Electric

youtube links didnt' work mostly, what I heard didn't wow me

Quite cool. Same line as ACDC, Airbourne, etc.

3.4 stars rounded down

It’s fine, doesn’t stand out to me, but doesn’t do anything that’s bad

This felt like a perfectly enjoyable rock album, but I’m unsure on what about it necessitated its placement on this list. I’d consider it a cool find if I discovered it organically, but there’s nothing on here that Kiss or a similar band weren’t doing a good decade prior.

...

6.5/10

3.0

I've never heard a whole Cult album before. I've heard this first one. I like the dudes voice, and I like the name Cult for a band.

Great Rock album if that's what you're into. I didn't know about The Cult but it's like a comically rock band name for the 70's. Like this is the shit that parents were freaking out about their good Christian children listening to in the 70's and 80's.

5 Not big love for this but did not hate it

Not bad but the most stand out song here is "born to be wild" and it's not a good song to be your standout

Pretty solid rock album. Highlights: "Peace Dog" and "Memphis Hip Shake"

The Cult turned into the caffe latte of pub rock covers bands and this album is the proof.

Like an hybrid between Led Zeppelin and AC/DC and possibly every heavy rock band you’ve ever heard. Not particularly original but reasonably effective

This is not a top album from this band. Gone are the goth / industrial intrigue, replaced with late 80's guitar riffs. Still a solid band for the era!

Not a lot of variety, many of the songs sounded the same, but that sound was ok

It was fine. Simpsons: No

So middle of the road I couldn’t tell if this was a 3 star or a 1 star. I’ll be generous

Mid review for mid metal. 3/5

Stock standard rock but sounds great

It's derivative as hell, but it's undeniable fun. And given the period (and Rubin's own list of crimes), produced/mixed very well.

Nochmal hören Rock

I enjoyed this. Not sure when I’ll play it again though.

Bit samey and not really my genre of choice.

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Listen, it's rock. It's pretty uninspiring but it's fun at times. It's basically AC/DC without the really annoying vocals, and that's alright by me. & I do dig that chugging bass sound. 6 / 10 Best track/s: Peace Dog, Bad Fun

A onako mi je album hard rock doordi

Pretty good rock album. Doesn't feel super dated, but definitely has a little bit of hair band vibes. Enjoyable. 6/10

It’s a rock album. You could tell there influences, (ac/dc , zeppelin) but overall I didn’t feel like they had their own sound. It was just sort of vanilla

I liked the song peace dog. It was vocally interesting. The songs overall were pretty good, but I wouldn't seek them out.

It's meh, I wouldn't pay to see them live nor would I ever go out of my way to buy or put on an album of theirs. But nothing offensively shit and some of the solos, riffs etc were actually pretty good.

I've been a big fan of The Cult for decades. Personally, I would have included LOVE and SONIC TEMPLE on this list as well. Anyone who thinks they are a AC/DC derivative or just another pub rock band, is not listening closely enough. Faves: "Wild Flower", " Peace Dog", "Lil' Devil", and "Love Removal Machine"

3 absolute bangers and 8 of the most deeply mediocre rock-by-numbers filler tracks you'll ever hear in your life. Can't give it more than three stars in good conscience.

Another album the English are begging the rest of the world to take seriously. Unfortunately for them, in the USA, we are up to our tits in generic rock bands. Coming out in '86, I can't even say these guys were ahead of the curve.

It was kind of fun but it also kind of sucks too

Better than average dumb 80s rock, bit it's still dumb 80s rock.

When this album was first released, I remember thinking, “What the fuck happened to The Cult?” Listening to it today, I feel similarly. It did make me go back and listen to their earlier albums just to convince myself I wasn’t crazy, so I did technically get something out of it. The Cult are great musicians and their earlier work was compelling post punk and gothic mashups. This album was their first foray into a more mainstream hard rock or metal sound. It isn’t bad, but it sure isn’t great either. To save anyone who feels similarly, it only gets worse from here. This is actually a tough one for me to rate. There so pretty damn good guitar playing and again most songs are not bad there are just much better examples of what The Cult is trying to do here, maybe 2.5*.

Unexpectedly enjoyed this.

1985's Love is a foundational text in the Kyle Ryan Alternative Awakening, but for whatever reason, I never really heard Electric. I was super psyched when Sonic Temple came out, even though it sounded so different. Electric would've eased the transition between Love and Sonic Temple for me. I prefer the gothier Love vs. the RAWK of Electric, Sonic Temple, and what followed, but I still like this. Ian Astbury has a great voice, though he's never had much to say lyrically, and Billy Duffy is one of the guitar greats. I would deduct a star for the inessential cover of "Born to Be Wild," but I'm not that petty.

Well this was a 4 then it somehow dragged on too long and an odd choice to cover Magic Carpet Ride happened. 3

7/10 Favourite: Wild Flower Least Favourite: King Contrary Man

Shit hot cock rock from England, better than almost anything I heard coming from that Sunset Strip scene of hair metal poodles in the 80s. Hard, fast, loud, kinda lame but pure 100% rockin! Big dumb fun, and sometimes that's all you need. Fun fact: the guitarrist used to be in a band with Morrissey. Small world! Best song: ¨Outlaw¨

I think these guys like to fuck. If you put “80s Rock” into a really good AI generator, it’d spit out a reasonable facsimile of this album. Nothing particularly original but it’s a lot of fun. Most of the songs are built off of great little riffs, they would’ve been a blast to see live in a smallish venue in the 80s.

