After a long absence and a handful of forgettable records, The Cult returns to peak form with Beyond Good And Evil, an album of pure rock loaded with raging riffs.
The group seems to have found the osmosis that made its success in the Eighties: the synergy of Billy Duffy's cutting guitars and the lyricism of the singer Ian Astbury. Beyond Good And Evil offers a succession of enticing, venomous pieces of hard rock, halfway between the aggressiveness of Electric and the large production of Sonic Temple.
"War" carefully starts with flanger and gothic and arpeggios that sound very much like the Love album in order to quickly leave room for the big guitars and the unrestrained rhythms that make up this album. "The Saint" is in the same vein. "Rise" is the unstoppable single, worthy of the group's finest hour: with the nervous riffs and anthem, one undoubtedly thinks of "Wild Flowers" and "Fire Woman". "Take The Power" alternates heavy flanger guitars in the line of Sonic Temple. "Breathe" sounds like the Stone Temple Pilots , a group who was inspired by the sound of The Cult. "Nico" is a beautiful ballad that echoes "Edie (Ciao Baby)", other piece from Sonic Temple. "American Gothic" strikes next with stentorian guitars after this short moment of calm. While "Ashes and Ghosts" and "Shape The Sky" are without much interest, "Speed of Light" is aggressive and efficient. "True Believers" is a melodious mid-tempo ballad. Lastly, the disc ends as it started, with the smoldering "My Bridges Burn".
With Beyond Good And Evil, The Cult shows that the old rock guard has not given up.
The Cult Beyond Good And Evil
