Secret Treaties by Blue Öyster Cult

Secret Treaties, Blue Öyster Cult's 1974 album, is their masterpiece. It explores dark and esoteric themes with a proto-heavy metal sound, a ferocious and at times macabre atmosphere, achieved through heavy guitar riffs and psychedelic rock, and cryptic lyrics with a dark and menacing tone—all factors that played a major role in defining the heavy metal genre and later contributed to the development of progressive metal.

Some notes on the tracks:

- "Career of Evil," co-written with Patti Smith, has a dark mood, a song with esoteric lyrics that characterizes the entire album.
- "Subhuman," with its dark lyrics and a disturbing and spooky ending.

- "ME262" is a distorted "boogie rock" track that puts the listener in the cockpit of a German Messerschmitt fighter plane (hence the album cover).
- "Dominance and Submission" is a beautiful song with an arrogant proto-punk riff and ambiguous lyrics, with a splendid groove.

- "Harvester of Eyes" is an excellent track with a psychotic atmosphere and a disturbing ending.
- "Astronomy" is the album's masterpiece, a beautiful rock ballad with a very emotional, soft tone.

There are few, if any, weak tracks on this magnificent album, with top-notch tracks, very heavy for its time. It contains "Astronomy," a true masterpiece and, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful songs in the history of hard rock.

A milestone album, completely original, from a band that didn't imitate any other band and, on the contrary, became a benchmark for the genre.

Beautiful! Recommended for all rock lovers.

Tracklist

1. Career of Evil (4:00)
2. Subhuman (4:38)
3. Dominance and Submission (5:22)
4. ME 262 (4:47)
5. Cagey Cretins (3:16)
6. Harvester of Eyes (4:41)
7. Flaming Telepaths (5:19)
8. Astronomy (6:28)

Duration 38:31

LineUp

- Eric Bloom - lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
- Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser - lead guitar, vocals
- Allen Lanier - co-lead (11) and rhythm guitar, keyboards, Moog
- Joseph Bouchard - bass, vocals
- Albert Bouchard - drums, vocals

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