Chordplay - The Chords of The Cult

Here's the next episode of Chordplay with The Chords of The Cult.
The Cult hail from Bradford, England and formed in 1983, and guitarist Billy Duffy definitely created a unique approach, sound, and direction for the group using his innovative playing style, chord selection, seemingly random use of effects, biting guitar solos, and much more.
This lesson focuses on a number of great chord-based guitar parts from their selection of albums and music, and includes huge hits such as 'Fire Woman,' 'She Sells Sanctuary,' 'Love Removal Machine,' and many more.
This lesson also features a few ideas from their brilliant (and nearly-forgotten) album 'Beyond Good And Evil' from 2001. While the album was basically panned by radio, MTV, and many fans of the band when it was released, in hindsight - this album is one of the greatest hard rock albums of the 21st century and should be discovered, revisited, and enjoyed by everyone that likes classic rock and hard rock music.
This was a fun lesson to put together and should have something to learn for almost everyone. Give it a view, leave some comments and feedback, and please subscribe to Late Night Lessons - THANK YOU!

[@patrickkeenan6331]

Billy Duffy is the reason I play guitar....hearing the intro to "Fire Woman" made me want to play in the first place....

[@MrDavid997]

The Cult is one of those bands that you have to listen to the entire album. LOVE is such a great album. Thanks for showing the magic of Billy Duffy.

[@JonWhiteCreatives]

Completely agree about the Beyond Good and Evil album. Just an outstanding rock album.

[@Michael-bl4no]

King Contrary Man rules! Great no nonsense band!

[@russlgtr]

Beyond good and evil is an awesome album. The song Nico is sublime, how it is possible I have not heard this before?

[@lanceross3633]

Billy's stereo cabinet setup guides me still to this day. A unique tone master and riff boss. Thanks for this David,one of my favorite players.

[@christopherseremetis3139]

You should a lesson on some of Billy's epic solos! Sweet Soul Sister, LRM, The Phoenix!

[@plonky17]

You would be impressed with their live performances. Absolute professionals in their performance and skill.

[@sprtstr96]

Beyond Good & Evil is a phenomenal record! Good call dude!!

[@alibobsmarland9572]

Beyond Good and Evil is superb. Definitely one of their best.

[@djh6970]

Wow, this is a double whammy KZbin day. First Rick Beato’s what makes this song great with the Cure’s Feels like Heaven and now this. Eighties goodness. Thanks very much for your dedication David. Much appreciated

[@wardkdouglas]

I thought the exact same thing!

[@timothyholmes4588]

David and Rick are my favorite KZbin channel

[@joeyelcocks111]

One of my favourite Bands & Billy is probably my favourite Guitarist ❗️✌🏻But so are you because you are so laidback & chilled you blow my mind ✌🏻I can tell when from watching you play you have such soft touch ❗️But when I play I have so much tension & such life anxiety & wish I could be like you 🙏🏻 Massive Respect & Love from Uk 💙

[@stallownedstallion825]

Seen The Cult live at least 3 times. They are stomp ass power.

[@chrishandley]

Love removal machine reminds me of Start me up by the Stones! Edie (ciao baby) has been one of my favourite songs ever since I first heard it when I was 17 (a looong time ago!) Cool episode brings back some good memories!

[@DocRaunchy]

Dave Brewster, you are amazing. For you to love Beyond good and evil makes me feel so great, because I feel the same way about this masterpiece. Bob Rock as producer shows. Please, keep up your amazing work. And thank you.

[@markbaird2657]

One of my all time favorite bands! Thank you for covering them!

[@bluesdude1194]

Fire woman opening riff has to be one of the best ever, my favourite Cult song.

[@anthonyrexhouse5858]

Beyond Good and Evil is an amazing album. So heavy. I tik my 13 yo sin to see them tour that album in 2001 and it blew us both away.

[@tom12ta]

Another good one. ... Thanks 😎🍺🍀🍺👍

[@gregcain1109]

You are the only other person I have encountered that even knows the Beyond Good and Evil album. I purchased it on its release and it became my favorite Cult release to date. I dove into it and learned it track by track. Thanks for your channel we seem to be cut from the same guitar cloth.

