By ERIC SEIVERLING
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Godzilla will invade the Mon Valley this weekend.
No, not the gigantic green guy that demolished Tokyo.
Legendary hard rockers Blue Oyster Cult will perform their brand of musical mayhem when they perform at Rostraver Township’s Vinoski Winery Saturday night.
Formed in New York in the late 1960s by guitarists and vocalists Eric Bloom and Donald Roeser, better known by his stage name Buck Dharma, the band released its debut album in 1972.
The band’s signature sound, comprised of blues-charged guitar riffs, lush vocal melodies and lyrics that told of sci-fi and the fantastical, quickly propelled the band to headliner status.
With FM radio favorites like the gargantuan “Godzilla,” the brooding “Burnin’ For You,” the sinister “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll” and the atmospheric “(Don’t Fear”) The Reaper,” BOC have sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.
The band, with original members Bloom and Dharma, is currently touring to celebrate its 50th year together as well as promote its latest album, “The Symbol Remains,” the band’s first studio recording in 20 years.
“We didn’t care about making a new album because we were content to being a concert act,” Dharma said from his Florida home. “We released an album in 2000, and people didn’t seem to care about it. Finally, in 2019, people started asking us when we were going to put out a new record.
“Most of the material is new, and we wrote it in-between concerts. I think there was a little bit of clearing off the cobwebs. We collaborated on Zoom and there was a learning curve. We’re all capable of recording a studio-worthy record at home. Anything we do in 2020 will be compared to the legacy stuff.”
BOC’s diverse style, which incorporated hard rock, blues, prog, funk, punk and jazz, was a result of Dharma being influenced by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, folk, pop and Doo-wop music.
“I soaked up everything,” Dharma said. “If I hear more than a couple of songs in one genre, I get bored. I don’t really relate to the idiom of modern music, with auto tune and all that stuff.”
BOC often get labeled as a heavy metal band, and were once regarded as America’s answer to Britain’s Black Sabbath. It’s a label with which Dharma doesn’t exactly agree.
“In the beginning, maybe in 1972 we were heavy metal but that’s because there was no such thing,” Dharma said with a laugh. “But we’re not what heavy metal is today. I don’t think you can pin us down on one genre.”
The band’s desire to push boundaries extends to its live shows, where Dharma said the band never plays songs the same way twice.
“We never play them like they sound on the record,” he admitted. “I never play the same solo twice. Each night has a different feel or a different swagger. We do it so we can amuse ourselves. If we were just replicating the record, I would become disinterested. You have to work hard at this, so you might as well enjoy it.”
If you’re going:
Blue Oyster Cult with special guests Abacus Jones and Mark Ferrari; Saturday, Oct. 3 at Vinoski Winery, 333 Castle Dr.; All ages; Doors open at 3 p.m., show begins at 4:30 p.m.; tickets are $40 to $300, ticket prices include parking. For more information or for tickets, visit www.druskyentertainment.com.