The Symbol Remains
by Blue Öyster Cult

I really enjoyed this album! Very catchy tunes that still rock like BOC in the 70s/early 80s. Great guitar work as always from Buck. I particularly liked the opening track, 'Box in My Head', 'The Alchemist', 'Secret Road' and 'Fight'. Top quality from beginning to end - definitely worth checking out!

One thing that remains the same is the style of the BOC singing. As others have pointed out they seemed a bit too keen to have a Metallica style, and Iron Maiden style and a GNR style song etc, but this also points to the technical ability of the musicians (if losing a point on originality).

From UofTBlues 11/14/2020 17:20 | #260804 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I really enjoy all the tracks on the album. Vocals & harmonies are strong. Perhaps their best album since "Fire of Unknown Origin.

From dihansse 10/13/2020 16:52 | #259263

IDK, I don't really like this album: on most of the tracks they sound very AOR; on the tracks where things start to get a bit interesting they start to get very derivative: On The Alchemist they try to sound like Iron Maiden because of the epic scale of the track and the twin guitar attack on the solo but somehow they don"t succeed at it. On The Return on Cecilia they try to sound like Deep Purple also both songwise and because they try to mimic the aggressive organ sound of Jon Lord and again they don't succeed at it. On Stand And Fight they try to do some Metallica riffing but the song is just a drag. Sorry not an album I like enough.

From spigelwii 10/12/2020 14:03 | #259204 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

It feels oddly oxymoronic to call "The Symbol Remains" a "return to form" for a band that hadn't released an album anyway in nearly 20 years, but that's exactly what this is for Blue Oyster Cult: a modern take on their classic rock roots without the bloat of the mid-to-late 80s releases, and with song-writing effort superior to the uneven Heaven Forbid and Curse of the Hidden Mirror records.

Long-time fans will find familiar-sounding musical and lyrical motifs splattered all over the canvas of nostalgia, while those unfamiliar with BOC's weird obsession with sci-fi and vampires and stuff will still find it unflinchingly (and surprisingly?) charming (read: not at all cringe-worthy).

I love this album. I hope that people give it a shot despite classic rock sound/sensibilities being all but totally irrelevant in 2020. These guys can still f***ing play and deserve the renaissance they have carved out for themselves with The Symbol Remains.