Blue Öyster Cult is the debut studio album by the American rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in January 1972 by Columbia Records. The album featured songs such as "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll", "Stairway to the Stars", and "Then Came the Last Days of May", all of which the band still plays regularly during its concerts. Despite positive reviews, the album failed to chart for some time before finally cracking the Billboard 200 chart on May 20, 1972, peaking at No. 172.^[2] Blue Öyster Cult toured with artists such as The Byrds, Alice Cooper and the Mahavishnu Orchestra to support the album.^[3]

Joe Bouchard reflected on the album's creation in 2022:

I couldn't believe how much fun I was having. Every day I'd get up and we'd be going to the studio, and I'd be like, 'I can't believe we're going to a studio to make an album…a real album, on Columbia Records!' So, I was excited every day. And I was learning how records are made – this was at David Lucas' jingle studio in New York. On eight tracks. That's all you had – you had to do the whole album on eight tracks. But he would show us little magical ways of doubling things and doing live bounces. They'd be flipping the tape over backwards and he'd be making flanging using duplication of the part. So, he was all into what was happening with the Beatles and that production. And of course, Sandy Pearlman and Murray Krugman produced that record – so they kept us conceptually...instead of going way off track, they wanted to establish what was going to become Blue Öyster Cult. It had to have that vibe. When it came out, I was a little disappointed – I didn't like the vinyl pressing. But then maybe about 15 years later, they put it out on CD, and then all of a sudden, it brought me back to the studio. It was cleaner, and it was like sitting in the control room, listening to the playback of the mixes. I think we were all tremendously excited to be working on that record. And it sounds like it.^[4]

More information Review scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[10]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[11]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	8/10[12]
Classic Rock	[13]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[14]

Close

The album received a positive reaction from critics. Lester Bangs gave the album a generally positive review in Rolling Stone stating, "with the Blue Öyster Cult, New York has produced its first authentic boogie beast, and with any luck this one should be around for awhile" telling readers that "I don't think you should miss this album."^[15] Circus wrote that "it could well be the album of the Seventies",^[16] while Robert Christgau in The Village Voice called it "the tightest and most musical hard rock record since – dare I say it? – Who's Next".^[17] The record was named an honorable mention on IGN's list of "Top 25 Metal Albums"^[18] and has been called "heavy metal for people who hate heavy metal."^[19] Canadian critic Martin Popoff criticized the "limp and lifeless" guitar sound and the unimpressive percussive display, which did not make a good service to the "tragic and beautiful BÖC compositions" on the album, leaving the listener "in muted bewilderment".^[12]

"Transmaniacon MC" is featured in the video game Rock Band as downloadable content that may be purchased off of the system or downloaded from the Rock Band Metal Track Pack using a one-time use code.^{[citation needed]}

A cover version of "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" was featured as a track in the music video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Additionally, the song has been covered by Church of Misery (on Master of Brutality), Iced Earth (on Tribute to the Gods) and 3 Inches of Blood (as a bonus track on Here Waits Thy Doom) Additionally, the song appears in the American television period sitcom That '70s Show, as well as its soundtrack.

Guitarist William Tyler performs a 2015 solo acoustic instrumental version of "She's as Beautiful as a Foot" on Aquarium Drunkard's "Lagniappe Sessions" page.

Blue Öyster Cult

• Eric Bloom – vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards
• Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser – lead guitar, vocals
• Joe Bouchard – bass, vocals
• Albert Bouchard – drums, vocals
• Allen Lanier – rhythm guitar, keyboards

2001 bonus tracks as 'Soft White Underbelly'

• Eric Bloom - vocals, rhythm guitar
• Albert Bouchard - drums, vocals
• Allen Lanier - keyboards, rhythm guitar
• Donald Roeser - lead guitar, vocals
• Andy Winters - bass

Production

• David Lucas – producer, engineer
• Murray Krugman, Sandy Pearlman – associate producers
• Bill Robertson - engineer
• Bruce Dickinson – reissue compilation
• Vic Anesini – reissue mastering