The seeds of the Blue Oyster Cult were planted under the name of Soft White Underbelly, a group opening for bands like Muddy Waters and the Grateful Dead in the late 1960s. Comprised of Long Island college students, the metal-friendly band would try on a variety of monikers before settling on the Blue Oyster Cult. And, as if there was some freakish foreshadowing in the BOC's name, the band spawned four decades of both pleasing and bewildering rock weirdness. Early oddities and distinctive guitar riffs have made the BOC pioneers in all that is hard and heavy, paving the way for legends like the Who, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin.