''Curse of the Hidden Mirror'' is the fourteenth studio album by American hard rock band

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The band h ...

, released in June 5, 2001. The only single from the record was the poorly received "Pocket". Lackluster sales and poor relations led to the band being dropped by their label,

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

; as a result, BÖC did not release another studio album for nearly 20 years, until the release of '' The Symbol Remains'' in 2020. The title of the album is taken from a song contained in the unreleased album by the Stalk-Forrest Group, the band that would later become Blue Öyster Cult, recorded in 1970.

John Shirley John Shirley (born February 10, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of fantasy, science fiction, dark street fiction, westerns, and songwriting. He has also written one historical novel, a western about Wyatt Earp, ''Wyatt in Wichita'', and ...

, an author of

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and c ...

science fiction, wrote the lyrics for many songs of the album. The song "Out of the Darkness" was originally featured in the 1992 film ''

Bad Channels ''Bad Channels'' is a 1992 American science fiction spoof direct-to-video film, produced by Full Moon Features and released by Paramount Home Video. It is about two aliens (Cosmo and Lump) who invade a radio station with the intention of capturi ...

'', which Blue Öyster Cult recorded the soundtrack for, although the song was not included in the soundtrack album for the movie. "Showtime" was originally written and recorded for '' Cultösaurus Erectus'' but did not make the final cut. ''Curse of the Hidden Mirror'' is the final Blue Öyster Cult album to feature longtime keyboardist

Allen Lanier Allen Glover Lanier (; June 25, 1946 – August 14, 2013) was an American musician who played keyboards and rhythm guitar. He was an original member of Blue Öyster Cult. Lanier wrote several songs for Blue Öyster Cult albums, including "T ...

, who died in 2013.

Track listing

Personnel

Band members

Eric Bloom Eric Jay Bloom (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist, guitar and keyboard/synthesizer player for the long-running band Blue Öyster Cult, with work on more than 20 albu ...

– vocals (2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11), stun guitars, associate producer * Donald 'Buck Dharma' Roeser – lead guitars, vocals (1, 4, 7, 9), producer *

– rhythm guitars, keyboards, background vocals *Danny Miranda – bass, background vocals *

Bobby Rondinelli Robert Rondinelli (born July 27, 1955) is a rock drummer best known for his work with the hard rock/ heavy metal bands Blue Öyster Cult, Rainbow, Quiet Riot, Black Sabbath, The Lizards, The Handful, and Rondinelli. In July 2013, Rondinelli was ...

– drums, percussion

Additional musicians

*Norman DelTufo – percussion *George Cintron – background vocals

Production

*Paul Orofino – engineer, mixing * Leon Zervos – mastering

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curse Of The Hidden Mirror Blue Öyster Cult albums 2001 albums Sanctuary Records albums CMC International albums