[@ronniecoffey9945]

i got to finally see them for their Ceremony tour back in like 92, Lenny Kravtiz opened, dude they were so good, Billy had one of the small Les Paul customs, all white, they were Amazing, played all the Hits, it was Incredible, Ian was on fire, he was totally channeling Jim Morrison !

[@arrosconpollo1]

I think Billy has posted on your comment sections before! What a great exchange of learning, ideas, feedback and comments. Love these lessons!

[@cravertom]

Billy Duffy rocks! you can find a vid on youtube of him doing pinball wizard acoustically that is pretty awesome....Thanks David - love the variety....

[@georgew.morrowiii118]

The Cult are cool, as are your lessons.

[@NCSUME1]

Searching for the ground with my good eye closed. Sonic Temple is an all time favorite of mine too. Thanks for all you do. Greetings from NC.

[@clintrehermann8045]

Great lesson. I feel exactly as you do about the Beyond Good & Evil album. I listened to it non-stop when it came out. It is a highly underrated album.

[@71ibanez]

So pleased I clicked on this,learnt so much😊

[@RF944]

One of the few bands in the 80's that keep My faith in RnR. Shape the sky is My favorite.

[@tonybulmer6365]

Billy Duffy is from Manchester and Ian Astbury is from Heswell, Cheshire, England. Although some of the Southern Death Cult guys were from Bradford, Billy was living in London at the time. Ian and Billy first met when SDC supported Theatre of Hate, Billy was playing guitar with them.

[@StealthParrot]

Oh man, this brings back some great memories, I played Love and Electric non-stop back in the day. I was always fascinated with Billy's guitar, it was always unique and interesting. Thank you.

[@TRGP331]

I have to 100% agree with you regarding "Beyond Good and Evil".

[@kirkbolas4985]

I grew up listening to an eclectic mix that included the bagpipes and Celt folk music. When I first heard The Cult (and AC/DC of course), I could hear those influences in Billy Duffy’s playing. My dad had no use for Hard Rock music or any Rock music, but there were some Cult (and AC/DC) tunes he liked. I’m a bit older than you Dave and when someone mentions sus4 chords and a certain Rock guitarist, my first thought is Pete Townsend and then Eddy.

[@mitchellsteen1264]

You my friend have knocked it out of the park again! Super awesome lesson again. And the reason I love all your lessons is you and I have the same great taste in music and love that hard rocking dark sounding stuff. Also Billy Duffy did an album with Sammy Hagar ,Michael Anthony and Matt Strum. I saw the video to one of the songs called Loud. Simple piece of hard Rockin awesome goodness.

[@patrickmckay6621]

Thank you,David! ...and again,yes,this Amp sounds great!

[@krudler406]

Love me some Cult! Ceremony is such a great album.

[@stevengraham5454]

Fantastic lessons. Thank you.

[@tehnagabakti]

Great video. I always felt like The Cult are an underappreciated rock'n roll band.

[@ronaldososa1975]

G R A C I A S !!!!!! I love The Cult Saludos desde Argentina

[@sixstringer3783]

Ah the memories Cow Palace in S.F. on the Sonic Temple tour everything changed when Billy started using The black Les Paul funny thing was it was for sale on Reverb not to long ago lots of $$ a 1968 custom I think still have the cassettes to Love,Electric and Sonic Temple but that ones pretty shot cool lesson David 👍

[@turkeeg7644]

Sir you are killing it with this stuff. Steely Dan, Rik Emmet, Funkadelic, now the Cult. Just re realized how great this guy is. She Sells Sanctuary is just an amazing tune. It's a flanger on that one. Thanks for your content. I think you nailed it when you said it draws you in. As soon as he starts it's like oh this is going to be good.

[@rahl1233]

Thanks again for another awesome vid Dave. Just made my day 👍

[@tespiteng]

There were only 3 cassettes in my walkman during 90's : GNR's Appetite, Skid Row's self titled album and Cult's Sonic Temple... Thanks for the video.

[@hazor777]

2 out of those 3 for me , definitely: AFD and Sonic Temple are obvious Masterpieces!!!

[@Jacksonkellyfreak]

I bought Beyond Good and Evil the day it came out too. One of my favorites to this day

[@jasonsteverson4609]

Cool stuff. Always loved this band.

[@TerenceKearns]

Great stuff

[@ronlawrence4706]

Saw em live mid 80's as opener. Great stuff!

