History Music / BlueOysterCult

Founder member Allen Lanier sadly died in August 2013 after a long illness, which had already necessitated his retirement. His last public appearance with the group was at the fortieth anniversary celebration in December 2012. Long-standing manager and band associate Sandy Pearlman, who was responsible for forming and naming the group, and production work on early LP's, as well as naming Buck Dharma and contributing most of the ''Imaginos'' cycle of lyrics, died in July 2016.

* CanonDiscontinuity: As a result of being critical and commercial failures, ''The Revölution By Night'' and ''Club Ninja'' (though "Perfect Water" still made it onto the group's 2002 live release ''A Long Day's Night''). Nothing from ''Imaginos'' EVER makes it into their live shows, though.

* ConceptAlbum: ''Imaginos''.

** "In the Presence of Another World" (6:26), "The Siege" (6:43), and "Blue Öyster Cult" (7:18) on ''Imaginos''

* HumanoidAbomination: Imaginos/Desdinova from ''Imaginos''.

** "Seven seven seven seven" ''ad nauseam'' on "Les Invisibles" from ''Imaginos''.
** "Carpe diem" in the background of "The Siege and Investiture of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle at Weisseria" from ''Imaginos''. The same song loops "world without end" throughout most of the last two or three minutes.

* RockOpera: ''Imaginos'', a ''fragment'' of the above MythArc, tells the story of a 19th-century adventurer imbued with magic powers by aliens, and whose efforts prove to be the cause of World War I.

* ''Imaginos'' (1988): "Astronomy", "Blue Öyster Cult".

* CoverVersion: several on the live albums; their choices of covers give a pretty good idea of who their main influences were. ''On Your Feet Or On Your Knees'' includes Music/TheYardbirds' "I Ain't Got You" from ''Music/FiveLiveYardbirds'' and the Music/{{Steppenwolf}} classic "Born to Be Wild", while ''Some Enchanted Evening'' features Music/TheAnimals' "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" and the Music/MC5's ''Music/KickOutTheJams'', while ''Extraterrestrial Live'' features a cover of "Roadhouse Blues" from ''Morrison Hotel'' by Music/TheDoors, with Robbie Krieger himself guesting on guitar. "St. Cecilia", the group's originally unreleased album as the Stalk-Forrest Group, included a cover of Bobby Freeman's "Betty Lou Got A New Pair Of Shoes".

-->They beckoned him inside
-->But only man, he would not ride
-->Instead he found a place to hide
-->For he's the sole survivor
* DontFearTheReaper: {{Trope Namer|s}}.

-->''The door burst open, and a wind appeared;''
--> ''The candle blew and then dissappeared;''
-->''The curtains flew and then He appeared,''
--> ''Saying "Don't be afraid"''

* EpicRocking: Especially prominent on ''Tyranny and Mutation''.

--> Three thousand guitars, they seem to cry
--> My ears will melt, and then my eyes

* HeavyMeta: "Cities on Flame with Rock & Roll", "R. U. Ready 2 Rock"', "Before the Kiss, a Redcap", and "The Marshall Plan" (which includes a spoken word interlude by Don Kirschner). They also did a cover of ''Music/KickOutTheJams'', and in a way "Heavy Metal: The Black and Silver" counts as well.

* IKissYourFoot: A sardonic ([[FootFetish probably]]) example in "She's as Beautiful as a Foot".

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Most off their harder-rocking songs hover around the 5-6 range, with a few (VERY few) going up to a borderline 7. They have a number of lighter songs as well though- for example, [[BlackSheepHit "Don't Fear the Reaper"]] is a 3 or a 4 (the only "heavy" part is in the solo section).

* ProtestSong: "Divine Wind", a song attacking UsefulNotes/AyatollahKhomeini during the hostage crisis.

is from the perspective of something or someone that kills people and collects their eyes.
* VillainSong: Several -- see PerspectiveFlip and LyricalDissonance above -- but "Career of Evil" could easily be the poster song for the trope.

* VillainProtagonist: The setup for "Then Came the Last Days of May" is a cross-border drug transaction, allegedly based on a true story.

** "Harvester of Eyes" is from the perspective of something or someone that kills people and collects their eyes.
* VillainSong: Several--see PerspectiveFlip and LyricalDissonance above--but "Career of Evil" could easily be the poster song for the trope.

''Or the light that never warms'' \\

-->''Time everlasting/Time to play B-sides...'' ('''"Burnin' For You"''')

* TheCameo: Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma make a cameo appearance at the end of ''The Stoned Age'' (a movie where one of the main characters was a hardcore BÖC fan), selling bootleg BÖC merchandise.morrison

* CoverVersion: several on the live albums; their choices of covers give a pretty good idea of who their main influences were. ''On Your Feet Or On Your Knees'' includes Music/TheYardbirds' "I Ain't Got You" from ''Music/FiveLiveYardbirds'' and the Music/{{Steppenwolf}} classic "Born to Be Wild", while ''Some Enchanted Evening'' features Music/TheAnimals' "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" and the Music/MC5's ''Music/KickOutTheJams'', while ''Extraterrestrial Live'' features a cover of "Roadhouse Blues" from ''Music/MorrisonHotel'' by Music/TheDoors, with Robbie Krieger himself guesting on guitar. "St. Cecilia", the group's originally unreleased album as the Stalk-Forrest Group, included a cover of Bobby Freeman's "Betty Lou Got A New Pair Of Shoes".

