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2019 marks the 30th anniversary of The Cult's seminal album Sonic Temple. To celebrate the anniversary of the long out of print album, Beggars Arkive will release Sonic Temple: 30th Anniversary on double vinyl LP and as a deluxe box set. The sets both contain limited-release demos in addition to previously unreleased tracks. Originally released in 1989, Sonic Temple proved to be a pivotal moment for both band and the wider rock scene. Produced by the legendary Bob Rock, Sonic Temple had four chart-topping singles; "Fire Woman", "Edie (Ciao Baby)", "Sun King" and "Sweet Soul Sister."
In a recent interview about the album, Ian Astbury explained how the band brought together hard rock and indie rock to create the unique, game-changing sounds on Sonic Temple: "We wanted to retain our core DNA as we went deeper into psych and hard rock influences. It was a complete immersion for me into art, film, music, poetry and literature, weaving those influences into what was to become Sonic Temple. The band was becoming more popular. We were in uncharted waters. Most of the bands we had come up with had split up or fallen off. We were accelerating. There was no real time to breathe. We were forming new allegiances and breaking the glass ceiling of ‘the indie outsider.'"
Sonic Temple catapulted The Cult into superstar status and remains their most commercially successful release. It has sold over 1.5 million copies in the US alone, and was declared platinum in 1990. It made it to No. 10 on the Billboard charts, and the aforementioned singles all remain rock-radio staples to this day. The double LP edition is a re-vamped reissue of the original album. Now cut onto two pieces of black vinyl, the audio is improved and contains 16 tracks total, which comprises the original album plus a selection of 6 B-sides. It's been out of print for over 20 years.