[@cradd00]

I saw the Cult at a small club after Beyond Good and Evil came out. There was less than 300 people there, but the club was packed! It was a great experience, and the loudest show I’ve ever heard. My ears rang for three days! Love the lessons, your a great teacher!

[@biffer4810]

I've said before, but this is the best guitar channel on KZbin. The way this is broken down is soooo useful.

[@mnegline1971]

Doors crossed with Zeppelin. I wish I had thought of that!!! great lesson too (as always)

[@MrSomson]

Wild hearted son

[@rhick382]

Your channel is great! Thank you.

[@rebellemoermin6128]

Oh no, just when everything was supposed to start, the beauty of the song - the end of the video!

[@romucorporation]

Very cool

[@michaelleblanc5578]

Great lesson as always! I too LOVE that album! That opening riff on RISE is just thundering! A song I REALLY love off that album is True Believers....just a fantastic song!

[@cupidstunt66]

Been a lifelong fan of The Cult, seen them live many times. I'd never heard of Beyond Good and Evil. I gave it a listen and see what you mean. What a buried gem. Tx for letting us all know and for yet another great lesson. Keep it up.

[@evalex71]

Great lesson man!

[@dennisvasquez1128]

This was great. Really helpful. Thanks!

[@ronniecoffey9945]

Great Lesson, luv Billy Duffy's style, very cool, i had no idea he was pedaling D Mixolydian, thx bro

[@WSG23]

Agree with 💯 about Beyond Good and Evil. Great vid!

[@user-kv4ct4qm2y]

Fire woman is the best example of a simple pattern that just gets under your skin. A simple melody that just wont let go. As David says the fast flying technique is a flamethrower that burns for a second but diesnt warm the soul. I believe fire wonan is in a major chord progression. Usually major cant do this. The ulttimate.

[@mcfoley131]

Thanks David... really cool lesson. May I recommend you put together a chord play of Paul Kossoff from the band Free. Keep up the great work

[@periloustemple8290]

Loved it. In that time period, the wide appeal was a bit unusual. To oversimplify, the overlap between the Headbanger's Ball & 120 Minutes - while still appealing to the frat crowd, etc. Anyway, they are brilliant and unique. I always loved Billy's combo of great classics like Marshall's paired with a Roland Jazz Chorus (now, also a true classic). They made a truly original mark, but Love and the Manner Sessions remain my favs, but all of it is good (even Ceremony has some great things).

[@hutz13]

Always an interesting analysis with great insights and providing all those examples from other bands is impressive

[@Warhammer419]

The Duff is my all time fave guitarist...glad I stumbled across this. Will have to look and see if you have his soloing style. If you don't that would be a great video to do😊. Thanks for this so much

[@J24777]

Awesome David!!!! You are the Best!!!! Billy Duffy is a great Guitar player!! Glad you did this Video!!!!

[@gabrieljohannson6777]

I'm impressed by your ability to play so many different guitar players. Lets just take a moment to recognize some serious chops for that. PS love the Cult. Saw them twice growing up. Both were awesome gigs.

[@JackJames9648]

one of my fav player

[@jmerriman1837]

I really enjoy your videos. Very interesting and informative.

[@choppingpenguin]

Beyond Good and Evil is soooo killer! Take the Power and Breathe Set me on fire every single time!

[@jasenmoyle3722]

Great lesson as always Dave,

[@blackrainbowfiresword177]

Really cool lesson David, thank you, Cheers Mate!

[@dirtstyles]

This is really great content, Billy is for sure an interesting guitar player, and Ian Astbury seems to like reinventing The Cults sound.

[@vancedean6209]

Another stellar lesson.

[@Craig_Fussell]

Saw an interview the other day with Billy Duffy...didn’t know he used to be in a band with (Steven) Morrissey. Very interesting guy and great player! Thanks for posting! ✌🏻🎸🎼

[@Paul_at_9]

The 80's Cult was fantastic, a great couple of albums.

[@williamcantone1343]

Great lesson thanks , another underrated album was the 94 rams head,

[@MatthewJohnCrittenden]

That Cult album passed me by despite being a fan of their earlier stuff, added to my playlist, cheers. Dang, I've got a lot of your vids to get through!

[@dougshankle7946]

At 10:28 you make the statement that it's a very basic intro but also very effective. I think those are harder to write in my opinion. To play a simple figure but get something creative out of it with space and timing and have an impact on people that's impressive.