!"I'm troping, I'm troping, I'm troping for you":

* AuthorAppeal: Joe Bouchard wrote a ''lot'' of songs about vampires.

* BigApplesauce: The band are mainly from, and based in, New York.

* TheCameo: Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma make a cameo appearance at the end of ''The Stoned Age'' (a movie where one of the main characters was a hardcore BÖC fan), selling bootleg BÖC merchandise.

* CityShoutOuts: "Atlanta, Georgia!", "Poughkeepsie, New York!"

* CoverVersion: several on the live albums; their choices of covers give a pretty good idea of who their main influences were. ''On Your Feet Or On Your Knees'' includes Music/TheYardbirds' "I Ain't Got You" from ''Music/FiveLiveYardbirds'' and the {{Music/Steppenwolf}} classic "Born to Be Wild", while ''Some Enchanted Evening'' features Music/TheAnimals' "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" and the Music/MC5's ''Music/KickOutTheJams'', while ''Extraterrestrial Live'' features a cover of "Roadhouse Blues" from ''Morrison Hotel'' by Music/TheDoors, with Robbie Krieger himself guesting on guitar. "St. Cecilia", the group's originally unreleased album as the Stalk-Forrest Group, included a cover of Bobby Freeman's "Betty Lou Got A New Pair Of Shoes".
* DealWithTheDevil: The live version of "7 Screaming Diz-Busters" includes an interlude where Eric Bloom describes how [[LouisCypher a slick-looking man in a shark-skin suit]] gave him a contract to sign in blood, and the very next day CBS Records called him up to offer the band a record deal.

* TickTockTune: "Astronony" is a subtle example, with the steady hit-hat throughout the song simulating the ticking of a clock, a recurring motif in the lyrics.

* EldritchLocation: The Four Winds Bar from "Astronomy", which exists "behind the clock" (outside time), and can not be found on a map. It's the "nexus of the crisis" and "origin of storms". It's bizarre physical proportions are described, with some doors barred and others only letting people in. Susie and Carrie find themselves at the bar despite the lack of directions, and come face to face with Desdinova.

* ThatsAllFolks: "Shooting Shark" ends with, "First time round is the last time round; I have nothing else to say."

* WordSaladLyrics: Lots of them.

** ''and the joke's on you...and the joke's on you...and the joke's on you...and the jo--''

* OnlyInFlorida: "Florida Man" is a tribute to the weirdness of Florida, noting the state's drug problems and scary wildlife particularly.

* Richie Castellano: Keyboards, guitar, bass, Backup vocals, lead vocals on "Hot Rails to Hell"

* BystanderSyndrome: * The song ''Screams'' was written by bass player Joe Bouchard. On perhaps his third night in New York City, a woman was stabbed to death in the street beneath his apartment window. Joe was struck by how many people just watched and did nothing - or seemed to. This may well have been the notorious [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese Genovese murder]] which helped to define "BystanderSyndrome".

* ApocalypseHow: "Sole Survivor"--unexplained, but planetary human extinction level.

* {{Parabombing}}: "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"; "Joan Crawford (Has Risen From The Grave)".

* BystanderSyndrome: * The song ''Screams'' was written by bass player Joe Bouchard. On perhaps his third night in New York, a woman was stabbed to death in the street beneath his apartment window. Joe was struck by how many people just watched and did nothing - or seemed to. This may well have been the notorious [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese Genovese murder]] which helped to define "BystanderSyndrome".

* LastOfHisKind: "Sole Survivor".

** "Unknown Tongues" (off ''Cultösaurus Erectus''), in which a devout Catholic schoolgirl called Margaret explores glossolalia and the mysteries of the holy Stigmata. (i.e., the voices in her head tell her to self-harm with a razor blade).

* ''Cultösaurus Erectus'' (1980): "[[Literature/TheElricSaga Black Blade]]", "The Marshall Plan".

* BystanderSyndrome: * The song ''Screams In The Night'' was written by keyboards player Allen Lanier. On perhaps his third night in New York, a woman was stabbed to death in the street beneath his apartment window. Lanier was struck by how many people just watched and did nothing - or seemed to. This may well have been the notorious [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese Genovese murder]] which helped to define "BystanderSyndrome".

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Series/SaturdayNightLive I've got a fever, and the only prescription... is]] '''[[Creator/ChristopherWalken more cowbell!]]''' (From left to right; Jules Radino, Eric Bloom, Buck Dharma, Allen Lanier, Richie Castellano.)]]

* Kasim Sulton: Bass guitar

* Danny Miranda: Bass

* DeathSeeker: "Tainted Blood" from ''The Symbol Remains'' is about a vampire who wants to die after having lost his also-vampire lover of 200 years to the eponymous tainted blood. The song doesn't make it clear if she fed on someone's blood that was tainted, or if her own blood became poisoned somehow.