Five decades into its career of evil, Blue Öyster Cult remains a hard act to pigeonhole.
The New York-based band formed from the ashes of acts steeped in the psychedelia of the Doors, the Byrds and Jefferson Airplane. Then, moving on — kind of — from that pedigree, producer/rock critic Sandy Pearlman helped market the fledgling riff-wranglers as “America’s Black Sabbath.”
While BÖC possessed the crunchy guitar work and pseudo-occult imagery of its UK counterpart, its members also had a knack for crafting compelling vocal harmonies and timeless pop hooks. Thanks in no small part to that skill set, the group landed a trio of hits — “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” “Burnin’ for You” and “Godzilla” — that remain ensconced on classic-rock radio.
All of the BÖC’s disparate elements — from psych roots to metallic guitar work to infectious hooks to a dark lyrical bent — were on full and compelling display Sunday night as it played San Antonio’s Tobin Center.
Still helmed by guitarist-vocalist Buck Dharma — or Donald Roeser to the folks at the DMV — and vocalist-guitarist-keyboardist Eric Bloom, the veteran band demonstrated why it was an arena headliner from the ’70s into the early ’80s — and why it retained faithful fans even as mainstream tastes shifted.
Perhaps as a nod to longtime Cult faithful, Sunday’s set was packed with favorites from early albums, including the angular guitar workout “Transmaniacon MC,” a tale of an occult biker gang that wields outsize influence, and “Cagey Cretins,” an organ-driven rocker that lays the band’s psych roots out in the open.
Look-to-the-skies prog epic “The Vigil” provided a memorable showcase for Dharma to unleash his fretboard pyrotechnics. As did “Astronomy,” a set highlight from the band’s early years that’s played less frequently these days. Dharma’s tone, dexterity and melodic prowess were on full display as the woeful ballad built to rocking climax fueled by his commanding solos.
Naturally, all three of the BÖC’s radio hits made it into the set, drawing an enthusiastic endorsement from the Tobin crowd. “Burnin’ for You” proved a standout — and a perfect thesis statement for the band’s blend of light and heavy. The song’s distinctive opening lick evoked the dual-guitar harmonies of Iron Maiden, while the richly layered vocals of its chorus drifted into Byrds territory.
The band ended its set with an extended version of “Reaper,” but perhaps as a nod to dedicated fans returned for an encore that started with “See You in Black,” a skull-crushing highlight from 1998 “comeback” album Heaven Forbid, and segued into a monstrous take on “Cities on Flame With Rock & Roll.” The latter, a centerpiece from the group’s 1972 debut, showed its ability to bash out a doomy riff on par with Sabbath, Budgie or any number of younger acts worshiping at the Altar of Fuzz.
On Sunday night, Blue Öyster Cult demonstrated that it’s possible to be both a fixture on classic rock radio and a cult classic at the same time.
