The Cult
Sonic Temple

THE REVIEW

Following the "Electric" tour (where they were supported by the then-unknown Guns n' Roses), Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy's goal was to firmly establish themselves in the American market, which had until then offered little satisfaction for the English duo.

The goal, thanks also to Bob Rock, was achieved with "Sonic Temple", their fourth studio album, which reached the tenth position on the U.S. charts and sold over three million copies.

Ian Astbury was even contacted by director Oliver Stone who wanted him to play Jim Morrison in his film about the Doors, but after Ian's refusal, being too busy with his band on the post "Sonic Temple" tour, Stone decided to cast Val Kilmer.

"Sonic Temple" was, however, also their most criticized work because it was considered too Zeppelin-esque (indeed, in this sense, "Soul Asylum", though beautiful according to the writer, seems like a psychedelic reinterpretation of "Kashmir" and "Automatic Blues" a slightly faster version of "Black Dog").

Despite all this, the album, driven by the emotional ballad "Edie (ciao baby)", one of the Cult's most famous pieces along with "Rain" and "She Sell Sanctuary", was a commercial success.

It is a work that sounds more varied than its predecessor, yet still very rock n' roll, although, in my opinion, it does not have the same explosive energy as "Electric".

Astbury and Duffy abandon AC/DC, from whom they had drawn heavily in their previous work, to settle on Zeppelin-esque sounds with many references to the music of the Lizard King (the aforementioned "Soul Asylum", "Soldier Blue").

But, even though "Sonic Temple" was certainly not a highly original album, especially when compared to the first two albums of the Gothic era, it had the merit (and this, thanks to, and perhaps most importantly, to the strategist Bob Rock) of anticipating and significantly influencing that American street rock movement that would arise shortly thereafter (in this sense, "New York City", where Iggy Pop makes a guest appearance, can be considered the manifesto for the birth of overseas street rock and this is significant, considering that the Cult are English).

In short, "Sonic Temple" is another Cult album which, while not having anything original, had a not insignificant importance, for various reasons, in the music of the 80s and 90s and, in this, beyond personal judgments which are often conflicting about the band, cannot be overlooked.