Blue Oyster Cult

Semisatiric exponents of the high-decibel apocalypse, Blue Öyster Cult forged an unlikely alliance between teen tastes and critical appeal and were a major heavy-metal band from the mid-'70s through the '80s. The group goes back to 1967, when future rock critic R. Meltzer and future Cult producer Sandy Pearlman, students at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, decided to organize a band. Along with Allen Lanier, Donald Roeser, and Albert Bouchard, they formed Soft White Underbelly (a name the Cult still uses for club dates). Vocalist Meltzer was replaced by Les Bronstein, with whom they recorded one unreleased LP for Elektra, and several vocalists followed before Eric Bloom joined in 1969. With Bloom, the group's name changed to Oaxaca. By then, Bouchard’s brother Joe had joined the band. They recorded another unreleased LP before changing the group’s name from the Stalk-Forrest Group to Blue Öyster Cult.

They signed with Columbia in late 1971, and their debut album was released a few months later. There followed several years of extensive touring as Alice Cooper’s opening act. Their show - featuring lasers, flash pots, and Buck Dharma’s guitar solos - built a small but loyal following that paved the way for their 1976 commercial breakthrough with the platinum LP Agents of Fortune and its #12 hit single “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper,” a Buck Dharma composition. Agents also featured vocals and songwriting from Patti Smith, who was then Lanier’s girlfriend. The Cult’s performances have been captured on three live LPs: On Your Feet or on Your Knees (their second gold album), Some Enchanted Evening, and Extraterrestrial Live.

The band’s dark imagery is symbolized by its logo, the ancient symbol of Cronos, the Titan god who ate his son the Grim Reaper. A good deal of BÖC’s success and image can be credited to its longtime manager and occasional songwriter and producer Pearlman. The group has also enjoyed the support of rock writers like Meltzer, who has also written songs for the band. In 1980 it coheadlined with Black Sabbath on the Black and Blue Tour.

Although “Burnin’ for You” was a Top 40 hit and frequently aired video clip, the album it came from, Fire of Unknown Origin, was the group’s last gold record. Subsequent studio albums - Revolution by Night, Club Ninja, and Imaginos - came less frequently and had decreasing commercial impact. Dropped by Columbia in 1987, the group disbanded, then promptly got back together in 1988 - though by Cult Classics (which featured rerecorded versions of BÖC’s chestnuts) the Bouchard brothers had left. Anchored by the core of Bloom, Lanier, and Buck Dharma, BÖC would spend a decade touring but unable to record a proper full-length studio album. The band finally secured a new U.S. label and released Heaven Forbid, on which science-fiction author John Shirley contributed lyrics to several songs.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)