Heaven Forbid

Heaven Forbid
Studio album by Blue Öyster Cult
Released	March 24, 1998 (US)
Recorded	Millbrook Sound Studios, Millbrook, New York, U.S.
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
Length	41:17
Label	CMC
Producer	Buck Dharma, Eric Bloom, Steve Schenck
Blue Öyster Cult chronology
Cult Classic (1994) Heaven Forbid (1998) Don't Fear the Reaper: The Best of Blue Öyster Cult (2000)
Alternative cover

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	8/10[2]

Heaven Forbid is the thirteenth studio album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in 1998. It was the band's first studio album with new material in a decade (not counting the 1992 soundtrack to Bad Channels). American science fiction and horror writer John Shirley wrote lyrics for several songs on the album. While he is a noted author for his cyberpunk stories, many of the lyrics on this album revolve around early science fiction and mystery motifs. The album's working title was 'Ezekiel's Wheel', after the Biblical story that some take to reference an early visitation by UFOs.

A number of songs on this album have ties to previous songs released within the circle of Blue Öyster Cult. "In Thee" was originally featured on Mirrors. "Still Burnin'" is a sequel to the song "Burnin' for You" that appeared on Fire of Unknown Origin.

The inspiration for the alternative cover is Morgan Fairchild. This image also appears on the reverse of the insert, and was originally intended to be the front piece as indicated by advertisements from the period.

Track listing

1. "See You in Black" (Eric Bloom, Donald Roeser, John Shirley) – 3:17
2. "Harvest Moon" (Roeser) – 4:55
3. "Power Underneath Despair" (Bloom, Roeser, Shirley) – 3:30
4. "X-Ray Eyes" (Roeser, Shirley) – 3:48
5. "Hammer Back" (Bloom, Roeser, Shirley) – 3:35
6. "Damaged" (Roeser, Shirley) – 4:22
7. "Cold Gray Light of Dawn" (Bloom, Roeser, Shirley) – 3:51
8. "Real World" (Roeser, Shirley) – 5:08
9. "Live for Me" (Roeser, Shirley) – 5:19
10. "Still Burnin'" (Roeser, Jon Rogers) – 3:39
11. "In Thee" (Live) (Allen Lanier) – 3:40

Personnel

Band members

• Eric Bloom – guitars, keyboards, lead vocals on tracks 1, 3, 5, and 7, producer
• Buck Dharma – guitars, keyboards, lead vocals on tracks 2, 4, 6, 8-11, producer
• Allen Lanier – guitars, keyboards
• Danny Miranda – bass guitar on tracks 1, 4-9, 11, backing vocals
• Jon Rogers – bass guitar on tracks 2, 3 and 10, backing vocals
• Bob Rondinelli – drums on track 9
• Chuck Bürgi - drums on tracks 1-8 and 10, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• George Cintron – additional vocals
• Tony Perrino – additional keyboards

Production

• Steve Schenck - producer on tracks 2, 3, 10, management
• Paul Orofino – engineer, mixing
• Marc Senesac – engineer and mixing on tracks 2, 3, 10
• Leon Zervos – mastering

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Blue Öyster Cult Heaven Forbid review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
2. Popoff, Martin (August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. ISBN 978-1894959629.