[@gauchoguacho2000]

Great lesson! 👏😅

[@sixgunlover274]

Thanks so much for this. Love this band. By the way, Billy is from my home town of Manchester!!

[@chrisb48907]

Dave, the Cult are my favourite band man ! Saw the in Concert last year..amazing. I have been watching for a couple weeks or so..thanks for your awesome videos ! You delivery and the way you describe notes etc..is great..even though i will only remember bits of it..lol Cheers from Canada !

[@Scottocaster6668]

This is just good stuff right here 👌

[@georgelorence1089]

Thanks man ..you seem real cool and truly a Cult fan.....great knowledge here. I love The Cult. Meet Billy and Ian...have there entire catalog and been playing 30 years myself .........love how you displayed a the albums cover ....not to bust balls.....but 1994's The Cult .....has some of the baddest ass guitar work and groves. I'm sure your aware. If not definitely check it out. Peace 🙏 Dog

[@GMHG777]

Awesome episode Dave, Billy plays with such an attitude and power, not a flashy guitarist but just a badass player imo. Agree on BGaE that album is crushingly heavy kinda their one Metal album if you will. Also checking out the aborted Peace album which was the unreleased precursor to Electric, pure awesomeness !

[@db1101]

Love the Black LP. I want one.

[@PhoenixRenegade]

Love the saint!

[@cleanhit777]

Bingo! What you play has to be musical, yay! There's nothing wrong with shredding but it has to be the servant not the master. Just think of the success and exposure Billy has had compared to the pure shredders. Love Removal Machine reminds me of Start Me Up by the Stones? These lessons really inspire me, thank you.

[@jeffbafus]

Nice job, David. Really enjoy your videos! BTW, the chords from Painted on My Heart are very much like Suite Madame Blue by Styx.

[@kevmet84]

😎 Kinda thought you might cover Duffy right after the BOC one.😉 Glad you have gotten around to The Cult finally, nonetheless. Cool😎 that you tapped into some of the BG&E along with some of the classics and that Beatle-esque bonus tune. I've had their concert DVD of the 'Beyond Good & Evil' tour, 'Live Cult (Music Without Fear)' since it first came out. It's a very good show to have if you collect any of those type of videos. Even if a small or moderate collector of them, it is one I'd highly recommend.

[@crimfan]

"She Sells Sanctuary" by the seashore. Say that seven times fast!

[@LateNightLessons]

Hahahaha! I could barely say the song title out loud when I shot this video. I think my tongue might fall out of my mouth if I tried saying that. : ) Rock on!

[@CTC1965]

Currently they have a great band. Damon Fox, the leader of the band Big Elf is now playing keys and second guitar. Ian still has a voice. Great live shows.

[@mattheweernisse1963]

Thank you for this! Billy Duffy is so interesting and unique as a guitarist. I had a vinyl copy of "Electric" that I wore out, learned every riff. I loved that they were simple enough for a beginner to learn, but totally rocked. One question: how can you talk about "Love Removal Machine" without even mentioning the Stones, "Start Me Up"? It's basically the same riff." I know Van Halen was all about the sus, but that song is clearly aping the Stones, not Valen.

[@asochacki1]

Amen Brother

[@johnnygault365]

Excellent again man thank you Been on a diet of oz noy since his boogalooga-loo album came out I'm sure you're aware

[@nateg7973]

The Cult another band that doesn’t get enough credit!

[@crompton5751]

love the cult, killer

[@wulfenii64]

The first time I heard "Wall Flower" I was hooked. "Sun King" is another great tune. I do think Love is the best all around album though.

[@daves4645]

Wall flower? How about Wild Flower.

[@JuddOakes]

Love me some cult

[@roberts1346]

Luv Billy ! Similar in style to Geordie Walker (killing joke) - also a bad ass - please cover Geordie. Also please cover : Geoff (Jeff) Tyson - (T-ride). And Jeff Buckley - amazing guitarist and more obviously great vocalist. Thanks for another inspiring lesson !

[@scottwilson9908]

Robert Sepe definitely Killing Joke

[@scottwilson9908]

Cool mate. Thank you mate for picking one off my list Really appreciate it Billy said he played in a band with Morrissey before the cult Would love to hear what sounded like. The smiths with distortion or the cult without distortion