In a new interview with Canada's Music Nerd, The Cult vocalist Ian Astbury discusses the band's new album, Hidden City. He kicks the conversation off by offering his thoughts on the passing of muic icon David Bowie at the beginning of the year. An excerpt is available below:

Astbury: "The first record I bought was Life On Mars when I was 10 years old. When I got that album, the world changed for me. Regular programming just didn’t exist after that. He served as one of the most formative teachers in my life.

I met him when I was 24 years old. At the time, The Cult shared a manager and publicist with him. We had the opportunity to perform with him at a racecourse outside of Paris in front of 80,000 people on the Glass Spider Tour. After our show, I was asked to go visit with David and got to spend a good hour with him just chatting. It was the first time that I had an artist that, to me, was an otherworldly person acknowledge me as an artist, a performer and young person who was looking for guidance, looking for acknowledgement. In that moment, he immediately put me at ease. He spoke to me as an elder, father, teacher; everything you’d ever want in a mentor in some way. He was the first one to actually take the time to be present with me and acknowledge where I was, the place I was in and that it was okay.

Up to that point, my teenage years were pretty disruptive – immigrating to Canada was a huge part of that. When I came to Canada at 11 years old, his music was something that I held close to me. Here I was in a new country, in a new society where the rules I had grown up with in the U.K. didn’t apply anymore and I had no real grounding other than the music I brought in with me. It had a sacred value to me and was deeply woven into the DNA of who I became as a person.

I just can’t explain how much he meant to me. When I found out about his passing, it was as if the sky had fallen."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

The Cult released Hidden City earlier this month, 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:

Photo By Tim Cadiente