3.4 yeahh-aha-ahs out of 5. I dont think the cult really gets their due now-a-days (for the first three albums at least). For this rock offering, I thinks its pretty solid. Duffy's guitar work is really great and there are a ton of good riffs throughout. Ian Astbury seems like a pretty cool frontman. The few singles stand out and the rest is fine besides born to be wild which sure drags

This was pretty easy to listen to. Not a single track stood out, though. Favourite Track(s): King Contrary Man, Memphis Hip Snake Least Favourite Track(s): Outlaw

Couple good guitar solos - nothing I will choose to listen to again

A very good album but I need to pull back on the number of starts so I can reserve the 4 and 5 stars for true standouts. These guys absolutely have a very recognizable sound and catchy tunes but nothing that ever made them a favorite... Unlike my friend Kiok who is a big fan. Still sort of shocking The Stones never called them out on copying Start Me Up for the opening riff of Love Removal Machine. A fun listen for sure but nothing about it blows me away musically or vocally.

I can't listen to The Cult without thinking of Beavis and Butthead talking about tattoos (I wish I had been born with one). I wanted to be dismissive of this album but ended up listening to it four times. Minus the unnecessary Born to Be Wild cover, it really grew on me.

I did not appreciate The Cult enough when I was younger. They weren’t as heavy as the other metal bands that I was listening to at the time. As I’ve gotten older, I realized what a great band they are. 3.5 stars

It's fine, it's just not my thing.

I'll never complain about hearing these songs but, equally, I wouldn't seek them out.

This band is great. A blend of of AC/DC and van Halen, but i might like it s little better than either of those bands? The singer’s voice is memorable. The instrumentation is well-executed and muscular. Not quite a 4, but a strong 3.

It’s weird hearing Ian Astbury sing on an AC/DC record. Still not a bad record, though. Has a few gems.

Hair metal is not usually my thing, although Born to Be Wild is an all-time classic, and it's nigh impossible not to nod to it. Nice work, guys.

imagine a rock album. yeah this is it

This was pretty boring. I'm not familiar with this band or if they had a significant impact on anything, but I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the sound. It's in the same vein as other hard-rock from the era (AC/DC seems to be a relevant reference), not super imaginative. Everything felt very obvious, maybe a good time at a bar, but not so much an attentive listen.

The most generic 80s rock album imaginable.

Hardrock Enthält "Born to be Wild", das gefällt mir aber besser von Steppenwolf.

solid album

Dad rock. As energetic and yelly as you’d expect. I enjoyed how the singer let himself be taken away in “Electric Ocean,” really gave the song the electricity they were looking for I bet. All solid songs, no complaints.

Fairly by the numbers hard rock from 1987, but not unpleasant. I think they should have included their previous album, Love, as opposed to this one, but I understand the logic. This is the one that propelled the Cult to stardom.

Solid,high energy. Reminded me a bit of Aerosmith in places. Like the singers voice. 3*

It is serious Rock, but it isn't exactly 'Love' ('85). They probably come closest on "Love Removal Machine." It's not an unlistenable record; it embodies the driving sound of the genre, but, really, so much so that this one doesn't really stand out amongst the crowd.

Not bad but l preferred their previous album

Didn't do too much for me, but maybe if I'd grown up listening to it it would have been different

Not much uniqueness here

Not a patch on its predecessor, fun nonetheless. More commercial and rock oriented, The Cult discovered ACDC’s chords laying around and used them to good effect.

pretty nice 80s rock but doesn't stand out to me.

Solid rock-album with nothing remarkable on. Just because of "Love Removal Machine" I give it weak three stars. 2,5

A raw, stripped-down hard rock sound full of swagger and muscle, driven by blues-based riffs, pounding rhythms, and snarling, soaring vocals.

Cool rock album although I wouldn't listen to it on a regular basis.

I was not previously familiar with this album. This is some good guitar rock. Nothing here is remarkable, but it's good for what it is. I would listen again because I enjoy rock.

Not the best Cult album, but

Perhaps it’s a generational thing, but every song on this record sounds, to me, like “She Sells Sanctuary”, just with different tempos. Ian Astbury… great singer, but he’s found a style and stuck with it. Great pipes, not much depth.

Run of the mill hard rock, kinda like budget AC/DC. Not bad, but not super memorable either.

Not bad, but very generic hard rock at a time when everything had already been done

Meh

not bad

Not bad, but unremarkable

Mid. Perfectly fine, but nothing really stands out here.

Me gustó, muy notorio y bien aplicado el rock de época, me gustó la tapa que también denota la época del lanzamiento del album

Didn’t hate it but did get bored, this whole album is like one long song

This was cool. I listened while hungover so that almost killed me but worth running back

Enjoyed it, but almost certainly won’t go back to it either.

Very good.

Really old school rock

Siento que si bien suena genial y poderoso, no es nada nuevo? Siento que no logra destacar. Nota: 2.9

really classic-rock vibe..., not a huge fan of this specific genre but i enjoyed it nonetheless

This chugs along nicely. Nods to the likes of AC/DC, Skynyrd, ZZ Top.

I like the Cult. I Enjoyed Aphrodisiac Jacket off this one.

Generic blunt dad rock. The cult has better albums that this one

Not a bad album, but definitely lacks in quality. At least it was easy to get through. 2.5/5 Probably won’t listen again

Its certainly rock 'n' roll. It is perfectly fine, but I have no clue why its on this list

Nothing memorable, but enjoyed it 3/5

In paper, The Cult should be one of my favorite bands. They are a hard rock group with a gothic sensitivity. However, I haven't really clicked with them apart from their most iconic singles. This is a fun album to listen to, but I can't actually recognize most of the songs.

