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Sonic Temple
Sonic Temple is the fourth studio album by British rock band The Cult, released on 10 April 1989. Produced by Bob Rock, the album features some of the band's most popular songs, including "Fire Woman" and "Edie (Ciao Baby)". Described by guitarist Billy Duffy as "rock music from a European perspective with the sensibilities of punk", Sonic Temple was the last album recorded with longtime bassist Jamie Stewart, who left in 1990, and the first to feature session drummer Mickey Curry.
During 1988, The Cult recorded the first 14-track demo version of Sonic Temple with Eric Singer (later of Kiss) on drums. Later on, they tracked a new demo version of the album, tracking fifteen songs with Chris Taylor, drummer of producer Bob Rock's band Rock and Hyde. However, after things did not work out with Singer and Taylor, Mickey Curry was hired to record the final album.
Recorded at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver from September to November 1988, Sonic Temple marked the first time the band worked with Rock, who would later produce The Cult, Beyond Good and Evil, Choice of Weapon and Hidden City.
While Sonic Temple continued in the hard rock and heavy metal vein of its predecessor Electric, it saw the band lean towards a heavier sound with blues, progressive and arena rock influences.
Duffy's approach to the guitar changed significantly on this album, with the guitarist stating, "I'd come full circle with the Les Paul. (...) I started taking the front off the Les Paul and went back to the natural finish while also playing the wah pedal half-closed like [Mick Ronson]. It was back to guys like Mick Ronson, Mick Ralphs, Thin Lizzy and Jimmy Page."
The cover of Sonic Temple features Duffy with his Les Paul in front of a green and red background, partially obscuring a picture of vocalist Ian Astbury. This was chosen to be the album's cover because the band wanted "to capture the essence of what a powerchord felt like."
On 4 October 2019, Sonic Temple was re-released as a 5-CD box set and as a 2 LP/1 cassette box set, with a different cover, the original album digitally remastered, numerous rarities, a live album recorded at the London Wembley Arena and a comprehensive booklet featuring rare photos and background info on the album and the band. The LP/cassette edition has a limited release of 3500 copies worldwide.
The album received mixed reviews, with some interpreting the change in sound positively and some negatively. John Leland of The New York Times deemed Sonic Temple "both [the Cult's] most conventional album and its most convincing", continuing: "Using a few simple riffs and images, the Cult creates an entire environment, one more exciting and stimulating than our own. Bob Rock, the album's producer, washes blunt, powerful sound over the broadness of most of the band's strokes. Sonic Temple makes a virtue of its lack of subtlety."
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Sonic Temple
Sonic Temple is the fourth studio album by British rock band The Cult, released on 10 April 1989. Produced by Bob Rock, the album features some of the band's most popular songs, including "Fire Woman" and "Edie (Ciao Baby)". Described by guitarist Billy Duffy as "rock music from a European perspective with the sensibilities of punk", Sonic Temple was the last album recorded with longtime bassist Jamie Stewart, who left in 1990, and the first to feature session drummer Mickey Curry.
During 1988, The Cult recorded the first 14-track demo version of Sonic Temple with Eric Singer (later of Kiss) on drums. Later on, they tracked a new demo version of the album, tracking fifteen songs with Chris Taylor, drummer of producer Bob Rock's band Rock and Hyde. However, after things did not work out with Singer and Taylor, Mickey Curry was hired to record the final album.
Recorded at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver from September to November 1988, Sonic Temple marked the first time the band worked with Rock, who would later produce The Cult, Beyond Good and Evil, Choice of Weapon and Hidden City.
While Sonic Temple continued in the hard rock and heavy metal vein of its predecessor Electric, it saw the band lean towards a heavier sound with blues, progressive and arena rock influences.
Duffy's approach to the guitar changed significantly on this album, with the guitarist stating, "I'd come full circle with the Les Paul. (...) I started taking the front off the Les Paul and went back to the natural finish while also playing the wah pedal half-closed like [Mick Ronson]. It was back to guys like Mick Ronson, Mick Ralphs, Thin Lizzy and Jimmy Page."
The cover of Sonic Temple features Duffy with his Les Paul in front of a green and red background, partially obscuring a picture of vocalist Ian Astbury. This was chosen to be the album's cover because the band wanted "to capture the essence of what a powerchord felt like."
On 4 October 2019, Sonic Temple was re-released as a 5-CD box set and as a 2 LP/1 cassette box set, with a different cover, the original album digitally remastered, numerous rarities, a live album recorded at the London Wembley Arena and a comprehensive booklet featuring rare photos and background info on the album and the band. The LP/cassette edition has a limited release of 3500 copies worldwide.
The album received mixed reviews, with some interpreting the change in sound positively and some negatively. John Leland of The New York Times deemed Sonic Temple "both [the Cult's] most conventional album and its most convincing", continuing: "Using a few simple riffs and images, the Cult creates an entire environment, one more exciting and stimulating than our own. Bob Rock, the album's producer, washes blunt, powerful sound over the broadness of most of the band's strokes. Sonic Temple makes a virtue of its lack of subtlety."