THE CULT - Choice of Weapon

They say one picture is worth a thousand words! This is why, when I saw the new pictures of Ian Astbury early this year, with a beard, long hair and an Indian hat I was certain that the new The Cult album would be a return to their roots!

And indeed, Choice of Weapon ends a drift that had begun more than 20 years ago, with Ceremony (1991), a wandering that was spiced up with all sorts of drugs musical experiments with varied degrees of success - see the failed self-titled album in the mid-90s, and the few desperate attempts at a come-back that followed it. Of these, Born into This (2007) was probably the most likely to succeed, if only it had the right songs.

However, things are different in 2012. Perhaps now we can see the results of the time spent by Ian with members of The Doors, when he was able to pretend he was his idol, Jim Morrison, in the project The Doors of the 21st Century / Riders on the Storm. Or maybe it’s the influence of producers Chris Goss and Bob Rock - even though it was Rick Rubin who completed their metamorphosis into the kings of the underground goth, the new Doors/Zeppelin/AC/DC, with Electric(1987). Maybe the rhythmic section, always a variable in the equation of The Cult, has had enough time to bond, or maybe the pair Billy Duffy / Ian Astbury has suddenly found lost inspiration. After all, maybe all the above are true, which would explain why Choice of Weapon is chock-full with memorable songs.

The first is Honey From a Knife, describing the process of giving up drugs where the lyrics “My wild Indian heart was poundin´ / I was runnin´ so fast” sound like a welcoming message for those who are familiar with the mythology of The Cult. Inspired by New York City – a lesser known piece from Sonic Temple (1989), where Iggy Pop does backing vocals – this is the band’s most impactful song since Wild Hearted Son and, in my opinion, lends an air of safety to the entire album. Because The Cult do not shy away from continuing with a neopsychedelic piece, Elemental Light, which, as the next song, The Wolf, take us back to the period of Love (1985). Then we have what will be unfairly labelled the album’s “ballad” - and I say unfairly because there’s a difference in tone between, say, Don’t Cry and Life>Death, a grave song, with lyrics such as “You break the man / Leave his shell on the ground / What have you done / With your own life your world”.

On the next 2 songs, the album goes back to hard-rock. For the Animals is the album’s single, about which Ian Astbury said, in the Rolling Stone, that it best represents them: “We've always been an outsider group; we don't seem to fit completely with an existing genre. ’For the Animals' reflects the sentiment that we are a raw, visceral animal, independent and beholden to no one. We celebrate that aspect that is also rising in the culture. We go where nature takes us.” This primal feeling of wild revolt is also found on Amnesia: “I was born of the underground / Orphan of Altamont / Sure no Neanderthal / No matter what they think”.

The record then takes a darker turn: Wilderness Now – a “ballad” that seems to be dedicated to death/ the goddess Kali (goddess of time and change in the Hindu mythology) - and Lucifer, a rather forgettable song, starting with the only electronic sounds that can be heard on this album, but fortunately comes back quickly.

Perhaps to underline the total return to form, Choice of Weapon ends with an avalanche of rhythm changes in the vein of Electric (1987) with A Pale Horse, followed by This Night In The City Forever, a  bluesy jam that reminds me in places of the atmosphere on the famous LA Woman (1971) of The Doors.

Choice of Weapon is an album that I would recommend without hesitation to anyone who is not familiar with The Cult. Choosing the latest album as a starting point for discovering a band that has been around for 30 years may be surprising, but in this case it is quite appropriate!

Gedi Nota: 9.5