The band also did a co-headlining tour with Black Sabbath in support of the album, calling the tour "Black and Blue".īirch produced the band's next album as well, Fire of Unknown Origin (1981). The song is a kind of retelling of Moorcock's epic Elric of Melniboné-Saga. One of the notable songs on the album was "Black Blade," which was written by Bloom with lyrics by sci-fi and fantasy author Michael Moorcock. The album went to number 12 in the UK, but did not do as well in the U.S. The result was positive, with Cultösaurus Erectus (1980) receiving good reviews. Pearlman's association with Black Sabbath was tapped for the next Blue Öyster Cult album, which resulted in Sabbath's Heaven and Hell producer Martin Birch being hired for the next Blue Öyster Cult record. However, the resulting album sales were disappointing. For Mirrors, instead of working with previous producers Pearlman (who instead went on to manage Black Sabbath) and Krugman, Blue Öyster Cult chose Tom Werman, who had worked with acts such as Cheap Trick and Ted Nugent. It was followed by the studio album Mirrors (1979). It became Blue Öyster Cult's most popular album, eventually selling over 2 million copies. Though it was intended as another double-live album in the vein of On Your Feet Or On Your Knees, Columbia insisted that it be edited down to single-album length. The band then released another live album, Some Enchanted Evening (1978). Their next album, Spectres (1977), had the FM radio hit "Godzilla", but its sales were not as strong as those for the previous album. (Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence)," and "The Revenge of Vera Gemini." For the tour, the band added lasers to their light show, for which they became known. Other major songs on the album were "(This Ain't) The Summer of Love," "E.T.I. It contained the hit single "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", which reached number 12 on the Billboard charts and has become a classic of the genre. The band's first live album On Your Feet or on Your Knees (1975) achieved greater success and went gold, and was followed up by their first platinum album, Agents of Fortune (1976).
As a result of constant touring, the band was now capable of headlining arenas. The band's third album, Secret Treaties (1974) received positive reviews, featuring songs such as "Career of Evil" (also co-written by Patti Smith), "Dominance and Submission" and "Astronomy". It contained songs such as "The Red and The Black" (an ode to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and basically a sped-up rewrite of "I'm On The Lamb", from the debut album), "Hot Rails To Hell", and "Baby Ice Dog", the first of the band's many collaborations with Patti Smith. Their next album Tyranny and Mutation, released in 1973, was written while the band was on tour for their first LP. The album sold well, and Blue Öyster Cult toured with artists such as The Byrds, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Alice Cooper. The album featured the songs "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll", "Stairway to the Stars," and "Then Came the Last Days of May". Their debut album Blue Öyster Cult was released in January 1972, with a black and white cover designed by artist Bill Gawlik. Today, BÖC's music continues to be played on AOR-friendly radio stations as well as in movies, television shows, and commercials, and even during sporting events.īlue Öyster Cult's current lineup includes long-time members Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals) and Eric Bloom (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboard), as well as Jules Radino (drums, percussion), Richie Castellano (keyboard, guitar, vocals), and Kasim Sulton (bass guitar). The band's music videos, especially "Burnin' for You", received heavy rotation on MTV when the music television network premiered in 1981, cementing the band's contribution to the development and success of the music video in modern pop culture. Since the release of their self-titled debut album in 1972, the band has sold over 24 million albums worldwide, including 7 million in the United States alone. Blue Öyster Cult (often abbreviated BÖC) is an American rock band from Long Island, New York, United States, best known for such hard rock songs as "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla".