Author: Jernej Vene
Artist: Cult, The
Label: Cooking Vinyl
Release: 2012
Duration: 41:42
Rating: 4.3/5
British rock outfit The Cult have dropped a new record after five years, Choice Of Weapon. Since their big successes in the second half of the eighties, the band has put out only four albums since 1994. That low number is partly down to friction between singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, the only two original members. Fact is, a big success is always followed by an inevitable fall, and picking yourself back up is even harder. The Cult are sitting on priceless gems in the form of the albums Love, Electric and Sonic Temple, which set milestones in rock with touches of new wave, hard rock and their own peculiar darkness. The Cult have always sounded epic and a little bit sinister. Especially in the slower songs, their sound is completely in service of the lyrics. During The Cult’s downtime, Astbury played in The Doors Of The 21st Century, alongside Doors members Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger. Thanks to the stage and personal resemblance to Jim Morrison, Astbury pretty much embodied the late singer. Occasional self-destructive behavior kept putting the brakes on The Cult, which is why they took a longer break over the last decade. But Astbury and Duffy can’t last without each other. The musical ideas and the aching lyrics, full of sadness and shattered dreams, are the glue that makes The Cult so different from everyone else. Duffy may not be a guitar hero, but that doesn’t matter one bit, because in the drive to breathe life into a song, melodies and phrases get woven into the band’s sound with ease.
In 2006, Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy brought drummer John Tempesta into the fold, and Chris Wyse has been on bass for a few years now too. After the many people who rotated through those spots over thirty years, it looks like these two are the right caliber for the moody Astbury and the cunning Duffy. The Cult are a tight rock quartet that leaves nothing to chance on Choice of Weapon. Their post-punk view of the world is, more or less, pretty apocalyptic. Given the current state of the world, with an already worn-out working stiff getting hammered by a global crisis on top of everything, it’s clear the music is direct and honest, while the lyrics are often pretty sharp, since Astbury’s vocabulary doesn’t skimp on the ammo. If anything happens to offend you, I apologize on the band’s behalf. An artist has the right to express themselves their own way, as long as it doesn’t turn into insults. Astbury knows well where the line is. So The Cult managed to come up with and record by far their best album since their glory days at the end of the eighties.
Ian Astbury has drawn plenty of inspiration from various traditional mythologies and belief systems, with Native Americans and Buddhists close to the heart. The interest lies in how people elsewhere in the world look at the problems of life and the environment. The Western way of seeing the world is consciously rejected. Of course, there’s no preaching about universal love and peace for all; rather, the message is that this time something is seriously wrong. We have to help ourselves, above all by being aware that self-rescue is possible, by not sliding into self-destruction but trying everything to sort out our lives with common sense and the occasional daydream. Ian Astbury knows such situations well, having had quite a few experiences with an unhealthy lifestyle. That’s also what elevates Choice Of Weapon, laying it out for careful, attentive ears. The Cult’s music in the new millennium still convinces; keyboards breathe more interesting life into some of the songs, and unlike on the previous record Born Into This, Duffy’s guitar is this time just loud enough and just dirty enough. The way it should be. The Cult are heading into the second decade of the new millennium with their heads held high.
Lineup
Ian Astbury – vocals
Billy Duffy – guitars
Chris Wyse – bass guitar
John Tempesta – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Jamie Edwards – keyboards, strings
Chris Goss – guitars, backing vocals
A.J. Celi – backing vocals
Production
Chris Goss, Bob Rock
Tracklist
- Honey from a Knife (3:06)
- Elemental Light (4:45)
- The Wolf (3:33)
- Life > Death (5:32)
- For the Animals (4:28)
- Amnesia (3:02)
- Wilderness Now (4:33)
- Lucifer (4:40)
- A Pale Horse (3:14)
- This Night in the City Forever (4:45)
