Blue Oyster Cult – (Don’t Fear) The Reaper

Blue Oyster Cult

Blue Öyster Cult is an American rock band, founded in Long Island, New York. The band was formed on the basis of another band called Soft White Underbelly. It operated in the years 1967-1971, when the name was changed to Blue Öyster Cult. Already with their debut album they gained recognition, which allowed them to perform with Byrds, Alice Cooper and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The music they presented was a very loosely understood classical rock, where psychedelic, progressive, sometimes jazz or strictly heavy metal elements crept everywhere.

BÖC (because such an acronym is officially used) are known for several hits. First of all, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” from the Agents of Fortune album. It was written and sung not by lead singer Eric Bloom but lead guitarist Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser. Other popular songs are “Burnin for You” from the Fire of Unknown Origin album, “Godzilla” from the Spectres album and “Astronomy” from the Secret Treaties album, which is known for Metallica recording its version of this song on their Garage Inc album. .

Allen Lanier, founder, guitarist and keyboardist of this group, died on August 14, 2013. The cause of the musician’s death was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.