadly, yes! Really, the only thing we find on Born Into This that we’d expect is the proverbial simplicity of the Cult message, but it suffers from a lack of real energy, or if you will “oomph” and balls, that might have helped the otherwise tempting minimalist delivery grow past its predictable dodging around arrangement tricks we’ve heard so many times before. Ian’s trick, which used to rest on an aggressive, emotionally charged and distinctly “Morrison-esque” vocal technique, is going through one of its worst periods of impotence this time. Just as baffling is the obvious chill, I’d even say disinterest, wafting from the frighteningly colorless vocals of the gentleman, with which the ten generally acceptable musical pieces, again put together by the Ian/Duffy duo, venture into dangerous waters more or less unsteadily.
Despite all the alarming signs, Born Into This has quite a few moments of its own. If nothing else, your lips will tremble at least at the gothic-inspired title track, which alongside the incomparably more aggressive I Assassin obviously represents the band’s current peak. Citizen and the rhythmically updated Diamonds are obvious assaults on the ears and mind of the average modern-day rock enthusiast, though they quickly turn watery once the above-mentioned shortcomings kick in, while Dirty Little Rock Star’s filthy swagger will, let’s say, at least for a moment take you back to the golden days when rock & roll still ruled the world. Sadly, from here on the level of constructive musical communion goes steeply downhill. This sudden slide is down to the expressionless likes of Tiger In The Sun, Savages and above all the utterly tasteless Sounds Of Destruction, which will have you cursing more and more, as you listen to Born Into This, the days when you could still count on the reliability of good old abortion-grade filler.
Zasedba
Ian Astbury: vocals
Billy Duffy: guitar
Chris Wyse: bass
John Tempesta: drums
Produkcija
Youth
Seznam skladb
1.Born Into This
2.Citizen
3.Diamonds
4.Dirty Little Rock Star
5.Holy Mountain
6.I Assassin
7.Illuminated
8.Tiger In The Sun
9.Savages
10.Sound Of Destruction
Trajanje albuma: 34.49
