Children - Mission (The)

...a Goth classic, and by association not a band that the rockers accepted lightly, Children should have been all things to all men but ended up largley ignored at the time, now is the time to rediscover one of the finest bands of the late 80s via there finest album.  ... more

Formed from the ashes of the phoenix that was the original Sisters of Mercy, the Mission were hailed as the new kings of ther goth scene. They lived up to the challenge for a number of years but with the release of their second album, Children, there was the beginnings of a change afoot. The pure goth vibe of the first album had been added to, there was now a swathing rock guitar layer in amongst the familiar sounds. Whilst at the time the goth black mafia saw this as a sell out, I think it resulted in one of there most enduring albums.

Throughout there are still the intricate twelve- string inputs from Wayne Hussey, still his deep and soulful voice, the low ended bass lines, and the driving beats of a real drum kit (something of a novelty in the early goth scene) and the lush harmonies provided by their regular guest , Julianne Regan (All About Eve). What has changed on this album is that Simon Hinklers lead guitar plays a more dominant role than before, and the songs have a rock feeling about them, even if it is a dark one.

The album was produced by John Paul Jones and you can feel the Led Zepplin touches on songs such as Heaven On Earth and Black Mountain Mist., mandolins ring out and the full kit is replaced by tabla drums against crashing floor toms. These songs are cleverer in their construction and show a maturity that was missing from the earlier work.

Many of the lyrics come across as a bit cliche and child like, reveling in innocence and love from an almost childlike perspective, but they do work. The gothic image after all comes from the tragic writings of the likes of Byron and Shelley, all romance and unrequited love, so why not carry the theme through to its logical conclusion.

This is the sort of album to play loudly whilst getting ready to go out on a Friday night, it will fire up the soul and I defy anyone not to whip out the tennis racket and play some air guitar in front of the mirror. Obviously Im not saying that Id do anything of the sort....

Too rock and roll to be a Goth classic, and by association not a band that the rockers accepted lightly, Children should have been all things to all men but ended up largley ignored at the time, now is the time to rediscover one of the finest bands of the late 80s via there finest album. 

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