''Cultösaurus Erectus'' is the seventh studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967. They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...

, released in June 1980. Following an experiment with a more commercial sound on the album ''

Mirrors A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...

'' (released the previous year), this recording marked a return to the band's earlier, heavier sound. It also represents the band's first collaboration with British producer

Martin Birch Martin Phillip Birch (27 December 19489 August 2020) was a British music producer and sound engineer. He became renowned for engineering and producing albums recorded predominantly by British rock and metal bands, including Deep Purple, Rainbow ...

(

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

), who would also produce the band's following album ''

Fire of Unknown Origin ''Fire of Unknown Origin'' is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on June 22, 1981. It was produced by Martin Birch. The album, which included the Top 40 hit " Burnin' for You" (#1 on Billboard's Album ...

'' a year later. While the album did sell more than its predecessor, it stalled at Gold status. However, during this time, Blue Öyster Cult was still filling large venues. The tour promoting ''Cultösaurus Erectus'' found the band co-headlining sports arenas in the United States with

as part of the Black and Blue Tour. The album cover features the central part of the painting ''Behemoth's World'' by British artist Richard Clifton-Dey.

Songs

"Black Blade" features lyrics by fantasy and sci-fi writer

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has wo ...

and is about Stormbringer, a black sword wielded by

Elric of Melniboné Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by English writer Michael Moorcock and the protagonist of a series of sword and sorcery stories taking place on an alternative Earth. The proper name and title of the character are Elric VI ...

, the most famous character in Moorcock's mythology. "The Marshall Plan" includes a cameo by

Don Kirshner Donald Kirshner (April 17, 1934 – January 17, 2011) was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music producer, talent manager, and songwriter. Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by ''Time'', he was best known for managin ...

introducing Johnny, the subject of the song, as an act on

Don Kirshner's Rock Concert ''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert'' is an American television music variety show that ran during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Don Kirshner and syndicated to television stations, initially through Viacom Enterprises, and later ...

, a syndicated concert program popular in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Track listing

Personnel

;Band members *

Eric Bloom Eric Jay Bloom (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist, guitar and keyboard/synthesizer player for the long-running band Blue Öyster Cult, with work on more than 20 albu ...

– guitar, keyboards, vocals * Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser – guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals *

Allen Lanier Allen Glover Lanier (; June 25, 1946 – August 14, 2013) was an American musician who played keyboards and guitar. He was an original member of Blue Öyster Cult. Early life and education Lanier was born in Birmingham, Alabama and later rel ...

– guitar, keyboards *

Joe Bouchard Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage, based on the novel ''Joe'' (1991) by Larry Brown * Joe (2023 film), an Indian film * ''Joe'' (TV se ...

– bass, vocals *

Albert Bouchard Albert Bouchard (; born May 24, 1947) is an American musician. He is a founding member and one of the first and most prominent drummers of the hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult and current drummer of The Dictators. He is the older brother of f ...

– drums, vocals ;Additional musicians *

– introduction during "The Marshall Plan" *

Mark Rivera Mark Rivera (born May 24, 1953) is an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, musical director, and corporate entertainment provider who is mostly known for his work with Billy Joel. In addition to playing soprano, alto, tenor, a ...

– saxophone on "Monsters" ;Production *

– producer, engineer *Clay Hutchinson – second engineer *Blue Öyster Cult – arrangements * Richard Clifton-Dey – front cover painting * Paula Scher – cover design

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cultosaurus Erectus Blue Öyster Cult albums 1980 albums Albums produced by Martin Birch Columbia Records albums Songs with lyrics by Michael Moorcock