CÜLTÜS REDÜX

BLUE ÖYSTER CULT RETURN WITH THEIR FIRST STUDIO ALBUM OF NEW MUSIC IN NEARLY 20 YEARS.

- BILL KOPP

In the midst of a pandemic that has forced live concerts to disap-pear and the pace of album releases to slow to a trickle, one of rock’s most enduring acts is ending a long period of studio inactivity. Wickedly witty rock band Blue Öyster Cult released their 15th studio album, The Symbol Remains, on October 9. For fans of the group’s classic material, the collection of 14 new songs should prove to have been worth the wait.

Until very recently, rock fans whose primary exposure to music is albums – as opposed to live shows – may have held the mistaken impression that Blue Öyster Cult are no longer around. The Long Island, N.Y. rockers came on the scene in 1972, broke through in a big way in 1976 and again in ’81. The band known for their hits “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” “Burnin’ for You” and “Godzilla” released 14 studio albums between ’72 and 2001. But then, it seemed, the music stopped.

That’s not exactly what happened. The band – always a strong draw on the concert circuit – continued their heavy touring schedule. To date, reliable estimates place the number of BÖC shows somewhere just over the 4,000 mark; that works out to an average of about one concert every 10 days for the past 48 years. Right up until early 2020, when stages across the country (and globe) went dark, Blue Öyster Cult stayed busy and on the road. But in an era when even the least-prolific artists manage a new release every five years or so, fans hungering for new BÖC music have seen their requests go unanswered for nearly two decades.