After 12 years without a real studio album, Blue Oyster Cult released one of their heaviest effects ever in Heaven Forbid. The psychedelica that permeated most of BOC’s work is almost entirely gone and the pop sensibilities the band had been chasing for two decades are refocused, resulting in a lean, mean hard rock disc.

The albums starts with “See You In Black”, a breakneck thrash metal response to critics who might argue that BOC could no longer be relevant in the heavy metal community. The next track is “Harvest Moon”, which is reminiscent of “Astronomy” in its length and complexity. The melody is as catchy as anything the band released, but is accompanied by an uncompromising sea of moderately distorted guitars and a burning double-time solo from Dharma. “Power Underneath Despair”, “Hammer Back”, and “Cold Grey Light Of Dawn” are based on relatively simple muscular riffs, more like “Cities On Flame” than perhaps anything else the band had written between them.

The band takes a step back towards arena rock with “X-Ray Eyes”, but even this song is grounded in heavy rock. “Damaged” uses spasmodic rhythm guitar and organ figures to great effect as it tells the tale of a man who recognizes and enjoys his own insanity. The quirky pop-rock of “Real World” does not quite seem to fit on the album, but Buck’s guitar fills make it worth a listen or two. “Live For Me” features simple held power chords and a choir of “ooohs” but avoids cheesiness by virtue of the band’s heavy attitude and musicianship. “Still Burnin’” is the logical response to “Burnin’ For You” from 15 years previous. Despite another use of choir-esque vocals in the chorus, it is a fittingly powerful almost end of the disc. The last track is a live version of “In Thee” (originally released on 1979’s Mirrors) that serves as a pleasant cool-down from 41 minutes of controlled fury.

Heaven Forbid will be a shock to fans who know Blue Oyster Cult for their arena-rock era of “Don’t Fear The Reaper” and “Burnin’ For You”. Even those who loved the dark, psychedelic boogie of their first few albums may be unpleasantly surprised. For the fan of highly polished, fast hard rock, however, this may be the best album BOC ever recorded.