The Cult: The Making of Sonic Temple
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- čas přidán 28. 08. 2024
- The Cult: The making of their 1989 album sonic Temple
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#thecult #ianastbury #sonictemple
I cite my sources and they may differ than other people's accounts, so I don't guarantee the actual accuracy of my videos.
Coming off of the commercial success of 1987’s “Electric,” the Cult was about to go to the next level. Their follow up 1989’s Sonic Temple would prove to be the Cult’s most commercially successful album and was certified platinum. It Peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and created four top 20 Mainstream Rock Songs hits.
Yet, it was produced in entirely different circumstances than “Electric” was. The band opted to re-record their original tracks the ycut for Electric as it sounded too similar to their previous record 1985’s Love. The band wanted a more stripped down no nonsense sound so they enlisted an up and coming producer in Rick Rubin.
In a 2019 interview with Loudwire.com, Bill Duffy talks about how challenging “Electric” was for the band to make:
[The album] just wasn't where we wanted to be, so when Rick [Rubin] came in, he was the straw that we were clutching at because we had this album and we were terribly frustrated that we spent so much time and money and energy trying to make it good. But Rick came in, like Rick has proven to be, a pretty no-nonsense character, and we made Electric. But I think we left some of the stuff behind. We left some of the uniqueness of The Cult behind and Electric was part of the stuff.
You could say that Sonic Temple was a it of a homecoming for the band, and an even deeper dive into Ian Astbury’s metaphysical inclinications.
Although Astbury is British, he spent most of his time being brought up in Eastern Canada, in the province of Ontario. As a boy, he visited one of the local inidigenous reserves and it’s a memory he’s come back to time and time again. The exact location was the Six Nations of the Grand River in Southern Ontario. Musically, he was also a big fan of David Bowie.
With Sonic Temple, the band remained as eclectic as ever, if not in their musical style then with the topics of these songs - covering topics from teenagers in France, to one of Andy Warhol’s Factory girls to the theme of the powerful yet unattainable women.
There seems to be a feeling of longing throughout the album - whether that’s for a past that doesn’t exist any more or a beautiful women who is out of reach or has even died.
Sonic Temple was recorded in Vancouver Canada (on the west coast, in case you don’t know it) at Little Mountain Sound Recording Studio.
Ian felt a kinship with Bob because they both had Canadian roots, and he though Bob would better understand the nuances of British Rock than an American producer would. The album’s name comes from the Bonus track “Medicine Train” which features the lyric sonic temple.”
It was clear that the band wasn’t entirely happy with how “Electric” had come out, given such a drastic change in both the producer and studio location. But the band also had another goal on their mind becoming more established in America with Duffy telling Loudersound “I was very focused, personally, bound and determined, that The Cult should have a platinum album in America,”
One of the signatures of the band, besides their genre-bending catalogue was the mind of frontman Ian Astbury. In a 2013 Interview with Glide Magazine online he was asked if he ever scared people with his intelligence and replied:
we all have different callings. Everybody is struggling with this paradox, this existential problem of what is the meaning of life. People put like decades of their lives into their children. Why? Why are they of value? Why aren’t you of value? Why do you put decades of your life into your child? Your child will at some point have to become self-reliant to survive, to attain better breeding rights, to attain more enlightenment, and here’s how it works - you work hard, you get money; with money you have luxury time; with luxury time you have meditation time; with meditation time you get more time to experience the philosophical. This knowledge is available to you.
Sonic Temple features a handful of iconic songs like Fire Woman, Edie (Ciao Baby) and Sweet Soul Sister.
Let’s talk a little bit about the meaning behind the album’s biggest hits.three famous songs.
Fire Woman is about the universal symbol of the femme fatale, but also influenced wby Ian Astbury’s fascination with indigenous culture
Sweet Soul Sister was written in Paris and is
Christ, that NY "prank" was awful. I saw that tour & Ian was frustrated, yelling at the audience, "We have the hair! We've got the guitars!" - but that wasn't new - Ian was like that with audiences since Southern Death Cult. Still is. A perpetually, comically ingratiated "Donald Duck" who gives everything onstage & demands it back.