That was certainly an album

review en español cause idgaf Buen álbum, no el mejor de su estilo en la historia pero si alguien lo pone no me quejaría

i’m disappointed in myself for hearing born to be wild and thinking “it’s the og pamper’s commercial song!”

Vibes asl but I lowk got distracted

Very generic but listenable.

It was good! Not something I'd listen to again necessarily but I enjoyed it.

Don't know why I didn't get into these at the time, think I could have done. But listening to them now, well, they seem a bit tame. It's not bad. I would probably buy it, but mainly because I feel I should have something in my collection. It was a pleasant listen, but I still don't understand the lizard in a bottle.

next up is honestly a pretty straightforward 1980s metal rock album. I can only describe it as metal at its true foundations, distorted guitars and bass, hard hitting drums and loud vocals. what else would you need realistically? in the past these guys started off leaning towards more new wave and alternative endeavors; this entry switches it off for something more simple. the songs are objectively good but it doesn't really stick out to me. that's the only thing preventing me from rating it high, really. it's incredibly earnest, but unremarkable. i've heard at least a few bands that sound exactly like these guys.

Some good riffs amongst a very average rock record

Otro de tantos discos mediocres de hard rock de los 80... ¿A quién se le ocurre versionar Born to be Wild?

Good hard rock album. I see no reason to go any further with my review

Good

🐣🤷‍♂️

Excellent 80's rock with outstanding vocals. Hard to describe but the singer is really going for it on every line of every song, putting everything he has behind it. It's not something that I would listen to all the time but great for a party mix or when a higher energy mood hits. This is probably what my older sister was listening to when I was a kid, causing my dad to yell at her to turn it down.

1. Wild Flower - 9 Vocals are alright on this track. It has a solid intro and a great guitar solo on the bridge. It's very very of it's era. The late 80s kind of hard yet still pop rock style that appeared out of Britain, also found in artists like Billy Idol. Overall, an enjoyable track. 2. Peace Dog - 6 Instrumentally it's good but lyrically it's a bit lost. It's hard to follow and even harder to understand. 3. Lil' Devil - 7 Bit repetitive but much better and easier to follow than the last track. Lyrically you'll find yourself singing along to the chorus quite a bit. Guitar rounds great on this track. 4. Aphrodisiac Jacket - 9 Song starts well enough. Lyrically it's a bit all over the place but the pausing in the middle of the song feels very unnecessary. Guitar solo is great though as are the drums and the supporting guitar. Really instrumentally a very enjoyable listen. 5. Electric Ocean - 3 Lyrically and instrumentally this song is uninspiring. It's a pass over track. The words have no meaning. Pair this with the fact that the sound isn't as good as the rest on the album and you get a kind of very boring song. 6. Bad Fun - 7 It's a fun song. Lyrically it's a bit simple in it's messaging, which is a theme for the album but the drum line is really fun on this track and the guitar compliments that stutter in between lines brilliantly. Chorus is a lot of fun. Overall a solid track. 7. King Contrary Man - 5 Chorus is boring. Guitar solo is enjoyable. The way the bass guitar is on this reminds me almost of Highway Star by Deep Purple but without a lot of the fun that made that track a classic. The bridge on this track is dull. 8. Love Removal Machine - 4 Elevator music kind of song. Boring, nonsensical, absolutely a pass over track. Guitar solo is the only enjoyable part of the track. 9. Born To Be Wild - 10 An all time classic. Great guitar, brilliant lyrics, awesome track. Not much more needs to be said about it. 10. Outlaw - 10 Another awesome track and the best on the album. Guitar sounds so great with the tempo it leads the track with. Also has a great ending. 11. Memphis Hip Shake - 3 Annoying song. The first half of it very average in both sound and song. Then you get to the ending and it's monotonously repetitive to the point where you're ready for the track to just end. Average Rating: 6.64 Adjusted to a 5-Point Scale: 3.32 Rounded Down: 3

Doesn't raise any bar but still a fun 80s rock romp

= The Beatles

zwei bis drei

I don't really get the hate for this album. Yeah it may not be the best from The Cult but it's a solid rocker. The cover of Born To Be Wild is kind of bad and unnecessary. This may not be a life changing album for anyone but I liked it. Peace Dog and Aphrodisiac Jacket are the two that stand out to me. I think their more gothic-centered stuff is better for sure. This album is pretty straightforward and simple but has some great elements. The guitars are great. Drums sound huge. Good vocals. 80s rock isn't everyone's favorite, myself included, but I liked this album well enough. 3.5/5 but rounding down because it's not good enough to round up.

It’s cool, I like the sound Rick Rubin finds. But this dudes voice might as well be AI generated. He’s boring.

This album is good. The rhythm guitar has more than a passing similarity to AC/DC. Ian Astbury is a powerful singer, but I think these songs are meant to be experienced live. The singles are catchy, the rest rocks, but is a bit forgettable.

Hard Rock wie aus der AI, aber echt weil damals voll in. Gefällt mir, aber halt etwas verstaubt.

Plutôt correct rock

That album listed a whole lot of ass, but I feel like they've got better ones out there.

Wrong album again, Dimery. Either The Cult's previous album, "Love", or the next one, "Sonic Temple", are the "must listen" discs. On "Love", the band was darker and more authentic-sounding. "Sonic Temple" had the smash hits, thanks to the Midas touch of super-producer Bob Rock. "Electric", under the Zen tutelage of Rick Rubin, is a transitional album, streamlining The Cult's sound to something closer to AC/DC than Joy Division. None of it really mattered, though. The whole thing was about to be left in the dust by Guns 'n' Roses.

