The British veterans of rock music, who have packed in fans of different generations throughout their 30 year career, released this year (5th February) their tenth album, ‘Hidden City’. This album is the closure of a trilogy which began with ‘Born Into This’ in 2007. The production has the signature of Bob Rock, with whom the band has worked with previously four times (‘Sonic Temple’ 1989, ‘The Cult’ 1994, ‘Beyond Good and Evil’ 2001 and ‘Choice Of Weapon’ 2012).
The Cult is a stayer in the rock scene. They have offered us great songs like ‘Fire Woman’, ‘She Sells Sanctuary’ and ‘Wild Flower’ among others. The new album ‘Hidden City’ maintains the original sound of the band. You will neither love it nor hate it. The years have passed by for the members of the group, however, it is a good and decent rock album. It consists of twelve tracks which vary from classic hard rock to calm and slow – not exactly ballads- songs. This is a flaw in a way, as when you hear the whole album at once, it seems there is no connectivity. Nevertheless, there are tracks that stand out in a very positive way, such as ‘No Love Lost’, ‘Hinterland’, and ‘Avalanche of Light’. Some might say that Ian Astbury’s voice sounds somewhat “tired”, especially in the slow songs, but there is still an undeniably strong spirit there.
An important fact of this album is the both personal and social statement in the lyrics. The song ‘Deeply Ordered Chaos’ stands out the most in this respect, as it highlights the tragic events in Paris (November 13th, 2015).
The difficulty of criticism or reviewing when it comes to bands like The Cult, who have been on the stage for many years, concerns which fanbase you come from: the early/old one or the quite recent. I would say that in both cases, ‘Hidden City’ won’t be received as a ‘just-made-for-the-business’ album.
Mary Kalaitzidou