Sonic Temple by The Cult
By Eamon O'Neill
One look at ‘Sonic Temple’s arresting cover art in 1989 was all it took to let you know that The Cult were bona fide rock stars. With Billy Duffy’s legs clad in leather trousers in an impossibly wide-legged stance, Gibson Les Paul slung low and fist in the air having likely just struck the heaviest chord in existence, and a mane of long blonde hair in his face, there could be no doubt as to what The Cult were as the decade neared its end.
It had, of course, started out very differently. Beginning life as the gothic Southern Death Cult in the early 1980s, the band formed by Ian Astbury had morphed into the Death Cult by the time the singer had met guitarist Duffy, before finally settling on the much neater The Cult ahead of the release of their debut album ‘Dreamtime’ in 1984.
From a nascent post-punk beginning, they expanded their sound for 1985’s ‘Love’. Their commercial breakthrough, it would go on to sell two million copies. It also gave them their first hit single in ‘She Sells Sanctuary’, and along with other chart successes ‘Rain’ and ‘Revolution’, helped secure their reputation as one of the hottest bands of the era.
Shapeshifters since their inception, by the late ‘80s it was time for another reinvention. Steering in an altogether more rock and roll direction, 1987’s ‘Electric’ found the band sounding much bigger and bolder. Whereas their earlier work saw them as contemporaries of the likes of U2, REM and Simple Minds (in the early stages of their careers), now in the era of big hair, and bigger sounds, they weren’t that far removed from either Guns n’ Roses, Mötley Crüe, or Aerosmith.
‘Sonic Temple’ then took this transformation to its logical conclusion, with everything louder, brasher, and altogether more bombastic than it had been before. This was certifiably hard rock, and the album sat comfortably alongside ‘89’s loudest releases including Faith No More’s ‘The Real Thing’, Skid Row’s self-titled debut, and Alice Cooper’s ‘Trash’.
Where producer Rick Rubin had successfully replicated AC/DC and Led Zeppelin’s sonic approach on ‘Electric’, future Metallica collaborator Bob Rock was charged with capturing ‘Sonic Temple’s incredible aural aesthetic, and boy did he get it right.
Opening with eerie atmospherics, ‘Sun King’ bursts into life with a groove and swagger that announced this beefed up version of the band. Thunderous and dripping with greasy authenticity, from Duffy’s massive riffs to Astbury’s unmistakable tones, this was more powerful, more in your face, more rock and roll than The Cult had ever been.
Front loaded with heavy hitters, ‘Fire Woman’ follows. An irresistibly catchy anthem, it’s ‘She Sells Sanctuary’ on steroids. Rightly regarded as the album’s standout moment, from Duffy’s licks to Astbuty’s infectious harmonies, it’s one of the finest tracks of their career. It’s followed in similar style with the monstrous ‘American Horse’. Trademark Duffy solo guitar intro? Check. Astbury wailing like a banshee? Check. Another killer song? Check.
Of course it wasn’t all muscle, and no good rock album in 1989 was complete without its signature ballad. In ‘Edie (Ciao Baby)', The Cult had theirs, in a track worthy of taking on the best of them. With acoustic guitars, strings, a killer melody and guitar hero solo, it was perfect for an era that demanded every loud band have a tender moment in their set.
Firmly back on rock terrain, the album’s final single ‘Sweet Soul Sister’ ebbs and grooves on a hypnotic beat, with Astbury once again putting in an unquestionably charismatic vocal performance.
The driving ‘Soul Asylum’, which kicks off the album’s second half, is ‘Sonic Temple’s centrepiece, and a bona fide epic. An expansive seven and a half minute dirge, it conjures images of desert landscapes, with its eastern vibes which persist over a propulsive ‘Kashmir’-esque beat.
Of the deeper album cuts, ‘New York City’ celebrates the Big Apple, harking back with a CBGB-friendly, punkier feel, while ‘Automatic Blues’ is straight ahead start stop rock and roll, and ‘Soldier Blue’ feels like a victory lap. The closing ‘Wake Up Time For Freedom’ meanwhile, takes the foot off the gas a little - in its verses at least - before returning to type for the final time, on an album that’s delivered with convincing grit, swagger, and downright authentic attitude.
Rereleased in August 2023 - along with relatively underappreciated follow-up ‘Ceremony’ - on 2LP translucent green vinyl with gatefold sleeve, the currently available version adds a brace of bonus tracks in ‘Fire Woman (NYC Rock Mix}’, and an acoustic take on ‘Edie (Ciao Baby)’.
Peaking at no.3 on the UK album charts and no.10 in the US, ‘Sonic Temple’ is The Cult’s most commercially successful album. With four of its ten tracks ranking in their top ten most played list on Spotify at the time of writing, ‘Sonic Temple’s status as The Cult’s most popular album - statistically at least - is assured.
In the three-plus decades since its release, The Cult would split up and reform a number of times. The band would reunite with Bob Rock again in 2001 - who had by then produced Metallica's humongous-selling self-titled 1991 set - for the superb ‘Beyond Good and Evil’, which sadly, has never received a vinyl release.
Oh, and about that iconic sleeve. You don’t think an ego the size of Astbury's would allow only Billy Duffy to grace the front cover, do you? Take another look.
Album Details
Sonic Temple was released on 10th April 1989 and is available to buy on limited green vinyl at Vinyl8.
Tracklist
- Sun King
- Fire Woman
- American Horse
- Edie (Ciao Baby)
- Sweet Soul Sister
- Soul Asylum
- New York City
- Automatic Blues
- Soldier Blue
- Wake Up Time for Freedom