I remember the disappointment of _Sonic Temple_ in '89 - they watered themselves down, were alienating their _Love_ fans further, and going for the MTV Hair Metal audience two years too late. Bob Rock's production was stadium ready but sucked the life out of the band. Metallica would go with Bob for the Black album but they succeeded in breaking through.
The Cult sabotaged themselves repeatedly - needlessly following trends when they were the ones who were ahead of the pack.
But - ironically - _Sonic Temple_ has aged incredibly well, rocking harder & sounding fresher today than it did in 1989. It's one of the best Hard Rock albums of that era.
is there any video of this gig with that prank?
I agree about the staying power of that album. I loved it when it came out and still listen to it now!
@@inconnu4961 Me too. I thought it was a little catchy but it still rocks hard af. Always has for me. It's no pos "Black" album.
Electric was the album. Sonic Temple was too DesmondChildish
And you know from the hair metal perspective Sonic Temple sounded like nothing that was out there.. between that and Metallica's and justice for all it was a wonderful breath of fresh, I daresay metal.. they were always ahead of the curve to me.
Duffy wrote some really catchy riffs. Really nice tone.
Agreed.
Love the Cult. Got to see them twice over the years. Always thought they could've been bigger.
for a moment some media called them the next led zeppelin.
The Cult absolutely deserved to be bigger back in the day but, today, they've reached a status many of the big selling 80s bands never did. New generations are discovering The Cult - they've surpassed nostalgia & have joined the ranks of the all-time classic bands like Zeppelin or The Who. Which, as a 35 year Cult fan, I wouldn't have predicted.
Love Removal Machine is one of my favorite songs of all time. I have it on my Ipod and was listening to it on the way home from work today. The music video of the song is one of my faves as well. They all look like they are having a blast filming it!
Fire Woman is in my top favorite songs of all time.
Stay classy, Lars.
Why start now?
LOL
Always
Lars AllPrick?
@@te9591 😅🤣
Love the Cult! Fan since 1985! Though I will say I much prefer their earlier albums! Love was EXCELLENT!
I saw The Cult open up for Metallica back during the 88/89 AJ4A Tour. Man they were booed, I felt sorry for them. Decent band, but having them open for Metallica back then was a Big Mistake. Remember, this was the …And Justice 4 All Tour, had it been the Load tour things might’ve been different. Not to mention the gold fish incident, man, that was phucked up!
Yeah I saw that tour too, in Columbia SC. The cults short set was plagued with technical issues, and Billy threw his guitar down at one point.
I saw the same tour in worcester Massachusetts and they kicked arse. Saw them again headline the Boston garden the next winter and they were awesome again.
I realize goldfish aren’t the smartest organisms, but that’s a pretty cruel prank. Lars sucks, and the rest of the band and crew suck for going along with it.
@DJ Skeletal I agree all those poor goldfish just for a prank. When I think of Metallica I always think about the Dude in Big Lebowski who said "bunch of f_cking assholes"
I dont remember kirk or Jason doing anything
metallica is famous for their pranks. remember the one show they had fun with alice in chains for skipping touring with them cuz layne was so down on heroin. they miss friends not jokes. after all both cult and alice in chains brought it to themselves. and metallica is still around doing a good job. theres dave mustaine too, they were cold enough to prepare everything right to fire him send him at the other side of the country in a hangover out of the blue, having a big fun at it
@@jackhayes1698 Jason always seemed like a cool guy.
@@larstiussi1362 so you think it was fine for them to make fun of a heroin addict who would go on to die as a result of his addiction, just because “they brought it on themselves”?
I’m pretty sure James wouldn’t appreciate it if someone make a joke about his alcohol addiction, and I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t appreciate someone picking on a serious issue affecting you either.
*ERRRR MAGERRRRRD!!!* I LRRRRRRRVE The Cult!!! I still listen to "Fire Woman" and it still makes me wanna dance like a stripper while I do dishes by hand. I gotta be careful now, though, on account of my sciatica (so like a gimpy stripper, I suppose!). EXCELLENT VIDEO AS ALWAYS, MY DUDE!!!
