The time has finally arrived and my anticipation is very high for this album considering they've returned to Bob Rock and they have the awesome John Tempesta playing drums for them with Chris Wyse completing the rhythm section. The Cult hasn't exactly lit the world on fire with their last couple of records and I'm saying that as a huge fan of the band.
Upon first listen this album is the return to form that I had hoped it would be Ian and Billy have recorded the album that I've been waiting twenty-one years for. Not just a continuation of Ceremony but they have incorporated that sound with their alternative rock masterpiece Love which has made for a huge eargasm.
The Cult have come full-circle with Choice Of Weapon, as it is their most consistent effort in years and combines sounds of the past, present and future. I must say that this is the strongest Cult line-up to date as well. The group sounds like a group which has been an on going issue with their albums since 1991's Ceremony. Right out of the gate the band sets the tone with "Honey From A Knife", a rockin' track that can go toe to toe with "Rise" from Beyond Good & Evil.
"The Wolf" has a vintage Cult sound that's reminiscent of something from the Love sessions, clearly it isn't, but that's just how strong Choice Of Weapon is. Billy Duffy reaches deep into his grab bag of riffs to echo the classic "She Sells Sanctuary" on "The Wolf," then rains down elegance in "Life or Death" and floors it on the powerful first single "For the Animals". That first single is a total rocking ass shaking classic of Cult proportions.
As a rhythm section, Tempesta and Wyse are buck solid; they provide the proper throb and crunch for Duffy and Astbury to climb atop. Given the pulse of this set, even when a synthetic keyboard is used to introduce "Lucifer," it merely becomes part of the aggressive (yet always accessible) attack. That is mostly in part to the production attack the master magician Bob Rock. He's a god and he knows it and when he gets to work with such talent it shows just magical he is when his wizard powers are used to their full potential.
If you didn't know better "A Pale Horse" could be confused as a track from Electric or Sonic Temple. Ian dives deeply into Jim Morrison's skin for his delivery of "This Night In The City Forever" that sounds like a lost Doors track that Jim just delivered from his graveside. Choice of Weapon is the Cult's finest moment in 21 years, it's the true swaggering heir to the period that birthed Electric, Sonic Temple and Ceremony.
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