The Cult are a band that is more known to the rock fans for their hard rock and heavy rock oriented albums like “Electric” and “Sonic Temple.” They became famous to the relatively younger generations with their hit single “The Witch” that received heavy airplay on MTV. But The Cult started in the early eighties as a post-punk/gothic rock band, with a dedicated following in their native Great Britain. The origins of the band can be traced back to 1981, in Bradford, Yorkshire, where vocalist and songwriter Ian Astbury formed a band called Southern Death Cult, although they wouldn’t establish their presence as a serious group in the UK until the release of their first full-length studio album “Dreamtime.” But perhaps their best release (that’s before they turned to hard rock and before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s) is their second studio album called simply “Love,” released in 1985 on Beggars Banquet Records.
“Love” gave the band it’s unique aesthetics that differed from everything else in the 80’s. They disliked and rejected the new wave looks an electronic sound but also set them decidedly apart from the coming hair-metal craze. They sounded like from the era, but also had something from the long-gone hippie iconography and something that would establish them as the forerunners of the burgeoning hard-rock movement of the mid-’80s. The hit single “She Sells Sanctuary” is one of the greatest rock epics ever written and recorded. If the album was published by a major label, I’m certain that it would have been much more successful. Still, “Love” sold an estimated 2.5 million copies and it gave The Cult commercial success in the UK and abroad. Hardcore Cult fans still consider the album their best and most sincere release. I personally like “Electric” the most but I also find “Love” their most mystical and perhaps the most diverse album. For all those unaware of the band’s greatness and their role of saviors of rock, I urge you to give a listen to “Love” and all of their subsequent releases. You’ll find that you’ve missed quite a lot.