_ETA: is Matt Sorum "Benjamin Buttoning" his way thru life? I swear he looks younger now than he did when he was with G&R...._
I was just about to listen to The Cult when I saw this video. What a coincidence!
At 4:11, is that Ian Astbury or Tommy Wiseau?
Electric was my very favorite album for decades. Great video. I always wondered how Ashbury ended up ruining things
I loved the Cult and the title of this video is spot on. Sonic Temple for me was the beginning of the end. Jamie Stewart left the band after that. I remember being excited for Ceremony but after listening to it was disappointed. You’ve got a great channel!
Leon,
Ditto 👍
I won tix to see the release of Ceremony in Sydney, Australia where I won a free copy.
I was stunned at how second rate it was.
I listened to Ceremony end to end twice and to this day, never again. 🤷♂️🤦♂️
@@FrostedSeagull The song White still makes me laugh to this day ….
Ceremony was basically Sonic Temple II, and not nearly as good.
I had the cassette of this album when I was in 1st grade. I remember pronouncing it "Edie kie-yo Baby" lol🤣🤣🤣
Been a cult fan since southern death cult
As I said in your other Cult video (about their rough 10 year stretch from 1991-2001):
Their awesome trilogy: Love/Electric/Sonic Temple
Their comeback trilogy: Born Into This/Choice of Weapon/Hidden City
Their "what the frick" trilogy: Ceremony/"Black Sheep" self titled album/Beyond Good and Evil
Ceremony had some solid stuff in it
Ceremony is probably their most solid album. Pretty great from start to finish
When Edie (Ciao Baby) came out, it was such a huge song for me when I was a child.
Best tube name ever
Right!
Saw that Metallica tour in Chicago, 1989 of July. The Cult opened. Ian gave it his all but the crowd was ruthless. They were booed off the stage. Metallica was starting to get real strong at that point. The die chant during "Creeping Death" was something I will always remember; that tribal energy was just so electric.
The Cult-Think about this little factoid:Just like Twisted Sister, they got to the top, only to have their lead singer, Dee Snider shoot the band in the head (So to speak!), through making horrible decisions, and effectively killing off whatever momentum the band had built up, to that point. The Cult, just like Twisted Sister, fell victim to L. S. D.-Lead Singer Disease! It's pathetic!!!
Yet another band that could have been so great if they’d got their shit together.
I’d say they’re still great despite all of that. At least we have the music.
@@skeletal13 very true!
I saw The Cult in Argentina in the mid 90’s, it was terrible Ian’s voice was a disaster and they never played the song Revolution
One of the worst concerts I ever been and I started in 1983
Regards from Buenos Aires
Rick
Ian Ashbury and Billy Duffy admit they both were using drugs and heavy drinking in the 80s and 90s. Total disrespect for the fans and their money.
@Christopher Bingham They got themselves together by then. In the mid nineties Astbury blew his voice out with too much coke.
@Christopher Bingham Don't be fatist.
@Christopher Bingham He is though! His look is so rock N roll & cool! Cant imagine why he would let himself go like that! I bet the women would have been lined up outside his door for miles! So sad!
@@andyh7895 He isnt, he is a phatist!
I bought tickets for the Metallica show at Irvine Meadows, fall '89, thinking The Cult was opening. My best friend was a huge Metallica fan, I was indifferent, and asked me to go with him. Faith No More ended up opening that show and were awesome.
I probably would not have gone to see Metallica otherwise.
I LOVE Fath No More! So jealous!
I saw them play at the Venue in Melbourne in 87 I think, they were better than I expected live, they had a second guitar, it was flat out heavy rock. Saw Astbury in the foyer and when he saw my boots he said," hey,cool boots man,1967", so there you go ,they were pretty cool boots, from Rocco's in Malvern.
Not sure why people think animal cruelty is funny? Pretty sick to abuse animals as part of a prank.
Also pretty fucked to mock ian astburys addiction and weight problems. Metallica are assholes
Ok Boomer 🤯
It happened 30 yrs ago, dude! Why get angry? What can you do about it now, besides virtue signal?
Damn, I'm impressed and surprised by the amount of Cult vids you've made. Seen them twice and can't wait to go again.
