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Introduction :

Leeds rock band Sisters of Mercy rose to fame in the goth underground of the 80s and gained a strong cult following despite their attempts to discourage any associations with the goth culture. Their music is often gloomy, industrial, occasionally pompous and often danceable. Frontman Andrew Eldritch's deep and, shall we say - unusual voice - adds to their uniqueness and makes them very recognizable. He's probably not an easy man to get along with either. Andrew, Godfather of Goth, is the only permanent member of the band and aside from compilations, they released 3 albums, all with different line-ups. After their first album, First and Last and Always from 1985, everyone except Andrew and the drum machine Doktor Avalanche, left the band. Eldritch's deteriorating mental health is cited by band members as one of the reasons for the split. The ex-members started a new group, The Sisterhood, causing Andrew Eldritch to file a lawsuit against them because of the name, a lawsuit which he won and the ex-sisters eventually became known as The Mission.

Anyways, this is about Sisters of Mercy. After being left by his bandmates, Andrew Eldritch recruited tall-haired goth-icon Patricia Morrison on bass and recorded The Sisters of Mercy's second album, Floodland, in 1987.


Song for Song Review :

The album opens with the slightly epic track Dominion/Mother Russia, a classic in the Sisters catalogue. It's a neverending, pompous, beat-steady, catchy and a bit gloomy rock classic and showcase what I consider the trademark Sisters of Mercy sound. Andrew Eldritch's singing works quite well on this song and it's a good opener, one of the many from this album considered a classic by fans. Note that the video, both for this song and the others are not the same versions as are on this album. The album versions are, among other things, much longer.




Flood I continues the gloom and the industrial beat-steady feel, but loses some of the drive and charm of the opening track. It is heavily dominated by synth and drum machine and has quite a lot atmosphere. This song would fit right into some late 80s/early 90s goth movie where children of the night dance in some San Fransiscan goth club. However, it also comes across as a bit of a filler for me. When the track reaches it's end, the heavy, hard-hitting and steady drum and bass of Lucretia My Reflection comes on. Lucretia is, without a doubt, my favourite song on the album, possibly my favourite sisters song ever. It's as hard-hitting as a locomotive and it's heavy, unstoppable, industrial feel and energy is mixed with the best qualities of Andrew Eldritch's voice for a memorable result. Check out the cheesy video if you want.




I quite like the lyrics too although I've no clear idea what they're about.

I hear the roar of a big machine
Two worlds and in between
Love lost, fire at will
Dum-dum bullets and shoot to kill, I hear
Dive, bombers, and
Empire down

The next song, 1959, is an emotional piano ballad by Mr. Eldritch. For me, it is a song that has almost none of the Sisters charm and it mixes that with the worst qualities of Andrew's voice. As was written in a review in noted pop magazine Smash Hits, Andrew's singing on the piano track sounded like a goblin being sick in a bucket. Although that's a bit exaggerated, I can see where the reviewer is coming from. Still, it's not a horrible song, just not good. However, Floodland quickly redeems itself with the next track This Corrosion that opens up with a frankly awesome(!) bit of choir before the trademark sisters of mercy industrial sound comes back, tinged with some playful, lighter guitar notes. Like the opener, this track is pompous as hell, endless and driven. Another classic song from the sisters catalogue. It also has a cheesy music video, here presented in ****ty quality.

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Flood II is another excellent song. It has everything you should expect from the Sisters sound and Andrew's performance on this track is full of emotion. The acoustic guitar here is nice touch and the track is melodic, slightly desperate and with what I think is a subtle hint of romance and beauty. I also like the song's lyrics.

Like a million voices call my name
Like a million voices calling
Not now, not never again...
Sitting here now in this bar for hours
Strange men rent strange flowers
Seconds to the drop but it feels like hours and I
Think I'm going to...going to...

If this isn't goth rock, I don't know what is.

Driven Like the Snow continues a bit in the same vein as the previous track, also with acoustic guitar, which is just fine with me. It has the beats, the bass and the driving quality of most Sister classics, but comes across as relatively soft. It also has some memorable lyrics. Never Land is the album's shortest song and marks the end of the album .. unless you have the bonus tracks which I've decided to leave out. It's heavy, slow, atmospheric and again sounds like it should be on the soundtrack for some gloomy goth movie. The fact that it's short and quickly fades out makes it a good track to end an album with, but maybe not something you wanna put on your all-time favourite sisters mix-tape.


Review Summary :

I like Sisters of Mercy and as Andrew himself has said, Floodland is a fine album, but I think that it's sound will probably be a little hard to get into for newer and younger audiences. Andrew Eldritch is not a very good singer and the songs have a machine-like tendency to drone on and get a bit repetitive. My guess is that if you don't like it, you will soon hate it if you force yourself. However, if you do like it and are able to get into this album, you may find that although Andrew's voice is not beautiful, aside from a touch of goblin, works very well with this particular sound and the sometimes repetitive quality of the songs only make them better. I also like the songs gloomy themes and lyrics. The album has perhaps a filler or two or three, but when it's good - it's awesome - and so the album's overall impression is good. It's easy to imagine this album's gems being played in 80/90's goth clubs. Actually, they're probably still played - at least if goth club-goers have any integrity. If you wanna know what true goth rock sound sounds like, you should get your hands on Floodland.

Toretorden's Treasure Trove score : 4/6

Favourite tracks : Dominion/Mother Russia, Lucretia My Reflection, This Corrosion, Flood II, Driven Like the Snow

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