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On a purely technical level, Mirrors is probably Blue Öyster Cult's best record. Produced by Tom Werman, the sound is generally immaculate, lush and tasty, not to mention diverse. Scattered throughout are strings, a synthesizer, acoustic guitars, a harmonica and soulful female voices crooning harmonies. Big deal. It'd be ridiculous to call the Cult's eighth album a major disappointment. Except for the classic "(Don't Fear) the Reaper," these guys never really made any promises with their heavy-metal repertoire—there was, in fact, nothing at stake. The band's alternating lead vocalists rarely projected as much danger and wickedness as the music did, and songs like "Cities
Read More on Flame" and "This Ain't the Summer of Love" always struck me as hysterical and shallow. Ah, but the bone-crushing chords and absolutely dizzying guitar lines! Neither of which is found on Mirrors, an LP that foolishly advances the sharp but sterile production values of Spectres. While the new record certainly rocks on occasion ("The Vigil," "I Am the Storm"), it never explodes, as some of last year's live Some Enchanted Evening did. What Blue Öyster Cult obviously had in mind was to make a nice album, and given songs as cheery as "You're Not the One (I Was Looking For)," "In Thee" and "Dr. Music," I guess you can say they've succeeded. Coinciding with the group's fascination for restraint and pleasantness, however, is an unprecedented lameness. The bargain-basement synthesizer and wimpily delivered narrative in "The Great Sun Jester" are right off a Styx LP. And lyrics like "In a purple vision/Many thousand years ago/I saw the silent stranger/Walk the earth alone" give Kansas' "Dust in the Wind" some mighty stiff competition. For Blue Öyster Cult, it's time to fear the reaper. (RS 305) MITCHELL SCHNEIDER | 
