The two-year gap between the release of
Sonic Temple and 1991's
Ceremony saw
the Cult become victims of their own success. With
Temple, the band had finally achieved the mass commercial acceptance that they had pined after for so long. Touring U.S. arenas (as headliners) and as
Metallica's special guests,
the Cult had officially "arrived." With Billy Duffy having assumed the musical direction of
Sonic Temple, it was clear from the get-go that
Ceremony would be
Astbury's baby. Now reduced to a duo, Duffy and
Astbury had their work cut out for them. The ensuing sessions that would make up the bulk of
Ceremony would turn out to be a sonic triumph (the record sounds as if were recorded yesterday), and at the same time, a creative, blithering mess. Things start off promisingly with the record's title track, which is quickly followed by a classic
Cult single, "Wild Hearted Son." Unfortunately, what follows the stomp and chant of "Earth Mofo" are eight of the most contrived, lyrically mundane songs that
the Cult ever released. Although noble in his intentions,
Asbury's ongoing fascination with the plight of the Native American Indian accounts for the majority of the lyrical content of
Ceremony. Another promising ballad-turn-rocker, "If" quickly evaporates into nowhere land as the song's main guitar riff sounds like a slower, recycled version of every bad generic
AC/DC L.A. hair band. Sadly, as the ensuing tour rolled across the U.S., it was obvious that
the Cult had lost their edge (they were upstaged nightly by a young, hungry artist named
Lenny Kravitz). In the three years that would follow,
Astbury would get clean, shave his head, and rekindle his desire to make records. ~ John Franck