Mick Burgess at Metal Express Radio recently caught up with The Cult guitarist Billy Duffy on the band's UK tour. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

Q: You`re current UK tour is now well underway. How have the shows been going so far?

Duffy: "Yeah, I`m sure everyone tells you that their shows are brilliant but these have definitely been some of the best we`ve done. Either we`ve been terrible for the last 20 years or we`ve been playing better than we have in years. People keep telling us they`ve been freaking it. You can go online and check the reviews they`ve been incredible.  It`s a good time for us.  There`s a bit of a buzz about the band at the moment and the new album has been reasonably critically acclaimed which has helped. The fans seem to like the new songs.  As much as they like the old stuff, quite a lot of them like the challenge of new material to digest. I think it`s important for bands to keep pushing and writing new material. We need to scratch that creative itch and it also helps the older material to get reimagined. So it`s a good time for us and all the gigs have been sold out so that`s not too terrible.  That`s never a bad vibe."

Q: You released your latest record, Hidden City, just a couple of weeks ago. Does having a new album out make choosing the setlist harder each time you tour?

Duffy: "It`s been OK. Since we`ve added a keyboard player who`s a bit of a utility guy, it`s given us a little more flexibility. Over the last 10 years or so we`ve always used a second guitar player. Damon Fox is a great keyboard player and a pretty decent guitarist too as well as a great singer so that gives the show more dynamics and adds another dimension where we can bring in sounds from the album. Ian (Astbury) really likes that, so if your frontman is into it that`s all good. It`s common knowledge that while Ian is OK about the past he`s all about going forward and the current line up helps us to do that.  He`s getting off on the way the band sounds at the moment and the set is varied. We`ve got a couple of obscure songs, one from 1983, so we like to mix it up and keep it interesting."

Q: You once said that your days of making albums was over and you would consider making music capsules for the internet age. What made you change your mind?

Duffy: "Ian said that, I never said that. Ian says a lot of stuff.  I think he felt the album format was dying, which it is.  The idea of people going out and buying an album has changed.  Younger people seem to want to access music without owning it although older fans tend to prefer to buy vinyl or a CD of an album. In practical terms if you can have 5000 songs on your phone people will go for that even if they sound awful but it is really convenient. There are those who will have vinyl for home and downloads when out and about. To some the cost of making a record and getting it into shops is just not worth it and would rather sell over the internet. We`re not in that position but I can see others who are. It`s fragmenting but I think the desire for the fans to hear new music is still there. For us it still makes sense to make albums and we still enjoy being creative and making new music. Things have changed and it`s up to bands like us to react and adapt and work with people who put music first like they do at Cooking Vinyl, who are all ex-Beggars Banquet."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

On March 5th, The Cult performed at Vicar Street in Dublin, Ireland. Fan-filmed video from the show can be viewed below.

The Cult recently released Hidden City, their 10th studio album (and second for Cooking Vinyl). The band have released a music video for the album track “Hinterland”, which can be seen below:

The final installment in a trilogy of recordings, completing 2007's Born Into This ("The Fall") and 2012's Choice of Weapon ("Dark Night Of The Soul"), Hidden City is a tightly-woven series of experience and visions with underlying themes of redemption and rebirth threaded through The Cult's visceral music. Astbury's signature baritone and blood-soaked lyrics paired with Duffy's smouldering, textured guitar tones, create a musical environment that is fearless and peerless.

From the sonic assault of the opening track "Dark Energy" (streaming below), Hidden City launches quickly into the dark underbelly of its subject matter. Stemming from the Spanish phrase "La Ciudad Oculta" or "hidden city," the album reflects an awakening of consciousness through its tone and complexity.

"Hidden City is a metaphor for our spiritual lives, our intimate interior lives," explains Astbury. "I find today's gurus are trying to peddle some cure, product or insight as if it's a new phenomenon. My place is to respond, not react, to observe, participate and share through words and music. There is no higher authority than the heart."

Produced by Bob Rock and written by Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy the team has collaborated on what has turned out to be the brutal and beautiful masterpiece Hidden City.

Tracklisting:

“Dark Energy”
“No Love Lost”
“Dance The Night”
“In Blood”
“Birds Of Paradise”
“Hinterland”
“G O A T”
“Deeply Ordered Chaos”
“Avalanche Of Light”
“Lilies”
“Heathens”
“Sound And Fury”

“Deeply Ordered Chaos” lyric video:

“Dark Energy”:

The Cult recently performed a live session for 91X radio in San Diego, California. Check out a few videos from the performance below: