"First and last and always" CD by The Sisters Of Mercy

by Marcel Anders (11.01.2007) It was in March 1985 that four pale Englishmen with black sunglasses and strange hairs released an album that defined a whole genre: big, epic Gloom Rock with Darth Vader-vocals, spherical guitars and cool drum computer beats. All that provided with a mystical touch, icy cold and anthemnic-pathetic arrangements. The world in black as it could not have been better musically painted by Wagner himself. Consequently, songs like "Walk away", "No time to cry" and "Some kind of stranger" have been classics in every Gothic disco since then. Now they are being presented digitally remastered for the first time. Bonus material are the five b-sides, unreleased outtakes as well as amusing notes. A great package! The same can be said about the re-releases of "Floodland" (1987) and "Vision Thing" (1990), on which mastermind Andrew Eldritch becomes a soloist in fact, experimenting with Jim Steinman-bombast, Biker-Rock and Techno. The results were the biggest hits in his career ("This corrosion", "More"), but he's never sounded as gruesome beautiful as on the ingenious debut.