Though theyve never stopped touring, Blue Oyster Cult havent released a studio album since 2001s Curse of the Hidden Mirror. Nineteen years is a long time to go between records, and there have been changes: Rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Allen Lanier passed in 2013, while conceptualist, producer, and lyricist Sandy Pearlman died three years later. Donald Roeser (aka Buck Dharma) and Eric Bloom are the only remaining members of the classic lineup. They began writing these songs in 2017. After signing to Frontiers Music in 2019, this quintet -- including veteran touring members Richie Castellano and bassist Danny Miranda, with new drummer Jules Radino -- entered the studio and laid down basic tracks and completed the album with members contributing from quarantine. These songs range from punchy hard rock and proto-metal jams to hooky, cinematic AOR pop, stadium anthems, and rootsy garage rockers. The music on these 14 songs careens across the bands history with abundant energy and fantastic production. First single That Was Me, kicks off with gnarly power chords, slamming snare and kick drums, and dark, poetic lyrics. Its catchy chorus could have appeared on any song from Agents of Fortune on to Imaginos. The bands trademark harmonies are bolstered by a guest appearance from original member Albert Bouchard (and his cowbell). Box in My Head showcases the outfits ability to create hooky AOR; it features a compelling guitar-and-keyboard attack that melds the spirit of Dominance and Submission from Secret Treaties with a hook akin to Head Easts in Theres Never Been Any Reason. Tainted Blood is plodding, cinematic, and heavy as hell, with a blistering guitar chart and a rafter-quaking refrain. Castellano claims lead vocals on three tunes here, including the swaggering cruncher The Machine with ringing fills from Roeser, punchy cowbells, and layered harmonies from Bloom and Castellano. The metal anthem Stand and Fight sounds like a lyric biker sequel to Feel the Thunder, from Revolution by Night, though the killer gang vocals make it far more intense. The Alchemist is a return to BOCs prog scheme with Iron Maiden-esque guitar harmonies and a labyrinthian arrangement. The Return of St. Cecilia -- with lyrics by old pal Richard Meltzer -- is a knotty neo-psych tune that closes the circle on the pre-BOC Stalk-Forrest Groups 50-year-old St. Cecilia with a massive Deep Purple-esque guitar-and-organ boogie topped with a pumping piano a la Little Richard. Train Song (Lennies Song) weds blues and hard rockabilly strutter a la R U Ready 2 Rock, from Spectres, while Florida Man is a slippery midtempo nocturnal rocker that suggests the psych-pop brilliance of Burning for You. Theres a Crime is BOCs take on overdriven, raw garage rock, while closer Fight is an exercise in radio-ready brilliance. The Symbol Remains is diverse, wildly creative, and expertly sequenced, making not only a consistent return for Blue Oyster Cult but a thoroughly inspired one as well. ~ Thom Jurek

Rovi