The Cult are set to release a new album ‘Choice of Weapon’ on May 22. The disc will be their ninth studio effort, and first since 2007’s ‘Born Into This.’ When we got the chance to talk to guitarist Billy Duffy at the recent Revolver Golden Gods Awards, he spoke enthusiastically about the new album, hitting the road and the energy of The Cult as a whole.

The Cult are gearing up to release a new album ‘Choice of Weapon.’

Yeah and we’re gonna go out on tour and promote it, everybody’s excited. Ian [Astbury] always gets very energized when there’s a new album. When the lead singer of the band is positive, it really affects the morality of the band.

How would you describe the band’s chemistry on this disc?

Well the fact is we’ve had the same lineup for a while so it’s actually good for us to have some cohesion. We’ve had the same lineup since 2006 and I think you can tell on the album there’s a kind of a flow. We did a record in 2007 when we just got back together. It was kind of quickly done we just grabbed what songs we had and put it out. With this one we took a little more time and I think we just slightly had a better handle on the end result. It’s really good, it’s a great rockin’ record. It’s the kind of a record if you’re a Cult fan you would really hope that we made. Sometimes you make records and they don’t turn out like I thought and I wrote half of them and I’m like “How did that happen?” This one’s pretty much a winner from the get go.

As a band that’s been together for a while, how do you keep things fresh and new?

To me, it’s with me and Ian as the writers, we go back to when we first got together in 1983 – just try to get back to that energy of two guys and a guitar in an apartment in London and just try and create some magic. From that, it follows but that’s the core of the Cult, is the songwriting partnership – we’re kind of half of The Cult - me and Ian are half of the same thing. He says we’re like the head and the heart of the band.

Who’s the head and who’s the heart?

I think I’ve got to be the head and that’s why he’s the singer and writes the lyrics and I write the music.

And the Cult will also be touring extensively this year...

Everybody will be sick of the sight of us. We’re going to be around a lot, it’s going to be a busy time for us. I think, unless you live on the moon, we’ll probably be playing close to you.

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