Merciful Release (First And Last And Always/Floodland/Vision Thing - Remastered & Expanded) [Digipak] - Sisters Of Mercy

A Merciful Release..

Advantages: takes you back to the birth of goth
Disadvantages: very different to the Gothic sound of today

-ice festooned affairs were for the most part the band were barely visable. First and Last and Always took the elements of the live shows and represented them for the home stereo. The packaging of the album sums up what you are about to recieve, basically a black album cover with red writting and the minimal of design work, just a picture of the band in shades and black leather in front of a Detroit adult movie theatre. The first thing that hits you about the music is its cold, detached and clinical quality.The drum machine drives the music along overlayed by razor sharp guitar riffs and a brooding heavy bottom ended bass. Eldritch grumbles almost spoken lyrics of an ambiguous nature, relating to lost loves and broken dreams. At times you can hear the pain in his voice, the screams of a wronged man, a man worn down by the cruel ravages of love ...

steerpyke 26.09.2004 · Read full review
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Review of First And Last And Always - Sisters Of Mercy

First Merciful Release from a Black Planet

Advantages: Magnificent full-length debut from Goth masters
Disadvantages: Some tracks need to be heard live to be appreciated

This was the first chance the mainstream would have had to hear the mighty music of Leeds' Sisters of Mercy. Although formed in 1980, the band had only released a long succession of singles and EPs before this debut album. Although 'Floodland' is a stronger and more epic album, this is the album that really gave impetus to the 'Goth' movement and has the classic band line-up. The key is here that they sound like a great band playing together, whereas on 'Floodland', Eldritch created and composed practically alone. Gary Marx, Wayne Hussey and Craig Adams made up the band and all members were involved in musical composition, whilst Eldritch was the sole lyricist and vocalist. I was lucky enough to score tickets to see Eldritch and his current line-up in May at the Astoria, and their live shows stay true to the original ethos; the band ...

tonguelessghostofsin 02.06.2006 · Read full review
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Review of First And Last And Always - Sisters Of Mercy

Mercy, please!

Advantages: Quick to read
Disadvantages: Poorly developed characters, no real storyline

I've never read any Jack Higgins before, but I was lent Without Mercy and decided to give it a go. I was a little dubious as on the front cover it states 'the unstoppable Sean Dillon is back' and as I don't know who this Sean Dillon character is, I thought I may have missed some important back history. The book claimed to be 'a fierce thriller of terrorism, murder and revenge', and so I thought it would be quite fast-paced and exciting. As I read the first couple of chapters, I realised it didn't matter that I didn't know the Sean Dillon character. I found that none of the characters were given any real depth or back story. By half way through the book, this remained the case and I began to get frustrated. I can forgive an author poorly developed characters if there is a compelling storyline to the book, but I was disappointed by this ...

M.Newcastle 10.09.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Without Mercy - Jack Higgins