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THE CULT :
BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL
It has been a long time since the last studio Cult CD, how long you ask? 7 years!!! That's right, the critically panned, self titled disc that drove the nail into the coffin the first time around, came out in 1994. Now in 2001 Ian, Duffy, and Matt are trying to make a comeback with famed producer Bob Rock, does it work? Hell ya! After flops like the Astbury fronted, Holy Barbarians, and his lame solo disc, I was more than a little scared that this would suck ass. Thankfully, this is not the case. The Cult have found a modern rock sound that falls somewhere in between Electric and Sonic Temple, so fans of their later era rejoice. If you wanted to hear more goth inspired tunes like on Love and Dream Time, you're not gonna find 'em here. What you will find is a CD of 12 solid heavy rock tunes, with catchy hooks, Duffy's expert riffing, thunderous drumming from Mr. Sorum, and Ian's unique mystical voice. Is it as good as Electric? no, but its close. The perfect prescription for the "if I hear one more Creed song I'll go insane blues".
RATING = 9 Hard Rock (Released 2001)
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THE CULT :
PURE CULT DVD ANTHOLOGY
The reunited Cult have put together this gem of a DVD, that will make your old video compilations obsolete. If you own "Electric Love" or "Sonic Ceremony", the bands previous VHS promotional video compilations, you can now use 'em for target practice. This DVD includes EVERY video from those tapes, as well as their newer promos such as "The Witch", "Coming Down", & "Star". There is also some great rare live stuff; "Spiritwalker" (Live on The Tube), "Go West" (Live at The Lyceum), "Sun King" (Live at Pinkpop), "In the Clouds" (from Argentina), and "She Sells Sanctuary mcmxciii". You can watch all these vids back to back, or you can choose to watch them with a song by song introduction from Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy. There is also a discography, and a photo gallery, and some rare interview footage from 1986 and 1991. The sound and picture are great, this is truly a must have for any Cult fan, and if you're not a Cult fan, then I doubt anything they could have put on here, would make you wanna buy it. Unless they added some porn. The only thing this is missing, in my opinion, is the bands video for "Painted On My Heart", that was on the Gone In 60 Seconds soundtrack, other than that, this smokes.
RATING = 9.5 Hard Rock (Released 2001)
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THE CULT :
LIVE CULT : MUSIC WITHOUT FEAR
It's currently 10:30 in the PM, I just finished watching the new Cult DVD while I sipped on a Manhattan the size of a 7-11 "Big Gulp". I was not going to watch the whole thing, I had just popped it in to check it out, but once it started, I was mesmerized, and while I watched, I came to several epiphanies. A) The Cult is one of the most under-rated rock bands on the planet. B) Their last studio CD, "Beyond Good and Evil", was one of the most criminally ignored albums of the last few years. C) "Electric" is one of the greatest Rock albums of all time. D) 99% of the population are fucking idiots. OK, that last one really wasn't an epiphany, more like a re-affirmation of a previous hypothesis, but it's still worth noting. The DVD is a cheapie, I only paid $15, so right away, you're pretty much guaranteed your moneys worth. It was filmed in LA on the Beyond Good and Evil tour, and showcases 17 tracks, in 86 minutes. It is mixed in 5.1surround sound, and is shown at a aspect ratio of 1:1.85, and is enhanced for wide screen TVs. There is also a 26-minute featurette of Behind The Scenes stuff as well. The sound, and performance is outstanding, and they bring out a lot of their latest tunes, which is cool because we've all heard the old hits a million times. As each song started, I was struck by just how fucking great this band is. Every song provoked a deep emotional response from me, something that most other bands just can't do, at least not with such consistency. The team of Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy is simply magical, and those that can't see it should be punched in the back of the head. The only negative aspects of this disc, is that it could have been longer, and they could have chosen a better crowd. If you know you're filming, why not put on at least a 2 hour set? Now, I caught this tour in Toronto, Ian was born here, and the old "T.O." has always been a very strong market for the Cult. It was only a 2000 capacity venue (the Warehouse) where I saw them, which looks a little smaller than the Grand Olympic Auditorium in LA, but the Toronto crowd went fucking nuts! There was moshing and crowd surfing all over the place, despite an audience that was mostly made up of 30-ish year old fans. The LA crowd just seemed a little too laid back. Anyway, all Cult fans will bust a nut over this DVD, all you non-Cult fans are fucking morons anyway, so who cares what you think.
RATING = 9 Hard Rock (Released 2002)
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"Greatest hits albums are for housewives and little girls."
-Bruce McCulloch K.I.T.H. '91
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