Hard to imagine Rick Rubin as an "up-and-coming" producer. Sort of like Mutt Lange or Bob Rock, but I guess back then he really was - at least in terms of rock.. Although, I guess arguably he was already moderately successful producer in hip-hop
Reign in blood?
Absolutely loved this album. Saw them live in 1991, great performance.
Electric and Love brilliant albums too
I was at that show. Everyone loved seeing The Cult get wrecked. Metallica played 6 encore songs. Pre-Black Album Metallica was awesome.
So Ian Astbury really was as fruity as his lyrics and his fashion choices. Kidding aside their reissues/special editions are some the best in recent years. The 30th Anniversary Box Set of Sonic Temple is so awesome. I also just bought Electric Peace and the Love Double CD expanded edition. Great stuff. Jamie Stewart should also write a memoir of this The Cult experience. Great Channel.
Sonic Temple is a classic Masterpiece. Saw The Cult on the 1990 tour and they totally kicked A$$. PLAY LOUD
I love your reviews! Thankyou!!
I saw them on that tour up in Cleveland .. they could not win. Literally 99% of the crowd was there to see Metallica like a religious revival. The Cult may as well have been a rodeo clown and Ian knew it. He was pissed and it showed.
I liked them but they tended to take their hokey mysticism too seriously. It made them come across as kinda pretentious sometimes. English guys trying to be all into native american mysticism is kinda dopey, to be perfectly honest.
totally agree, most of that stuff is total BS
I was under the impression that Astbury was descended from First Nations? Thats why he was into it from the start? Its no crazier than The Beatles( more pastey white Brits) into hare krishna!
@@inconnu4961 agreed. I love the Beatles and all, but their hokey mysticism was ridiculous as well. Same with the doors.
Saw the tour in Feb. 1990 - when they were finally the headliner - The Cult / Bonham / Dangerous Toys - they played most of the Sonic Temple record - great show - plenty loud - Ian got mad at some people sitting in the arena - told them to go home if they wanted to sit down.
I saw these groups on that tour and It was a pretty wild show.
Phuk Ian, they were paying customers.
You should do one about P. It was a band that has Johnny Depp, Al Jorgenson, Flea, and Gibby Haynes. They were playing at the Viper Room in LA the night River Phoenix died.
I mean, you kinda just said all that needs to be said about “P” in this comment.
@@superstraight8402 thats a fair point. It'd probably be one of their shorter vids, that's for sure
A nice lil sacrifice for fame n Fortune
Saw The Cult on their Beyond Good and Evil tour. Great show, although Matt seemed to have occasional problems with his bass drum. The opening acts were Stabbing Westward and Monster Magnet, plus a band called Bird. Stabbing Westward put on a good show, as did Bird. Monster Magnet was atrocious.
One of the best albums as a whole of the late 80s
The Metallica crew seems to be the same intelligence as the band.
I met some of em - forget em.
serious bunch of meat heads
@@toddlavigne6441 LOL
Ceremony was a very underrated album. “Wonderland” was one of their strongest songs in my opinion, even though it had no broad appeal.
Sonic temple is a great album.
I saw that tour as well in Houston Texas I remember the cult sounding like the cult but honestly nobody was there to see the cult including myself but they hung tough and did a good job
Beyond Good and Evil in 2000 kicked ass...
That's kinda sad for the fish
Long live the Cult, more talented than Metallica.
Great friggin road story!
Well, Metallica went on to become a shadow of their 80's brilliance. There's some karma right there. And then there was that Napster thing. That photo of Lars and Roger McGuinn sitting together? When two pompous asses come in close proximity shouldn't the universe implode?
Phuk Larz. He's a punk.
Love was so good!
I was at that show in Portland!!
Love is one of my all time fave LP's. Electric is decent, and Sonic Temple has some strong tracks on it. The Cult should have stayed being "The Cult" and should not have listened to others ideas of what they should be.
Trey,
Problem was at the time that the opinionated and for some bizarre reason, highly influential English music press, especially NME & Melody Maker had tagged them as a post-punk Goth act by mid-1985.