I feel like I should like The Cult more than I do

Okay so a pretty short one this album. Its i guess hard rock frim the 80s and after this album i also gave a listen to the “Love” album and that one is imo better. Electric was definitely also good, surprisingly i never heard of them maybe because im not really in the hard rock genre but still great, especially the electric guitar plays holyyy.

first listen some good tones but too forgettable

Okay, didn’t have any stand out tracks for me, felt like just another 80s hair metal band.

Almost a parody of itself

This was a pretty good album. I had a vague recollection from youth that The Cult were not for me, but if the rest of their discography is like this album then I was completely wrong. I could hear the comparisons with AC/DC that others had already made.

Very classic rock

Meh, they are just a mis mash of 80's hair metal rock. Its not bad, but I feel like they don't really stand out as anything special in this genre.

This is some balls out butt rock. At first I liked it... okay yeah this is pretty cool... I guess... meh... it doesn't play well for repeat listens. It's all too samesy for me and I was pretty sick of it by the end. They just have one level of rock awesomeness and that's just what they do. 4 songs in the middle of the album were "not bad": Aprhodisiac Jacket, Electric Ocean, Bad Fun, & King Contrary Man. That cover of Born to Be Wild was awful. It felt like they were trying to bend the song in ways that it really shouldn't.

This kinda felt like British butt rock. Nothing particularly wrong with it, they cranked out some nice guitar riffs and drumbeats, but there was something kind of generic feeling about it to me.

This is hard rock for people who like hard rock. Also, GenXers like myself. 😂

Tis is the 80s MF

3,5, hay cosas acdc, está bueno

The most egregious faux-American accent since John Osbourne started talking about dangerous pigs. This is fine - I never liked the Cult at the time, seeing them as music for poseurs and girls, but this is ok. Solid heavy rock, although it is all a bit samey. Not quite a 4, but a very high 3.

I had no idea these were the She Sells Sanctuary guys, it seemed more like they were aping AC/DC and Van Halen more than putting their own work out there. Its better than a good chunk of the British rock this list has put forth, but maybe because its a departure from those hallmarks. I didnt hate this, but it didnt really stick with me either (that guitar solo in Love Removal Machine is pretty cool though) a lot of the songs just seem familiar due to sounding like more well-known tracks by other bands. I can picture this being played in a pool hall back when they still allowed smoking indoors.

Ok. A bit tedious

It was fun, but I think I might be hitting a little bit of classic rock fatigue. Lets get some variety!

Solid, but profoundly unremarkable. I'm sure it sounded dangerous at the time.

While I appreciate the rocking nature especially for late 80s I can't help to think all the songs sound the same. Mostly great on their own but not an Album of diversified themes. Love Ian's voice and their popular hits.

First Price-AC DC

3/5

Favorite Track: Love Removal Machine

Yeah, it was fine. Wouldn't choose to listen to it again but it was fine while it lasted

3/5 just for that cover

Another decent entry

On the surface, great stuff. But after a bit Ashburys voice gets old to me. Can’t really explain it

As someone who knew Buzz Burrows of Southern Death Cult, I have never got over him being discarded by Astbury

Decidedly mid. I strongly prefer the previous record "Love" which has a lot more energy. Kind of shocked that this is on the 1001 and "Love" is not.

Not bad. A little homogenous sounding. I'd enjoy listening to this again.

I liked the sound and the rock. Vocally, was weak. Felt like they couldn’t keep up with the rock

"The album marked a deliberate stylistic change in the band's sound from gothic rock to more traditional hard rock." :(

80s rock. If you're into it, you'll love it. Some classics that are always on the radio.

This one surprised me. I'm not really into this genre but I kind of liked it. I wouldn't seek it out but I wouldn't object to hearing it again.

Pretty average catchy rock with too many yeaahhhhs for my taste. Rating: 3

Solid rock for sure, but think I’d rather just listen to AC/DC.

Good album but sounds fairly generic these days

Horrendously boring, 40 minutes of the same two sonic textures. It’s like if you asked ChatGPT to make an 80s hard rock album

From Wikipedia: “The album marked a deliberate stylistic change in the band's sound from gothic rock to more traditional hard rock . . . in an effort to capitalize on the popularity of hard rock, glam metal and heavy metal in the 1980s.” While I applaud and encourage any and all bands to abandon goth rock for whatever reason, I feel like the Cult should have gone even farther in their quest to sell out. I still hear some of their original sound in this, and it sucks. This album was certainly a step in the right direction though, because any step away from goth rock is always in the right direction. Goth rock is the South Pole of sucking. Any direction you move is always going to be North, i.e. less sucky. You know when the lame dad in Kiss make up screams “Rock & Roll!!!” while making devil horns and you get a whole body cringe? This is that moment in album form. If you’re in the mood for completely generic hard rock, then this is a good choice (except for the abysmal “Born to Be Wild” cover) but that’s not a mood I find myself in very often. For what it is - a late-80’s copy of AC/DC, late 70’s/early 80’s Stones and Zeppelin but with more annoying vocals - this is fine. But why would you want what this is?

I haven’t asked him yet but I think my dad is going to say this rocks (he did, but it’s not his favorite). Great guitar shred music but the songs are bad. Also how many times does dude have to go “uuOWWW”. Fits the same niche as the AC/DC album from last week for me. A little upset that there’s probably going to be at least two more of these on the list.

