Heaven Forbid

Blue Oyster Cult | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 24, 1998)
• Original Release Date: March 24, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sanctuary Records
• ASIN: B0000061RB
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,557 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So, ladies, fish and gentlemen..., August 3, 2000

By 

Robert Dumas (Pawling, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heaven Forbid (Audio CD)

Who says you can't go home again? With "Heaven Forbid," Blue Oyster Cult has finally produced the record that their early material hinted they were capable of. Their first album in more then a decade, "Heaven Forbid" eschews BOC's 1980s trappings of meandering lightweight metal-pop (Burnin' For You, Veteran of the Psychic Wars, Joan Crawford, et. al.) and the obtuse sword and sorcery lyrics.

You can't catch lightning in a bottle twice, so the magic of the first three BOC studio albums can never be duplicated. Afterall, that was the early '70s and the band was living commune-style in a house on Long Island writing as a group. The music was new, innovative and cutting edge. Their biker/ghost/Satanic/mad scientist lyrics were tongue-in-cheek, yet somehow unnerving at the same time. But that was then ... this is now:

On the latest album, past lyricists Sandy Perlman and Richard Metzler are long gone, replaced by novelist John Shirley. Shirley's writing is more on the nose and has less subtext then the enigmatic lyrics of the past. Yet, Shirley knows how create emotion and his dark themes can, at times, make you uncomfortable ... which, I'm sure, is exactly what the band wants. In "See You In Black," a tortured, hard-riffing song that reminds one of Metallica should they ever develop a sense of melody, Eric Bloom growls Shirley's lyrics that tell the story of a man who wishes to see his female friend's husband die because the husband beats her. It's an interesting theme for a song and a clever point of view from which to approach it. The music, penned by Bloom and Buck Dharma is about as heavy as BOC gets -- or any band for that matter: bass-heavy fuzz tone riffs, played manically in a staccato fashion.

The same musical approach is used in "Power Underneath Despair" and "Hammerback," -- heavy riffs, played fast and repeatedly. And they're quite catchy too. (Dharma is surely one of rock's all time great guitarists.) Here, however, Shirley's less than subtle lyrics do derail the songs. "Power" is about a man released from prison seeking revenage on those who ratted him out. Again, an original theme for a rock tune, but in Shirley's clumsy hands it comes across somewhat puerile, sounding like the words were written by a high school sophomore.

However, these are minor indiscretions. Dharma's "Harvest Moon," as mention by other reviewers here, stands brightly as one of the best BOC songs ever. Period. Listen to it three or four times and with each listen watch your goosebump quotant rise as you realize what is going on in the song.

"Harvest Moon" (apologies to Neil Young, I'm sure...), is also one of Dharma's finest vocal performances. He comes across as a firm and confident narrator, showing nuances and inflections in his singing voice that could have rescued such audio pablum as "Burnin' For You." The song tells the story of a small town farm with a mysterious past that now must endure another winter of "evil." In the spring, when the snow melts, the bodies are found. It's a chilling song that is surprisingly catchy and singable as well. I can't get the damn thing out of my head.

Another surprise is the tune, "Real World." One early reviewer compared it to Lynard Skynard and I had to laugh. I suppose it is the surprising and clever use of the acoustic guitar that threw that reviewer off. "Real World" opens with some funky, bluesy guitar picking by Dharma (who knew?). That intro probably sounds closer to something you might hear Little Feat do. This song actually boogies in a lazy southern way. It also reminds one of some of the current rock sounds coming from the likes of Sister Hazel, Counting Crows or Matchbox 20 with Dharma giving his most uncharacteristic vocal perfomrance ever! (Go back and listen to the boogie break in "Before the Kiss" to understand what I mean.)

"Cold Grey Light of Dawn" is another standout. I can understand why some jaded fans may disparage this song. It's power chording at it's cliched best and doesn't feature the typical linear type guitar riffing BOC made famous (Mistress of the Salmon Salt, Godzilla, Harvester of Eyes, etc.) This sounds like it could have been composed by any of those '80s MTV hair bands with its melodramatic chord progression and arrangement, but in the hands of BOC and with Bloom's tortured vocals adding depth and nuance, "Cold Grey Light of Dawn" pratically cloaks itself as a confessional for an aging metal rocker who must confront his fading glory.