There Love album was a huge seller i.e. about 120,000 copies in the UK and another 250k plus around the world in other strong 'goth haunts' like Canada, Australia/New Zealand, the USA, Germany and Italy.
However, as a Goth band they were lumped in with low level crap like Alien Sex Fiend and Jene Loves Jezebel and upcoming heavy weights the Sisters of Mercy.
Problem - the Reid Brothers better known as the . . . .
Jesus & Mary Chain beat them ALL to it with their loud abrasive wall of sounf guitar style.
The J.A.M.C's break out album - Psychocandy - caught everyone out by surprise in 1985-86 , especially Ian Astbury.
Rumour has it Astbury thought he was 'king sh#t ' in the UK.
Psychocandy was the real reason The Cult 'discovered guitars'.
The wall of sound guitars on Psychocandy by the Jesus and Mary Chain had them as the 'new Sex Pustols ' AND sold over 250, 000 in the UK alone and another 250,000 plus world wide.
The Brothers Reid had knocked Astbury off the podium.
Andrew Eldtritch with the Sisters of Mercy first album was going to kick Ian Astbury's arse out of the stadium.
Rick Rubin thought their cliched and passe jingly jangly guitar sound on Love was yesterday's news. The Cult were forced into hard rock.
Electric sold 1.5 million copies world wide.
The Cult were then stuck with their mid range Zeppelin and
AC/DC sound for Sonic Youth as their record company wanted Platinum sales.
The Cult's by now very outdated Goth sound was not going to sell millions of units world wide.
@@FrostedSeagull Yeah but bands with that outdated goth sound went on to sell millions around 87. The Cure, The Banshees etc etc.
That is mental, I'm a big Cult fan and knew bits of the fish story - Astbury really had it coming what a silly boy!
Fire Woman is my fav song
I was at a rock club in 1990, when Astbury ( who had been playing elsewhere in the city), turned up sandwiched between a couple of minders. He stood around surveying the place for about 15 or 20 minutes, then disappeared. I was amazed at how small he seemed to be, maybe 5’5” or 5’6” at the most. His complexion also looked pockmarked or acne scarred. My friends and I were pretty disappointed, as he didn’t look half as good as he did onTV!!! 😂
Neat story
Such a cracking band...
the Cult blew metallicunt off the stage in Jackson, MS in 1989 on my birthday
Rock and roll true stories showed Ozzy Osbourne how to beat Motley Crue at an ant snorting contest.
A real bunch of Phuk ups.🙄
I saw that tour in Atlanta at the Omni. I was in 6th grade
The guitars were too watered down on Sonic Temple compared to Electric.
They went from a AC/DC dirty rock sound to a too polished top 40 middle of the road sound.
A lot of Pop Metal/Hard Rock bands did that, towards the end of the Pop Metal era. Then, to make matters worse, a lot of those same bands started doing ballads. That was the straw that broke the proverbial Camel's back, and pretty much finished off the Pop Metal ear, once and for all.
First concert I went to, 15 or 16 years old. Still got my ticket stub. Buckeye Lake Music Center or Legend Valley it was called as well. Went for Metallica. At the time the only song I knew of The Cult was Fire Woman and didn't really care for it.
Was into the "harder" stuff, so didn't really give anything else a chance. Fast forward 30 odd years. Love The Cult, glad I did get to see them. She Sells Sanctuary is a kick ass song among other ones, but definitely my favorite.
Ian Astbury and Mark Slaughter were always easy on the eyes!!
Saw them open for Metallica and the crowd nearly ate them alive. Ian insulted the entire crowd. Seeing them a little later on their on their own tour: Killer show.
That story is BANANAS!
wow that was a good one. thanks
was that lars on the shrek move as rupel stitskin
Are we talking about a damn goldfish?
That's crazy. Love it.
Love..best LP
Probably gonna catch shite for this but oh well. Sonic temple is one of my favorite albums ever. Made me fall in love with the cult. Ian looked so damn cool during that era.
Lol at Renee, Ian’s gf, she really meant well, bless her. I understand what it’s like to be overly sympathetic to animals. I even can kinda sympathize with taking the fish to a vet lol but even I can say that the burial is way too far. 🤦🏻♀️ But ffs she didn’t deserve to be shit on like that by everyone. She loved animals. Sue her.