Not my favorite, not the worst. This kinda falls into the "butt rock lite" category for me. I do like a lot of the guitar composition, but not a huge fan of the vocals. There were moments throughout the album that I liked, but probably won't listen to this frequently.

We’re chugging through a bunch of albums today to catch up, so nothing too in-depth. Good thing this album is superficial cock rock. Better than AC/DC, worse than Billy Idol. Another signature fat sausage mix by Rick Rubin, Jesus Christ

If bands were Pokemon then The Cult is one of those Pokemon with split evolutions, like Wurmple. It's up to you, it evolved from Steppenwolf at level 1983 and at level 2000 it evolves either into The Strokes or The Darkness, depending whether your Indie or Glam stat is higher. You know what I mean by this? You don't? Awww nuts. Anyway, it's a fine album, I've heard it before in different albums though 3/5.

*painfully* generic

i am, more than anything, confused about this album. why is it here? like, on this list but also in the world in general. why did the band that made she sells sanctuary suddenly sell out and become ac/dc lite in the late 80s? are any of these songs actually popular or do they just feel familiar to me because they lift riffs from other, better songs? why did they feel a need to cover steppenwolf? all this and more on today's episode of beyond belief: fact or fiction. i'm your host, jonathan frakes also i guess i do like some of these songs. sue me. favorites: wild flower, lil' devil, love removal machine, born to be wild, outlaw

This pretty good but definitely of its time and this album is missing some absolute classics

Ok. Just.

Great album

p567. 1987. 3 stars. Brit Guns'N'Roses clone. Points deducted for excessive guitar wankage and redundant covers.

Klassieke rock die al veel eerder veel beter is gedaan. Op dat maar eens te onderstrepen hebben ze 'Born te be wild' gecovered. Waarschijnlijk het beste wat deze band eruit kon halen, maar veel minder dan het origineel. De kracht van dit album zit in de catchy ritmes; het is een plaat die kwaad kan voor de nekspieren. Omdat het binnen het genre verre van het beste is, zal ik het niet snel nog eens opzetten en verdient het een 3. Ik voeg het eerste nummer toe aan mijn likes, dat lijkt mij voldoende om over te houden aan deze schijf.

I'm kind of surprised this one was seen as a must. I always gravitate towards Sonic Temple, which I think is a more polished and dynamic album overall.

Proper of its time. Questionable Born to be wild cover, but overall an enjoyable listen

Repetitive Hard Rock, it kinda slaps but gets boring.

It’s a shame The Cult abandoned the dark, atmospheric post-punk/hard rock fusion of their masterpiece "Love" for a more straightforward sound on "Electric." While the bone-dry production due to Rubin’s influence made it a stark departure, the original "Electric Peace" mixes show glimpses of their earlier style. For years, I struggled to compare it to "Love" and "Dreamtime," but judged on its own, it’s still solid—Astbury’s vocals and Duffy’s riffs elevate tracks like "Lil’ Devil," "Peace Dog," and "Love Removal Machine" above most hard rock of the era. 3/5

Decent enough of an album. Nothing too special.

The singer sounds like he's the only one genuinely enjoying himself. It's unusual for this list – which tends to favour music with great instruments and bad singers. But in this example, the vocalist is having a good ol' jam (complete with rock screams and clichés), while the guitar, bass, and drums plod along somewhat repetitively. The bass sticks loyally to static chord-roots, and the lead guitar riffs, while fairly catchy, aren't varied enough to keep a whole lot of interest for the listener. Same problem with most of the percussion. "Unadventurous" is the word that comes to mind. I guess rock didn't have anywhere to do except alt and Britpop at this point in time, but there's still plenty of good hard rock from the 80s, and this is simply not the best example of it. That being said, The Cult imitates some seriously great (legendary, even) sounds from the likes of Guns 'n' Roses and Led Zeppelin. (And in that regard, you really can't go wrong even if you lack creativity.) The guitar solo in Electric Ocean sounds exactly like the song title and it's a darn cool track. Love Removal Machine is carried by its riff, which is good only because it sounds near-identical to Start Me Up by the Stones. But copying is fine, I guess, if it's copying something good. There isn't a single song that "misses", and there are a few mild standouts. A textbook 3-star record. 3/5 Key tracks: Wild Flower, Electric Ocean, Love Removal Machine

Cool, but nothing I haven’t heard before

Good old 80s rock. The Cult was probably not cult for me. I haven't heard anything from them yet. I did enjoy the album a bit. However, there are many other albums by many other bands that are better in my opinion and that I prefer to listen to. 3/5

Generic hard rock made worse by the knowledge that the band was so much more interesting before this album.

The record sounds good, but gets boring quickly as about every song sounds the same. 2.5/5

Decent but not memorable

Bon album de rock que j’ai apprécié écouter Un peu trop rock à mes oreilles d’où seulement 3 étoiles

Was quite fun surprisingly. Not really my music however it was not bad at all.

Not sure I’ll ever go back and listen to this again, but I sure was struck by the strength of Astbury as a singer. There exists a reality in which he is the singer of my favourite band. The Cult just isn’t it, musically. Rounding up, but with confidence.

Not a cult I'm interested in joining. Overall I guess its a decent example of the genre (Glam-Metal? Hair Metal?), just not really my jam.

Solid rock album. Appreciate that it's not super power ballad stereotypical 80s, but there weren't any songs that really stood out to me. Their "Born to be Wild" cover was weak.

