Secret Treaties

Secret Treaties, Blue Oyster Cult’s third album, is considered by many hardcore fans to be their finest achievement as it brings all the band’s strengths together into one tight package. Allen Lanier’s keyboards take on added presence, while the guitars of Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma illustrate these tunes with memorable riffs and solos that light the night sky. “Career of Evil” and “Dominance and Submission” have the makings of anthems (even if the band’s lyrics remain as obscure, weird and sometimes outright silly as ever), but it’s the moodier terrain of “Subhuman” and “Astronomy” that solidify the group’s otherworldly mystique. While the hard rock world of 1974 kept leaning towards louder and heavier presentations, BOC were careful to avoid the potential dead end by leaning on their psychedelic origins and interpolating unusual textures alongside the standard chug. “Cagey Cretins” uses both the romantic swoon of ‘60s girl groups and the power chords of heavy metal to let us know “Well it’s so lonely in the state of Maine.”