Beyond Good and Evil

The Cult | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 5, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lava
• ASIN: B00005IBYZ
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,935 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

CULT THE BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shredder's delight., September 28, 2001

By 

Stephen Caratzas (Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Good and Evil (Audio CD)

In 'Beyond Good and Evil' The Cult (Ian Astbury, Billy Duffy and Matt Sorum) have crafted an album that goes way beyond most normally accepted notions of what the term "hard rocking" denotes. This thing roars! It is virtually impossible to play this disc - even at a modest volume - without having your ears ring. It is that robustly recorded.

Employing some of the most savagely distorted guitar sounds of his impressive career, Billy Duffy appears to be on a mission of sonic destruction - and he isnt taking prisoners. The opening riff to "Rise" suggests an angel dust-crazed Yeti ripping a metal garbage can to shreds. Some enterprising electronics manufacturer should immediately begin working on a Billy Duffy brand fuzz box that attempts to replicate this mayhem - it would sell in the zillions.

Vocalist Ian Astbury delivers his rage-fueled lyrics with thrilling gusto. Get a load of the song titles, this guy is [mad]...: "War (The Process)", "Take the Power", "American Gothic", "My Bridges Burn", just to name a few. He makes his discontent abundantly clear about three words into the album. 'Beyond Good and Evil' indeed - we are moving into uncharted dimensions where words like "good" and "evil" become meaningless.

Some diehard fans may not find this to be among the band's best work, but if you're looking for maximum crunch with a good deal of substance behind it, you could do a lot worse. My only complaint: at 51 minutes, 'Beyond Good and Evil' is way too short.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They're ba-ack!, June 26, 2001

By 

S. Gustafson "Holy Roman Emperor" (New Albany, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Good and Evil (Audio CD)

Picked this one up on a lark. Didn't even know it was coming, but it made me curious. You know that feeling of mixed excitement and trepidation you get, finding a new release from a band you adored way back when, but that seemed to drop out of sight? That was what I felt -before- I listened to it.

There is fortunately little sign of -change- in this record, whose songs and thunderous Bob Rock production would be at home in the -Sonic Temple- and -Electric- period. Billy Duffy's guitar is like a great basalt obelisk dislodged from the heavens by some cosmic accident, to fall to earth, and his riffing propels each song forward forcefully.

Ian Astbury never bores. His songs are consistently soaked with cosmic thoughts. You get another ballad for a departed Warhol-set lady [-Nico-], some global-tribal politics [-War (The Process)-], and plenty of material that seems to indicate that, unlike -some- dark hard rock bands from the same era that I could name, he has not forgotten who his most loyal fans are. [-American Gothic-, -Ashes and Ghosts-, -Speed of Light (Black California)-] Some reviews I have read --- though not most here --- find this pretentious, but I am always glad to see a hard rocking band address concerns larger than just sex.

So forget whatever reservations you might have had. This is more classic Cult. You will not be disappointed.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hard rock gem!, August 15, 2004

By 

marky "marky" (Old Bridge, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Good and Evil (Audio CD)

Any Cult fan knows that each cd that they put out, is different than the last. Besides U2, no other band has composed so many different styles of rock music, as well as the Cult.

After their hiatus, Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy must have been pissed off when they wrote these songs. The majority of these songs are heavy with crunchy guitars and intense voclas. Duffy and Astbury blended the lyrics and music together like a tapestry. This cd captures that magic where the music rocks&grooves and the words make sense and can be appreciated.

It is a shame Beyond Good&Evil came out during an era where there aren't as many venues for rock acts to tour, and where MTV doesn't play videos by rock bands that are over the age of 20. This album should have been huge. If you don't own it, buy it. If you missed the tour, buy the dvd. Any new band might learn a lesson on what a frontman is, as well as a guitar god.

Also, even if you are not a Cult fan but need a kick butt disc to take to the gym, this is highly recommended.