There are several more outstanding tracks here ("Damaged," and "Still Burnin'" to name a few). The jury is still out on "The Man with X-Ray Eyes." While "Harvest Moon" might just well be Dharma's best vocal performances, "X-Ray Eyes" may be the complete anthesis: his worst. Here he sounds dreadfully nasal and whiny. The music itself comes closest to reverting back to their power pop days of "Mirrors" and "Fire of An Unknown Origin." In fact, "In Thee," a glaring example of that sound from those regretful days, is revisited here in a live acoustic peformance. Fortunately, in this format, "In Thee" -- actually a road song about missing the girl back home -- seems to have entered a completely new milieu. It comes across more plaintive and intimate here and you find yourself nodding, "Yes, Buck, airplanes do make strangers of us all!"

If you're an oldtime BOC fan and long for the days of "Cagey Cretins" and "Seven Screaming Diz Busters," give "Heaven Forbid" a whirl. As I said, you can't catch ligtening in a bottle twice, but there is enough energy and light on this CD to make you remember why you loved this band so much in the first place.

With "Heaven Forbid," Blue Oyster Cult has once again become the light that never warms. Buy it, roll a fatty, put the CD in the player and enjoy!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heaven forbid you think of not buying this!, July 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Heaven Forbid (Audio CD)

Despite being a massive BOC fan and a gap of ten years since their last album, the brilliant Imaginos, I purchased this new album with a little trepidation. Gone are the Bouchard brothers but the core of Bloom, Lanier and Roeser remain and session musicians fill the drum and bass positions. The first track, See You In Black, is a classic BOC thumping anthem in the style of Cities On Fire With Rock And Roll and makes for an impressive start. Second is the albums best track, IMO, a smashing track written by Roeser called Harvest Moon, which combines a variety of BOC styles to wonderful effect. Power Underneath Despair is an average track but typically BOC with it's choral style "cult" chorus. The fourth track X-Ray Eyes, seemingly inspired by Roger Corman's B-Classic makes a somewhat bizarre song to go with some great music. The next song Hammer Back has its roots firmly in modern metal but retains the distinctive style and guitar work of Roeser. And while it panders to both styles it blends well and is an enjoyable track. Damaged mixes hard rock with a funkier feel to good effect. Cold Gray Light Of Dawn is the album's only real weakness IMO, being a plodding, thumping morass with little sparkle and little to recommend it. Real World is very much like a Lynyrd Skynyrd track before blending into traditional Roeser territory. While the two styles feel a little at odds the Roeser style moments still make for a good song. Live For Me returns to the style that, IMO, made Club Ninja a forgettable album. Simple repeated chords and lifeless melodies interspersed with some nice guitar work from Roeser make this my second least favourite track on the album. Still Burnin' is a frenetic, bass drum throbbing piece with a great little riff running through it. Layered into the main vocals are traditional BOC style backing "cult" vocals. The final track is a nice little acoustic live version of In Thee (from Mirrors) which has a nice "MTV unplugged" feel to it. The inclusion of this tra! ck provides a nice bonus and a nice way to finish the album.

Overall it seems like BOC have returned to their roots while retaining the feel and class of latter albums like Imaginos and Cultosaurus Erectus. And while it draws from those it also picks up on the styles displayed in earlier albums such as Agents of Fortune, Secret Treaties and Tyranny and Mutation as well as ocassionaly mixing in some newer styles. Previous efforts from the band after splits had opposite results, with the awful Club Ninja only rarely capturing the attention and the superb Imaginos recapturing much of what made BOC such a great band. Highlight of the album is Harvest Moon which can sit proudly among the best BOC have provided. Definitely an album to own. Buy it.

Scott's Rating for Heaven Forbid: 4 stars out of 5

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I guess my last review didn't give you the full idea . . ., March 4, 2000

By 

Jimmy Coyne (Co. Waterford, Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heaven Forbid (Audio CD)

OK. I'm gonna review each song one at a time. Maybe then you might have a better idea of what makes this album one of the best heavy metal albums to come out in years.

The opening track, "See You In Black" (E. Bloom, D. Roeser, J. Shirley) will blow you across the room. It opens with a big heavy mini-solo that breaks into an even heavier riff. As soon as Eric begins to sing, you know that he, for one, hasn't misplaced one single ounce of his ability over the years since the release of "Imaginos" in '88. And as soon as the main solo kicks in about half-way through, you wonder if Buck has doubled his . . .

