Review Summary: It gives is a really great sample of what rock music should have been in 1998, it's a very credible piece of work technically and musically.
Heaven Forbid is the first album of
Blue Öyster Cult after ten years of absence.
Blue Öyster Cult always were pioneers in the rock industry, belonging to a small group of bands in the 70's that helped to build rock music, mainly the hard-rock and heavy metal styles. The American natives are one of my favorite bands of all time, my respect for the band is immense not only musically but professionally. One of the great features of the band is the fact that they had the ability to stay on top for so long, not commercially but in terms of music style.
After ten years of changes in the music industry with the arrival of alternative rock and grunge music,
Blue Öyster Cult weren't, in fact, the top favorites to sell albums in 1998. When I listened the album I had to say I was so impressed, I know all the discography of the band and after so many changes and different music styles existing at that time, the group was able to make a solid and very credible rock album. Most of the band lineup was the same throughout the years and that helped to make the album much more nostalgic and so rock oriented.
It starts superbly with a great pack of songs that remind me of the first two or three albums of the band. In this album there is a great feeling with good riffs, solos and vocal performances. Lyrically the band tries to stay in the same style, in my opinion, keeping in their safe place not risking too much in this part.
Blue Öyster Cult keeps the melody in each of the songs of the album, it's a trademark of the band joining heavy metal and melodic rock. Another great feature is the number of guest musicians in the album, they joined a big group of people, they really tried to make this album something special.
Don't get me wrong, this album is far from perfection, it lacks the spark they had with the Bouchard brothers; definitely it's not a remake of
Blue Öyster Cult,
Secret Treaties or
Agents Of Fortune, it doesn't have the same quality. The magic that existed in songs such as "Astronomy", "The Reaper" or "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll" just doesn't exist. The songs on this album are great but don't give the classic
Blue Öyster Cult to the fans of the band. What it gives is a really great sample of what rock music should have been in 1998, it's a very credible piece of work technically and musically.
