Career of Evil: The Metal Years
	Previously released material
	Released on April 1990
	no chart information
	Find it at GEMM
CK 44300 cover [high resolution scan]

O n their studio albums the metal label never really stuck, but on stage BOC wore it well. Career of Evil goes to great pains to cast the Cult as a heavy metal band by weighting this compilation heavily in favor of their live work. In fact, eight of the thirteen tracks here are live, drawn primarily from Extraterrestrial Live (five), On Your Feet Or On Your Knees (two) and Some Enchanted Evening (one). Of course, by leading off with six live tracks, The Metal Years is antithetical to your usual career retrospective. Like a chimp with a touchpad, the compilers just keep pressing “banana” in the beginning, opening up the discussion to include some studio cuts only after their point has been firmly made. Since the live versions possess more energy than their studio counterparts, using this to plot your next BOC purchase is difficult. Compounding the problem, the studio cuts they select are questionable in some cases; it’s unlikely that “Beat ‘Em Up” (from Club Ninja) and “Harvester of Eyes” warrant the honor. In fact, choosing four songs from Secret Treaties (and, no, “Career of Evil” isn’t one of them) suggests someone was pushing their own agenda. However, this selection does rock hard, so fans of Black Sabbath or Judas Priest looking to cross over can start here without compromising their coolness. Still, all the historical revision doesn’t change the fact that BOC was never a true heavy metal band. Sabbath was scary, Priest shocking, while BOC was simply spooky. The group had far too much musical range to be pigeonholed, a trait that The Tubes also shared initially (if you don’t think the comparison holds, just listen to “Boy Crazy” or “White Punks On Dope”). Because Cult albums are so eclectic, Career of Evil does succeed at distilling the band’s most destructive moments, but assembling their greatest hits was apparently never in its sights. It’s unlikely any two fans could agree on BOC’s best bits anyway, so Career of Evil is at least an intimidating start. And the liner notes from Arthur Levy are a fine tribute to the strange devotion this band inspires.

TRACK LISTING

1. CITIES ON FLAME (LIVE)    (Sandy Pearlman/Donald Roeser/Albert Bouchard)
2. THE RED AND THE BLACK (LIVE)    (Albert Bouchard/Eric Bloom/Sandy Pearlman)
3. HOT RAILS TO HELL (LIVE)    (Joe Bouchard)
4. DOMINANCE AND SUBMISSION (LIVE)    (Albert Bouchard/Eric Bloom/Sandy Pearlman)
5. 7 SCREAMING DIZ-BUSTERS (LIVE)    (Albert Bouchard/Joe Bouchard/Sandy Pearlman/Donald Roeser)
6. ME 262 (LIVE)    (Eric Bloom/Donald Roeser/Sandy Pearlman)
7. E.T.I. (EXTRA TERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE)    (Donald Roeser/Sandy Pearlman)
8. BEAT 'EM UP    (Bob Halligan, Jr.)
9. BLACK BLADE    (Eric Bloom/Michael Moorcock/John Trivers)
10. HARVESTER OF EYES    (Donald Roeser/Eric Bloom/Richard Meltzer)
11. FLAMING TELEPATHS    (Albert Bouchard/Eric Bloom/Sandy Pearlman/Donald Roeser)
12. GODZILLA (LIVE)    (Donald Roeser)
13. (DONT' FEAR) THE REAPER (LIVE)    (Donald Roeser)

CREDITS

Arthur Levy -- liner notes
Mark Burdett -- art direction
Amy Guip -- photo illustration

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