By the time the second track, "Harvest Moon" (D. Roeser) begins, you (when I say "you", I'm really talkin' about me) will already be completely engrosed in the album. However, with "Harvest Moon", things get even better. This is the only track written entirely by Buck, and, if the rest of the band don't mind me saying so . . . I think it's the best. It features a riff that is eerie enough to partner the lyrics, and a solo that would out-shine the sun if it had the chance. I'd give this at least 10 stars, if I could.

Although the following 3 or 4 tracks are not AS amazing as the first 2, they will still amaze you . . .

"Power Underneath Dispair" (E. Bloom, D. Roeser, J. Shirley) is pure jail-break, hard-edged rock n' roll, as is the theme of the song: an angry, violent man (Eric, in this case) gets out of jail and wants revenge on the "boys" who left him "take the heat"! The chorus is almost as agressive as every other part of "See You In Black", and, of course, Buck pulls you in with yet another astounding solo.

In "X-Ray Eyes" (D. Roeser, J. Shirley) Buck takes over on vocals for the second time. (Come to think of it . . . both Eric and Buck take every second turn on vocals up to track 9 . . . when Buck takes it away 'til the end). Towards the end, when he starts singing "Do not lift the veil of the skies . . . ", it's like you're being lifted to a whole other place . . . Great stuff!

"Hammer Back" sees another return to that slapped-down, boogie-evil sound that was BÖC's trademark in the early 70s. And to this day, I can't figure out how Eric does that trembling/laughing sound deep in his throat and can hold it for so long! ("Don't keep the safety on . . . . . . . .") And you're probably not suprised to hear that Buck pulls out all the stops yet again, and provides with another great solo. This one is laden out with plenty of effects and it sounds just classic!

"Damaged" (D. Roeser, J. Shirley) is another stand-out track, as it is varnished with a sleak Allen Lanier organ-cut rythym section. Buck's voice sounds bluesy and jagged-edged, which shows how easily he can switch from his trademark Byrds-like harmonics.

"Cold Gray Light Of Dawn" (E. Bloom, D. Roeser, J. Shirley) also has any eerie sort of aroma to it. ("In the cold gray light of dawn . . . You can't lie to yourself anymore . . . ") Yet it still remains hard-edged; or Eric-edged, I guess we can call it.

Now, this is where the album really comes into itself. I find it hard to believe that any one band can show so many different faces.

"Real World" (D. Roeser, J. Shirley) begins with a riff that is very different to the previous ones. You might think, "Where has all the gain gone?" and be a little confused. Then Buck starts to sing and everything falls into place. "Something beyond" will reach out to you . . . After the second chorus, comes a bridge and solo that are nothing short of brilliant. You might think back to "X-Ray Eyes" and realise that you are being lifted off again. Then the drums recede and you are left with one man and one string. Absoutely brilliant. I said "Harvest Moon" was the best track, and I'll stick by my word, but this part of the album has something about it . . .

"Live For Me" (D. Roeser, J. Shirley) comes very close to equalling the brilliance of "Harvest Moon". Too close to stand! I would recon that the solo in this song tops the one in "Harvest Moon", though. Even if it isn't as complicated . . . The last minute or so of the songs winds down to a beautiful exiting . . . something . . . (Another thing to note about this song: It's the only song on the album that features the current BÖC line-up of Roeser, Bloom, Lanier, Miranda and Rondinelli. I understand Chuck Burgi and Jon Rogers disbanded during recording, but I'm not certain . . . )

"Still Burnin'" (D. Roeser, J. Rogers) is obviously a sequel to BÖC's huge hit from "Fire Of Unknown Origin", "Burnin' For You", but the 2 songs are very different. "Still Burnin'" sees another return to that rocking/rolling sound of the first few tracks, but with Buck on vocals. Not as amazing as the 2 previous tracks, but I think it was really placed at No. 10 (rather than No. 5 or No. 6) to get you wind you up for the final track . . .

Yes. The final track! "In Thee" (A. Lanier) originally featured on the 1979 album, "Mirrors", which any true BÖC fan should know. Except this version was recorded live at Millbrook Studios. Buck sings with a lot of heart, as Eric plays acoustic guitar and Allen plays quietly in the back on keyboards. It was the perfect way to end a perfect album.

Well, that's it. This has taken me long enough, but I feel "Heaven Forbid" deserves it.

Final words: Buy this! Blue Öyster Cult deserve it . . .