Latest Release
- DEC 13, 2023
- 2 Songs
- Love · 1985
- Sonic Temple · 1989
- Electric · 1987
- Love (Expanded Edition) [2009 Remaster] · 1985
- Love · 1985
- Electric · 1987
- Sonic Temple · 1989
- Sonic Temple · 1989
- Electric · 1987
- Sonic Temple · 1989
Essential Albums
- The Cult stuck to their guns on their fourth album by igniting sexual charges (“Sun King,” “Sweet Soul Sister”) and keeping a kind of shamanistic shroud over things (“Medicine Train,” “Soldier Blue”). Singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy offer up a bounty of big-drum, big-riff philosophies and hedonistic dreams that come off as rare insights for mainstream hard rock. The ballad to Andy Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick (“Edie, [Ciao, Baby])” is the album centerpiece, but “Fire Woman” proved they were the world’s greatest rock ’n’ roll band in 1989. Millions of album buyers agreed.
- Then emerging hard rock and rap producer Rick Rubin transformed the Cult from a psychedelic goth band into true AC/DC emulators with Electric. Guitarist Billy Duffy began pumping out power chords in the Angus Young tradition and the album’s physically taut production left no room for the gloomy shimmerings of the band’s previous output that had come to aesthetic triumph with 1985’s Love and its most recognizable track, “She Sells Sanctuary.” In its place were stock hard rock guitar solos and unflinching rhythms, and singer Ian Astbury made the stylistic jump without a hitch. His dark, arena-ready vocals were previously cloaked in mystical reverb; here, he rides on top, navigating the group like a true testosterone fueled hard rock singer. “Wild Flower” kicks things off with startling momentum, and the vocal yelps of “Aphrodisiac Jacket” and “Electric Ocean” along with the twisted boogie riffs of “King Contrary Man” show a band completely comfortable with their new approach. “Bad Fun” tramples like vintage Van Halen, “Love Removal Machine” was the band’s massive hit. Even the Steppenwolf cover of “Born to Be Wild” isn’t without its feral charm.
Albums
- 2016
- 1989
- 2022
- 2022
- 2022
- 1992
Artist Playlists
- Pulsating anthems and galloping blues from the dark princes of ‘80s rock ‘n' roll.
- The band plumbs a goldmine of howlin' vocals and heavy hooks.
Compilations
About The Cult
Since the mid-’80s, British hard rock band The Cult continually reinvented their sound and their lineup, anchoring their multi-Platinum catalog around lead singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy. ∙ The Cult’s musical origins and use of Native American imagery can be traced back to Astbury’s first post-punk outfit, The Southern Death Cult, whose only album came out after they had broken up. ∙ “She Sells Sanctuary,” the band’s breakout single, was a UK Top 20 hit in 1985, launching their sophomore LP, Love, to the Top 5 of the UK Albums chart. ∙ Working with producer Rick Rubin, they released 1987’s Electric, featuring the single “Love Removal Machine,” which is ranked among VH1’s 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. ∙ Their platinum-selling fourth LP, 1989’s Sonic Temple, featured the hit “Fire Woman,” which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. ∙ After Astbury sang “Wild Child” with The Doors on their 2000 VH1 Storytellers episode, he was asked by the band to join as lead vocalist for their 2002 tour as The Doors of the 21st Century. ∙ Between 2007 and 2016, The Cult released a narrative trilogy of albums—Born Into This, Choice of Weapon, and Hidden City—that returned them to the UK Top 20.
- ORIGIN
- Bradford, England
- FORMED
- 1983
- GENRE
- Hard Rock