Few rock ‘n’ roll bands have ever been able to shift gears and dive headfirst into a totally different genre mid-career and survive. A glowing example of this type of stylistic flip-flop is The Cult. [All photos by Tracy May]

Forming in the early 1980s as an underground psychedelic/goth band and going by the moniker Southern Death Cult, the band saw many transformations and name changes until it reached what appeared to be a commercial zenith in 1985 with the now classic Love album. Mixing their penchant for psychedelia and a particular admiration for The Doors, the band was able to take those nostalgic elements and blend them with a fresh, modern post-punk slant and create what was then considered highly original and devastatingly unique.

One album, two years and a meeting with Rick Rubin later, the band re-emerged as yet another recreated version of themselves. Still known as The Cult, this was the incarnation that idolized AC/DC and Led Zeppelin after outgrowing their love affair with Jim Morrison. As many old school, black-clad, clove- smoking hipsters damned them to hell, the masses started embracing the band and welcoming them into the arena of contemporary hard rock. The gamble paid off and the band scored massive hits with Electric, their 1987 hard rock album as well as its 1989 follow-up Sonic Temple. Blistering guitar-driven anthems like “Fire Woman”, “Wild Flower” and “Love Removal Machine” were lapped up and worshiped by hard rock enthusiasts. The transformation was as unbelievable as it was admirable.

This article appears in Nov 11-17, 2010.