The Cult have shared two new songs under their Death Cult moniker, “Flesh and Bone” and “C.O.T.A.”
The tracks come after The Cult’s Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy revived the early incarnation of the band for a recent tour. Death Cult originally emerged from Asbury’s first band Southern Death Cult in 1983 once the singer joined forces with Duffy (eventually morphing into The Cult in 1984).
Described as post-punk/deathrock, Death Cult’s sound is a bit murkier and more cryptic than the big stadium-ready bombast Astbury and company injected into The Cult. As heard on “Flesh and Bone,” the band balances subdued instrumentation with harsher crescendos and a feeling of unease, which is even more palpable on the sparse, drum-machine-based “C.O.T.A.” (an acronym for “communion of the animals”).
The new songs are available digitally and on a 7″ vinyl single titled “Death Cult – 8323” that’s included as an expansion of The Cult’s 2023 album Under the Midnight Sun.
In other vinyl news related to the band, The Cult’s long-out-of-print 1984 debut album Dreamtime is set to receive a 40th anniversary reissue on February 23rd via Beggars Banquet. It marks the first time the album has been issued on vinyl since 1991, and the upcoming repress appears to be the first time the album is being distributed on vinyl in the US.
Below you can stream the new Death Cult songs “Flesh and Bone” and “C.O.T.A.” You can order the Under the Midnight Sun/”Death Cult – 8323″ vinyl combo via Round Hill Records.
“Death Cult – 8323” Artwork: