Cultösaurus Erectus

Untitled

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	10/10

Cultösaurus Erectus is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in 1980. Following an experiment with a more-polished sound on the album Mirrors (released the previous year), this recording marked a return to the band's earlier hard-rock sound. The first track, "Black Blade," features lyrics by fantasy and sci-fi writer Michael Moorcock and is about Stormbringer, a black sword wielded by Elric of Melniboné, the most famous character in Moorcock's mythology.

This album also features the first collaboration with British producer Martin Birch (Deep Purple, Fleetwood Mac, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden), who would go on to produce the successful following album Fire of Unknown Origin in 1981. The riff to Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water," a song Birch helped record, is referenced in "The Marshall Plan." "The Marshall Plan" itself is not about the World War II scenario, but a reference to the amplifier manufacturer.

While the album did sell more than its predecessor, it stalled at Gold status. However, during this time Blue Öyster Cult was still filling large venues. The tour promoting Cultösaurus Erectus found the band co-headlining sports arenas in the United States with Black Sabbath as part of the Black and Blue Tour (see Black and Blue).

The album cover features a part of the painting Behemoth's World by British artist Richard Clifton-Dey. The cover art was also used for the 1991 video game Ork.

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Black Blade"	Eric Bloom, Michael Moorcock, John Trivers	Bloom	6:34
2.	"Monsters"	Albert Bouchard, Caryn Bouchard	Bloom	5:10
3.	"Divine Wind"	Donald Roeser	Bloom	5:07
4.	"Deadline"	Roeser	Roeser	4:27

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
5.	"The Marshall Plan"	Bloom, A. Bouchard, Joe Bouchard, Allen Lanier, Roeser	Bloom	5:24
6.	"Hungry Boys"	A. Bouchard, C. Bouchard	A. Bouchard	3:38
7.	"Fallen Angel"	J. Bouchard, Helen Wheels	J. Bouchard	3:11
8.	"Lips in the Hills"	Bloom, Roeser, Richard Meltzer	Bloom	4:24
9.	"Unknown Tongue"	A. Bouchard, David Roter	Bloom	3:55
Total length:				41:10

Personnel

Band members

• Eric Bloom – lead vocals, stun guitar
• Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser – lead guitar, vocals
• Allen Lanier – keyboards, rhythm guitar, background vocals
• Joe Bouchard – bass, background vocals
• Albert Bouchard – drums, percussion, background vocals

Additional musicians

• Don Kirshner – introduction for "The Marshall Plan"
• Mark Rivera – saxophone

Production

• Martin Birch – producer, engineer, mixing
• Clay Hutchinson – engineer
• Paula Scher – art direction

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1980	Billboard 200 (United States)	34
	UK Album Chart	12
	RPM100 Albums (Canada)	77