Blue Öyster Cult have been described as heavy metal, light metal, psychedelic rock, occult rock, acid rock, and progressive rock. They have also been recognized for helping pioneer genres such as stoner metal and speed metal.
The band is influenced by artists such as Alice Cooper, Grateful Dead, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, MC5, The Blues Project, Jimi Hendrix, and Black Sabbath.
While Blue Öyster Cult has been noted for heavy rock, they would often add their own tongue-in-cheek style. Keeping with their image, the band would often include out-of-context fragments of Pearlman’s The Soft Doctrines of Imaginos into their lyrics, giving their songs cryptic meanings. Additionally, the band would keep a folder of Meltzer’s and Pearlman’s word associations to insert into their music.
Blue Öyster Cult's longest-lasting and most commercially successful lineup included Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals), Eric Bloom (lead vocals, "stun guitar," keyboards, synthesizers), Allen Lanier (keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, backing vocals), Albert Bouchard (drums, percussion, backing vocals). The band's current lineup includes Roeser and Bloom, as well as Danny Miranda (bass, backing vocals), Jules Radino (drums, percussion) and Richie Castellano (keyboard, rhythm guitar, backing vocals).
Heavy Métal
Blue Öyster Cult Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where matter vanishes
Degenerate star
Arm of Orion
An iron sun
The forbidden circle
Anti-matter is the
Black horizon
Heavy metal
Black and silver
Fallen matter
Of the sun
Pours itself
Into a place
Where there was never
Never one
By starlight
The heaviest will rise up
Magnetic mirrors
Scattered bodies slow
All chaos of matter
River of fire
A night sea crossing
The cosmic fluid flows
Heavy metal
Black and silver
Fallen matter
Of the sun
Pours itself
Into a place
Where there was never
Never one
Fallen matter
From the cross
Freedom
That was never lost
Beyond being
Will be coming
Beyond time, space and control
Direction
Starlight
Creation
Starbright
Foundation
We forged the Einstein bridge tonight
Spans a river
Starlight
We call time
Starbright
World
Light of darkness
Without end
Light of light
Heavy metal
Black and silver
Fallen matter
Of the sun
Pours itself
Into a place
Where there was never, never, never, never one
The lyrics of "Heavy Metal" by Blue Oyster Cult are metaphorical and enigmatic. The song speaks of the concept of matter vanishing into a whirlpool, creating an iron sun and a black horizon. The idea of anti-matter is introduced, and the forbidden circle is explored. The second verse speaks of the heaviest rising up through the magnetic mirrors, while all the chaos of matter creates a river of fire. The cosmic fluid flows, and the song speaks of a night sea crossing.
The lyrics of the song appear to be describing some kind of cosmic event or possibly the creation of a new universe. The use of metaphorical and poetic language is characteristic of many Blue Oyster Cult songs. The song speaks of a world beyond time, space, and control, and the lyrics convey a sense of both awe and wonder at the mysteries of the universe.
Overall, the song can be interpreted in many ways, but its main theme seems to be the infinite power and mystery of the universe. The words "heavy metal" may refer to the weight and significance of the cosmic events described, or to the band's own musical style.
Line by Line Meaning
Into the whirlpool
Entering a chaotic and frenzied environment
Where matter vanishes
In this environment, the physical world breaks down
Degenerate star
A star that has collapsed from its original form
Arm of Orion
Referring to a star formation in the Orion constellation
An iron sun
A sun made of iron, which could exist in a collapsed star
The forbidden circle
A mysterious and unknown area that may be dangerous
Anti-matter is the
The environment is composed of anti-matter, which annihilates normal matter on contact
Black horizon
A dark boundary that marks the edge of the environment
Heavy metal
Referring to the style of music, which embodies the chaotic and frenzied environment described
Black and silver
Colors associated with the style of heavy metal
Fallen matter
Referring to the debris left over from the collapsed star
Of the sun
This matter came from the collapsed sun
Pours itself
This matter is flowing into the chaotic environment described earlier
Into a place
The matter is entering a mysterious area
Where there was never
This place did not exist previously, and is a new development
By starlight
Illumination provided by the stars
The heaviest will rise up
In this environment, the most dense and massive objects have the greatest influence
Magnetic mirrors
A reference to the way the environment can reflect and distort light
Scattered bodies slow
Debris and matter are being pulled and slowed down by the environment
All chaos of matter
All matter in this environment is in a state of chaos and disorder
River of fire
A powerful and destructive force, like a river of molten lava
A night sea crossing
Navigating an unknown and dangerous journey
The cosmic fluid flows
All matter in the universe is interconnected and flows together
Fallen matter
Again referring to the debris from the collapsed sun
From the cross
Perhaps a reference to the crucifixion, and the idea of sacrifice
Freedom
From the sacrifice, freedom is attained
That was never lost
This freedom was always present, waiting to be found
Beyond being
Referring to a state of existence beyond the physical world
Will be coming
This state of existence is something that is still on its way, but inevitable
Beyond time, space and control
This state of existence is not bound by the limitations of physics or human control
Direction
A clear path forward, despite the chaos of the environment
Starlight
Illumination provided by the stars, guiding the way
Creation
This journey is one of creation, and something new will be made
Starbright
Again referring to the illumination provided by the stars
Foundation
A solid and strong base for the new creation
We forged the Einstein bridge tonight
Creating a bridge between different worlds, like the idea of relativity proposed by Albert Einstein
Spans a river
This bridge is crossing over a tumultuous and dangerous environment
We call time
Taking control of the concept of time, rather than being at its mercy
World
A new world will be created, full of potential and possibility
Light of darkness
Illumination in the midst of darkness, guiding the way
Without end
This journey and creation will continue infinitely
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Albert Bouchard, E Bloom, Samuel Pearlman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
The Mothman
One of my favorite bands, so criminally underrated
Money Talks And People Listen
They're not underrated lol
Ian Stuart Mulligan
Facts
John Mannino
@Money Talks And People Listen yeas, but how many people you know who are like "Blue Öyster Cult? Yeah, their the s***". More like " Blue Öyster Cult? I dunno, name some of their songs".
Money Talks And People Listen
@John Mannino Especially people my age (i'm 31) don't even know who they are, let alone name anything other than Don't Fear.I can say that I've listened to all of their records a lot of times. One of the best and most interesting bands I have ever listened to.
John Mannino
@Money Talks And People Listen I'm 23 so its even less often that people in my age group know who they are. Even when I talk to people older, even supposed rock fans, they don't know them by name. I think at best people know Burning for You if they had cable and MTV growing up in the 80s, but otherwise their biggest claim to fame in my circle is Christopher Walken shouting "More Cowbell". Myself my favorite tunes are probably Career of Evil and Hot Rails to Hell.
trent hall
WAY under rated band. these guys were way ahead of their time...... really amazing musicians
Mims R
trent hall Underrated? Not really. They were a pretty massive draw back in the day.
DrDuh
there was nothing under rated about BOC they were a head line band back in the 70's early 80's , they were also on the black and blue tour with sabbath on the original heaven and hell tour, they also head lined magic mountains concerts in the hills back in the 80's which was a huge draw.
George Tempest
they were the first band to use the words Heavy Metal commercially before it actually became a style of rock!