Los Angeles Times critic Chris Willman lambasted the album as "stupid". In his book Perfect from Now On, writer John Sellers criticised the Cult for "emulating a hair-metal band" on Sonic Temple, commenting that "the Cult had moved from the hearts of alternative-music fans to the Walkmans of Warrant disciples—completely unacceptable." Karen Douthwaite of Hi-Fi News & Record Review noticed that the band "recycling the same riffs for the last few albums" and "guitar sound intensified and metallized to AC/DC proportions.". Parke Puterbaugh of Stereo Review considered that the band "borrows its inspiration" from Led Zeppelin, Queen and other AOR heroes from the hard rock Seventies, but "there's something perversely addictive about this music, with its upfront aggression and its slow-motion orgasms of drums and guitars building to a raunchy climax." Accolades Track listing All tracks written by Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy. "Sun King" – 6:09 "Fire Woman" – 5:11 "American Horse" – 5:19 "Edie (Ciao Baby)" – 4:46 "Sweet Soul Sister" – 5:08 "Soul Asylum" – 7:26 "New York City" – 4:41 "Automatic Blues" – 3:51 "Soldier Blue" – 4:36 "Wake Up Time for Freedom" – 5:17 Bonus tracks "Medicine Train" – 4:42 (On CD, in some countries, cassette release, and 30th Anniversary LP) "The River" (Only on Russian, Eastern European, and 30th Anniversary LP pressings) “Bleeding Heart Graffiti” (On 30th Anniversary LP) “Messin’ Up The Blues” (On 30th Anniversary LP) “Fire Woman (NYC Rock Mix)” (On 30th Anniversary LP) “Edie (Ciao Baby) (Acoustic)” (On 30th Anniversary LP) "Lay Down your Gun" (Version two) (Only on Russian and Eastern European pressings) Saudi Arabian version There was a Saudi Arabian version released, with the track listing expanded (although "Soul Asylum" had been removed) and slightly rearranged: "Sun King" "Fire Woman" "American Horse" "Edie (Ciao Baby)" "Sweet Soul Sister" "NYC" "Automatic Blues" "Soldier Blue" "Wake Up Time for Freedom" "Medicine Train" "Electric Ocean" "King Contrary Man" "Born to Be Wild" "Outlaw" Personnel The Cult Ian Astbury – vocals, percussion Billy Duffy – guitar Jamie Stewart – bass guitar, keyboards Mickey Curry – drums Additional personnel Eric Singer - drums during first demo version of Sonic Temple 1988 Chris Taylor - drums during second demo version of Sonic Temple 1988 Iggy Pop – backing vocals on "New York City" John Webster – keyboards Bob Buckley – string arrangement on "Edie (Ciao Baby)" Technical Engineered and mixed by Mike Fraser Charts Certifications