Sounds like Mother Love Bone. I like the production, too, even if its not perfect.

It was fine

Not my jam

ok

01) Wild Flower - 7,5 02) Peace Dog - 7,0 03) Lil' Devil - 7,5 04) Aphrodisiac Jacket - 6,5 05) Electric Ocean - 6,5 06) Bad Fun - 6,5 07) King Contrary Man - 6,5 08) Love Removal Machine - 7,0 09) Born to Be Wild - 7,5 10) Outlaw - 6,5 11) Memphis Hip Shake - 6,5 TOTAL: 6,86 (69/100) Current ranking: 300/451

I feel this is fairly rated. Nothing special but no skips.

A pretty decent hard rock album. I prefer the sound of Love better which has more subtlety and space than this more straight forward album. What I like; their penchant for writing ear-worm riffs that are immediately recognizable. Case in point, Love Removal Machine. What I don't like; Ian Astbury tendency for vocal histrionics. There is no doubt he has a powerful voice just needs to rein it in from time to time. Also the guitar work can get a bit over the top but generally Duff sticks to creating powerful riffs and lovely melodies. And the cover of Born to be Wild is a mistake that should never have made it to tape. 3.5 stars

Classic 80s album. Not much else to say

About what I was expecting. Rock from the 80s. I did not have a bad time listening to it, but I'd argue it's not significant.

Another one - generic, not bad, but not special.

Astbury can surely wait and this is a fun record to listen to. Some good jams, but that cover of Born To Be Wild was ill-advised, to say the least.

Sure, ok.

Competent, but oh so generic.

Love The Cult, but ripping off Start Me Up then following with a cover of Born To Be Wild seems completely unnecessary. Keeps it at a 3.

#469. Add another tally to the list of one hit wonders' wrong albums from this book. 3/5: okay at best

super mid

I liked this, but got tired of it by the end.

Slay!

Poor Man‘ s Guns’n Roses

hey, not bad!

Good rock I guess, not really for me but maybe I would have liked this in 1987. Maybe I wouldn't have though

Nice sound and good guitar riffs. This feels very 80s rock in a good way. I hadn't heard about the band before but now that I have I will probably add a few songs to old-school rock playlists.

Meh…. It’s okay, not offensive enough to warrant 2 or fewer stars. It just sounded saccharine to me, like the way mediocre pop sounds sweet as boring candy. In this case it sounds like honeyed heroin.

Amazing sound! The songs were pretty similar but they were good, so I'm okay with it

Probably wouldn’t have picked this but liked the diversity of the music. Not too much like the hair band.

This is a rock album.

80% Best: Wild Flower; Electric Ocean; Love Removal Machine Must-Hear? Almost

Take a bunch of local bar bands, throw them into a battle of the bands-type show, slip in The Cult, without the flash and professional stage gimmicks and listen. Is The Cult's music distinguishable from the others, are they any better, would they win? My point is, The Cult sound so generic and underwhelming, how did they get them on this list? Their music is okay, I don't not like it, but in a music world with hundreds and thousands of bands that sound similar, do they deserve airplay and arena tours more than any of those other no-name bands. Do "Joe Blow and the Nobodys" deserve just as much attention? And apart from the "cool" name, The Cult must have won the musical lottery. At least a good bar band can play competent cover songs, The Cult's version of, "Born To Be Wild" is an uninspired head-shaker (not in a good way) on an otherwise so-so album.

Cultin levyistä Love ja Sonic Temple on mun mielestä parempia. Tämmöstä ihan ok hyvin tehtyy rokkii 3/5

Tavallaan ihan punttia vipattava levy mut jotain jää puuttumaan, ei aivan nappaa matkalle rock'n'roll-helvettiin.

It was all fine, but not really groundbreaking in my opinion. It sounds like the kind of band you'd hear in a bar on a Saturday night.

It was more palatable than a lot of rock from this subgenre, but overall not something that captivated me.

Worst album cover of all time, but the music's not that bad. Pretty fun hard rock. That being said, putting this, a fairly standard hard rock album, on here instead of "Love", their previous album (with their biggest hit) that's a cool mix of hard rock and goth, is another one of those picks that can only be explained with the "Council of Magic 8-Balls" theory. I won't elaborate. 5 albums remain.

This album was thankfully A LOT better than its cover. Still not amazing though, the energy was there but the riffs were very simple and generic and just left a lot to be desired

I just didnt see what most people saw in this it wasnt that good. It felt like stereotypical rock you would find in the 80's. The best song on here was Love Removal Machine and the worst was easily Peace Dog and Memphis Hip Shake.

It's pleasant. Classic hard rock, I think. It meets my expectations but nothing more. I'm in a good mood today for this, but any other day? I have no idea. 2.5-3/5 seems a decent evaluation. Half of the riffs and sounds give me deja vu.

Absolutely nothing wrong with this Absolutely nothing particularly special about it either mind

If Def Leppard stuck to the basics. More tolerable but less fun?

Reading the wiki blurb, and knowing that they fell off hard I was a bit worried this was going to be crap and a complete cash grab (I love Love)…but it’s pretty good. The classic vocal style is still there though the distortion effects have been scaled right back, so it still sounds like The Cult (with a bit of AC/DC in there)

solid rock album. strong guitar and good energy.

A fun album by a classic rock band. But a must-listen-before-you-die album? I think not...

It’s ok. Nothing standout on this album.

I recently was introduced to post-metal band Sleep Token. They’re good but I have to admit there were times I was wondering if I was listening to pop ballads, groovy metal or broadway inspired pop rock. There is no mistaking the Cult. This is tuning the motorcycle rock. This is riding to the local dive bar rock. This is pitching a girls butt rock. This is missing two teeth in the mug shot rock. Memphis Hop Shake, Bad Fun and Electric Ocean were key tracks. Did anyone else get The Rolling Stones “Start Me Up” riff in Love Removal Machine? The only song I didn’t like was their down-tempo Born to be Wild cover. You can definitely hear the influence they had on bands like PJ, and especially early ‘00s Jet. This was fun!

Ganska slätstruken rock som är gjord 100 ggr innan detta album och 100000 ggr efter

Rockin and ok

A good album, I enjoyed Lil' Devil and Born to be Wild.

3 stars

For every innovative and influential album from the 80s that deserves the recognition it gets, there are two completely unnecessary records that provide absolutely nothing which counteract the good one. I never thought the would come where I’d find a band that puts even AC/DC to shame in terms of making the most generic rock music ever, but even they are more interesting than this. This is so predictable, it’s maddening. I fail to see what the purpose of music like this really is. Maybe you are just looking for something fun and mindless? I don’t know, I’ve heard some pretty dumb and mindless music before and even this sounds bad. It begs the question of what really drives someone to make this kind of art. Drugs? Pure boredom? Too much money that you don’t know what to do with? I have no idea. I’m being a little harsh though. I guess this isn’t actually all that bad. But I can tell that it provides me with zero stimulus. Not one neuron is firing while this is playing. I just look for more of an actual experience when I’m listening to my music, and this gives me nothing. It’s like the Madonna equivalent of rock music. This is possibly the most 5/10 album I’ve ever heard in my life. I guess technically I heard was objectively bad. None of it made me groan or cringe or nearly fall asleep. But I also wasn’t impressed by any aspect of the music itself. Singer is decent, but has no real standout moments. The guitar playing and drumming are also pretty run of the mill. But almost every song starts the same, and I felt like I could almost what I was going to hear next in each song. This basically exhausts any ideas it has in its first song, and just rides that for the next thirty-something minutes. It sucks too, because before making this record, they used to be a post-punk band. Not sure where the change came from, but this could have been something much more interesting. Rating: 5/10

Liked the opener wildflower a lot! Pretty fun meathead rock. The rest of it was pretty generic, good guitar though. Solid 3 veering to a 3.5

Guitar solo on Love Removal Machine is so damn good, and the filmclip ticks off every rock cliche. The Cult are a hard band to work out - some of it is more punk than cock rock, but there is also a lot of .... cock rock. Some bad songs on here, but the good songs get to three stars.

I wasn’t impressed by this at all until ‘Bad Fun’ transported me back to the most happy memories of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games of my youth. From there on to the end of the album, I simply smiled and let the boys rawk.

Straight forward rock and roll.

I'm not a fan of hard rock, so I honestly got through this by not paying it much attention. It didn't seem to be particularly bothersome hard rock, at least.

Had only heard Fire Woman before this. Like the vibe, looking forward to giving it another listen!

80’s hair metal. I like the genre and this album had some good tunes which I enjoyed while listening to it but it was quickly forgettable after the album ended. Not memorable.

Hair metal. Nothing really special here, nothing to differentiate this from other more famous bands, no songs really stuck out to me afterwards….and yet I still had a good time listening to this album. I just liked the driving guitars and the sound.

Could listen all day but it was very generic.

Feels dated

You know what's funny, as soon as this thing started I thought the lead singer, Ian Astbury, sounded a lot like Jim Morrison revived in the '80s hair metal scene. Well turns out the guy fronted a The Doors tribute band with some of the Doors' core members. Pretty cool - I haven't listened to that tribute band but I can only assume he does a good enough job. As for 'The Cult' and this album in particular, it's pretty good all things considered. I mean this sound has gotten kind of stale for me - but I genuinely have no complaints when it comes to the vocals, playing, and song structures here...it's just they're nothing really special either. I did like the song 'Lil Devil' quite a bit.

It was alright

Not their best

Short circuit.

Generic

This scratched an itch for 80s rock without being glam metal. Their Highway to Hell cover is probably one of the worst I've ever heard.

I mean, again, I'm sure they have their fans and all, there are just better bands playing that kind of rock. Also it's an album from 1987, but it sounds way outdated.

Feels very generic at times, which is a pity because the guitar work is good, and the music is otherwise exciting. I’ll agree that it always feels like they’re about to play “She sells Sanctuary” and you realize how vanilla the album is without a very similar sounding songs presence.

The Cult decide they want more money and so move on from their goth roots to more standard 80s hard rock - and it works. This album is great, stoopid, dumb, fun. Does it need to be on this list? Probably not, but I'm glad it is. Best Tracks: Wild Flower; Lil' Devil; Love Removal Machine

A grab bag of all sorts of different influences, loopy and heavy. Very enjoyable.

Not bad, just kind of average. There were some good moments where I was into it, tho.

Another one in the hair metal books. Interesting to see where the bar of hardness in rock was at the time.

I have heard them on the radio, but never felt the need to buy an album. "She Sells Sanctuary" from their previous album is more to my liking than anything on this one. I did not like their cover of 'Born to be Wild' the rest was fine.

Perfectly serviceable.

Yep, that sounds exactly like an okay rock album.

I've always liked the Cult's sound. But it's really limited to their hits. Because when listening to a whole album every song starts to sound like Fire Woman.

