Review Summary: Poppy Goth that will be making you sing this corrosion.
After the phenomenal and nearly flawless First and Last and Always, the band known then as The Sisters of Mercy broke up. Wayne Hussey and Gary Marx, who contributed the most to the musical composition of First and Last and Always left the band due to Andrew Eldritch's infamous control freak tendencies. A great example of this would be Andrew Eldritch stealing the Sisterhood name before Wayne Hussey and Gary Marx could use it as an outfit for their music releases. After all was said and done, Andrew Eldritch won 25,000 pounds after suing Wayne Hussey and Gary Marx over The Sisterhood name. However, Andrew Eldritch was left with the daunting task of making a follow-up to First and Last and Always.
Armed with "This Corrosion", a song Andrew Eldritch recorded underneath The Sisterhood name, The Sisters of Mercy were one step closer to achieving the goal of an amazing follow-up to First and Last and Always. Patrica Morrison was hired as a guitarist but didn't really contribute to the album at all. She has been described as being hired for her looks to promote the music of The Sisters of Mercy. This might be one of the reasons why a lot of people consider The Sisters of Mercy to be a gothic rock band besides the sound of the band.
The album itself differs from the rock-oriented First and Last and Always almost completely. It seems to be more progressive, containing 6 songs over the 6 minute mark while First and Last and Always only had one song over the 6 minute mark (Some Kind of Stranger). However, this is not a bad thing, it builds up the song and creates an atmosphere that differs from that of First and Last and Always. It is not necessary melancholy like the last album but is downbeat in some parts of the album. The lyrics themselves are more sociopolitical (Mother Russia) but then there are personal lyrics like those in 1959. There is more variety found on this album, something that I do enjoy to a certain extent.
The only problem I found with the album itself is with the song "Torch". I am not a fan of the song at all to be honest, I find it as the only real flaw on the album. It was a B-side from the last lineup of The Sisters of Mercy. Although I do know a few B-sides can be great songs (Dear God by XTC just to name an example), this song was a mistake and the album would still be amazing with only 9 songs on it. The Cure's Gothic Trilogy (Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and Pornography) only contained 8 songs on each album yet all of those albums are very phenomenal (Charlotte Sometimes though...). Joy Division's Closer only had 9 songs and a lot of people concur that album as better than "Unknown Pleasures". That is why I believe Andrew Eldritch should of left the song off this album and put it on "Some Girls Wander By Mistake".
Although this album does seem to have a much more commercial friendly approach to it compared to First and Last and Always, it does retain some of the moodiness from the last album. 1959 being the only song on Side One while the rest of Side Two is pretty much moody compared to the rest of Side One. Lucretia My Reflection is in my opinion the most commercial song off the album but the Bowiesque This Corrosion seems to be more catchy than the latter and more danceable than the latter. The only thing that hinders it as a commercial song is the ten minute length. This Corrosion though is my favorite song off the album and I definitely have danced to it.
Overall, if you like any of the so-called "dark culture", you need to listen to this poppy-gothic rock album from The Sisters of Mercy. Although it is not as good as First and Last and Always, you will not regret plugging your headphones into your computer and listening to this album.
4.5/5
