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"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by the rock band Blue Öyster Cult from their 1976 album, Agents...

"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by the rock band Blue Öyster Cult from their 1976 album, Agents of Fortune. It was written and sung by the band's lead guitarist, Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, and is built around Dharma's guitar riff that opens the song and continues throughout. The edited single version was Blue Öyster Cult's biggest US hit, reaching #12 on the American charts in November 1976. The song remains a staple tune on classic rock radio playlists. In 1997, Mojo magazine ranked "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" at #80 in the "100 Greatest Singles of All Time". Rolling Stone magazine voted the song "Best Rock Single" of 1976, in 2004 the magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" ranked it at #397, and in 2009 it was named the 55 best hard rock song of all time by VH1. Part of the song's appeal consists in its resonance with archetypal themes. The reaper is a reference to the Grim Reaper, a traditional symbol of death in European folklore. Moreover, songs and poetry pairing "Death and the Maiden" date back from before the Middle Ages. Lyrics such as "Romeo and Juliet are together in eternity" have led many listeners to interpret the song to be about a murder-suicide