Pretty decent Rock music. The vocalist doesn’t over do it and is in the nice mid range and the songs Rock. It’s on the tin (kinda has a Billy Idol vibe on some songs) 3/5

Just some simple hard rock really. There isn't anything particularly bad about Electric, and I find quite easy to listen to. It went by somewhat fast. However, a lot of the songs sound similar, so I honestly have no idea what a lot are even called. There's nothing really unique about Electric, though it at least sounds like The Cult. They have a vocalist with a recognisable voice at least.

Yet another glammy rock. Except this one is actually quite decent.

80’s hard rock that I forgot about as soon as I stopped listening

I am a bit torn on this album. Yes, I found myself enjoying it, as I do generally like glam and heavy metal of the 1980s. That said, these guys were more or less reinvented to fit this trending sound, and it shows; they don't sound nearly as passionate or "into it" as many of the 80s glam metal bands who were truly made for the genre. Again, I enjoy it, but it sounds a bit generic if I'm being honest. I feel like one of the most obvious displays of this is their cover of "Born to be Wild" -- it's just anemic compared to the original. Now all that said, I am also a fan of goth rock, which is what made these guys famous on their previous album, "Love". Most of what I knew and enjoyed by The Cult is from that goth rock era. It's a bit odd to hear them forced into this new bubble, and to have that represented on this project rather than what they were actually most known and praised for. As I mentioned, I couldn't help but enjoy this, and further, I can't help but stan The Cult's vocals. So this still comes out okay in the wash, in my book.

Ja, lässt sich gut anhören.

Mid

Was alright, only one song was a bop

I'm definitely not the biggest fan of 80s hard rock, but this was actually fairly enjoyable. The riffs are great throughout and the vocals have that 80s hair metal style but a bit subdued instead of sounding like parody like usual.

Some decent energy and easy to listen to. I didnt get through it all but it seemed to give me enought to go on.

naaaaaa de locos los the cult

3.4 1x catch up 10/1 on plane

Not that it was bad but what are they doing on here 💀

Some fun vibes in here, but falls a little short of being truly 'electric'.

Straightforward rock, reminded me of AC/DC at points

Not really my favorite thing, but this was some competent hard rock

It’s like they knew Guitar Hero was coming and wanted to get all their songs on there

not for me

Not bad!

way better than I thought it'd be. and then it has any right to be, really!

Fairly generic but still a good listen

This was a pretty straightforward, 80s rock and roll record, and I mean that in a great way. Very catchy hooks, choruses you can sing along to, and some killer guitar solos that were the highlight of the album for me. Also have some 80s punk influence in there as well which is always a welcome addition for me. I might just have to throw some of these songs into the rotation every once in a while. Notable Tracks: - Wild Flower - Peace Dog - Bad Fun - shout out Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 - Love Removal Machine - should out Guitar Hero: World Tour 6/10

Fun “hair metal” or semi punk vibes. Not my jam but I would’ve vibed hard to this in my teens!

I realized during this album how little time I spend listening to uncaveated rock music. This is like, rock music. No prefixes, nothing. Vocal wailing, guitar neck slides, lots of the same tempo. Overall well crafted i guess, just extremely generic.

This sounded very imitative of a lot of other 80s hard rock. Like, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't special. I didn't feel like they did anything on this album that I hadn't heard before.

having never heard of the cult before, this feels like it was answering a call for "please give me the rock and roll i know and crave, but new" would have loved for born to be wild not to be there tho. 3.5

Classic rock

Best Song: Bad Fun. Exactly the kind of rolling rhythm that works with this style of music. Worst Song: Born To Be Wild. This cover is truly awful. It strips the original of all its speed and intensity (i.e., its wildness) and turns it into a plodding stomp. Born to be Mild. Overall: It isn't bad, but it also just kind of sounds like AC/DC if they rolled around in the dirt for a little bit.

Not bad, not stellar. Pretty standard fare angsty rock music, but well put together.

This is fine, it's listenable, but it's not in the same class as some of the better rock that we've had. Sounds quite rock-by-numbers really, it's a bit too smooth around the edges to be really interesting, a bit tribute act really. That said, it's pretty listenable, I like the singer's voice, just not enough going on. A low 3/5.

I like the Cult style but... This album isn't that exciting. Lots of very similar tracks, and the few catchy tunes are very cheesy to 2024 standards. Rated "Cool but won't listen again".

Pretty decent but there was a very not great cover of born to be wild.

This one really surprised me. I remember the cult from she sells sanctuary. which was a absolute cracking tune. That was blasted on many a nights out. The album really showed me how tight these guys are and musically talented. The individual songs were nothing out of the ordinary but it will make me come back round to them and listen to some other of their albums.

2.5

Generally okay, although that Born To Be Wild cover was... something. Maybe that shouldn't have been included.

Can't really do hair metal. I like sanctuary by this band but that's about. Shame this wasn't even that album. The fact this was coming out the same time as Metallica were releasing stuff makes me wonder who on earth was going to see the cult. Slightly different genre, yet 10x worse. 2.5*, first track the only one worth saving down.

Honestly, fairly surprised by this one. It's better than I expected, but people are all saying it's not the best Cult album so I'll have to check them out. It's a good mix of 70s and 90s rock even though it came before the 90s. However, the first song that autoplayed after this for me was Led Zeppelin and it put it all into context. It's good, but it isn't legendary.

Decent album, not putting it on again though. The cover is useless.

Tightly produced, straight up rock album. Well made, but not for me.

On this occasion the music struck me as quite monotonous, although there is a good energy. The Born to be wild version doesn't add anything.

This is pretty solid!