Blue Oyster Cult Announce First Album in 19 Years, Issue Two New Songs
Welcome back, Blue Oyster Cult. Though the group has toured over the years, 2020 will mark their first new studio album in 19 years. The rock legends have set an Oct. 9 street date for their 14th studio album, The Symbol Remains.
The veteran band have been rocking since the '70s, but their latest album shows that they've been unfazed by the passage of time. Giving fans a taste of what's to come, the band dropped two new tracks to check out.
"That Was Me" fires out of the gate with a sinister sounding guitar line that really drives the music and feeds the idea of a force impacting action. Meanwhile, "Box in My Head" still rocks, but has a more melodic feel to it, inviting the listener to come closer and take a look at the person behind the song.
Blue Öyster Cult started sessions for the new album in earnest in 2019, bringing songs to the table that had previously been in the works as well as working on new ones. The goal was to craft an album that gives an appropriate portrait of where the band is in the here and now.
"With the song demos emerging for this record, we realized there was as much if not more variety in style and content on this record as any in our history,” explains Eric Bloom. "We embraced this and the thing tying all the disparate elements together is the band’s sound and performance."
"The goal was for the new music to stand up to the quality and vitality of our legacy recordings, and I believe we have successfully done that,” adds Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser. “Other than that, the sound of our voices and style of our writing and playing can’t help but sound familiar to fans of our work."
As for that album title, Bloom explains, “The Symbol Remains comes from a quote of an old Sandy Pearlman lyric, which basically we are using to show that the band is back and still rocking after all these years. To me, it means we’re still here and doing what we do..."
Blue Oyster Cult's The Symbol Remains is on track for an Oct. 9 release and you and pre-order/pre-save the album here. Plus, there will be limited edition color LPs (green, crystal and blue) available at this location.
In addition to classic Blue Oyster Cult mainstays Bloom and Roeser, the band includes Jules Randino, Danny Miranda and Richie Castellano. "We wanted to record the current band’s lineup for some time and the result of Jules, Danny, Richie, Eric and myself giving our all on The Symbol Remains speaks for itself,” says Buck Dharma.
Check out the new songs, artwork and track listing below.
Blue Oyster Cult, "That Was Me"
Blue Oyster Cult, "Box in My Head"
Blue Oyster Cult, The Symbol Remains Artwork + Track Listing
1. That Was Me
2. Box In My Head
3. Tainted Blood
4. Nightmare Epiphany
5. Edge Of The World
6. The Machine
7. Train True (Lennie’s Song)
8. The Return Of St. Cecilia
9. Stand And Fight
10. Florida Man
11. The Alchemist
12. Secret Road
13. There’s A Crime
14. Fight
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