Wow, Metallica dressed like Ian, making fun of him. Kinda fucked.
Its a great album, for the time! Ian was cool! Too bad he couldnt keep it together! Remember though, they were 'kids'!
yeah
wow
Does PETA know what Metallica did???
At 6:58 Does anyone know what short that is on the guitarist?
Great alt band.
Lmfao “Matt was eating the goldfish…”
🙄
I saw The Cult during their LOVE tour in DC. The crowd was really antagonistic for some reason. The Divinyls were the openers and got treated like shit. For some reason The Cult didn’t fare much better. People were taunting Ian for being fat
Love me some the cult.
Saw them in Houston with a band called GnR opening for them, Appetite had just been released. What a show, both bands kicked ass. Before that I saw them open for Billy Idol in Phoenix wear Ian smashed a Budweiser bottle over his own head. That was a kick ass year and Summer...
Oh yeah? What year was it?
Stepan Bandera 1987...
Stepan Bandera still have the ticket stubs too, 2021 is boring compared to how free we were then. Electra and Appetite for destruction came out that year. Nothing today compares...
I always followed the Cult. Bought all their CDs.
Even saw Ian fronting the Doors. Very creative tunes.
Sonic Temple was very good. Duffy just wasn’t that hot of a player.
I thought Duffy had great tone and Ian sucked which was greatly magnified by his stupid hats.
I can't believe they aren't proud of Electric, it's a great album
I saw them open for Metallica on the Justice tour. Thats all I can really say about that.
Beginning of the end!?
Comment
underrated comment
American Horse..KILLER
Good channel and vids are well produced, but you seem to be running out of content. With a bit of research you'll find that there is music outside of the US.
There's a plethora of modern groups he could do. Although I'm not sure many of his viewers would be familiar with them since they aren't classics or radio fodder but he could definitely open ppl up to more current rocc musik that doesn't suck
Not one album of theirs was bad up til Ceremony after which the creative streak died as with the rest of the general market. Which ones within that streak were the best ones is more a matter of taste and production style than quality of song material itself. I'm pleased with all of those albums but not so much after that. I do appreciate a diverse band and discography. Among "goth" The Cult rules, but also among testosterone rock.
love love love them
The Cult live in 2019 was one of the most disappointing live shows I've ever been to
Twenty years past their prime. Was it on the 4-way bill with STP, Alice In Chains, and Bush? Saw that show. Wish I hadn’t.
Wtf. I hate Metallica even more now.
cruelty to even stupid fish is wrong
“He started eating them” now THAT’S rock n roll
Matt Sorum is a rock legend!
Fk me, I grew up on Sonic Temple, and Ceremony! I didn't know all this stupidity tho!
I tell you what...I see nothing funny about raining the goldfish tho. That's a brutish act. A brutish act on the British... (Sorry! Spellcheck Inspired a bad Dad joke, lol).
P.S. Edie Ciao baby should have been a big hit. Well, now I know why it's called that now, at least..
Agreed, it was a hackneyed prank, but it was 30 yrs ago. Not much we can do for the poor fish now.
💜
I saw them when they came to Knoxville, it wasn't very good. Don't know if they were to f#ckd up to play or what but it sucked.
Mickey Curry play’s with Bryan Adams now
He has played with Bryan since the80s
sonic temple wasn't that good remember being utterly disappointed well.. . pretty much Electric was the bomb yes bomb don't know why i'm using that absolutely fucking demolished that tape and love fucking know it back to front thas fucking amazing still a fqng Iconic album; Iconic.
That's hilarious 😂
I saw the Cult on this tour. I can’t overstate how terrible Ian Astbury was. He wasn’t doing anything that could be remotely described as singing.
Ya,.. I don't think Cliff would have been a part of that,... Metallica is shit, without Cliff.
Quit hatin'!
i have no problem with the cult
The Cult is in fact a cult band
Bob Rock ruins all bands.
Remember when Ian Asbury tried to be Jim Morrison
that fish prank was next level. ian's gf was Hot af tho' ngl.