The Sisters Of Mercy

For more than four decades Andrew Eldritch has steered the shadowy English rock outfit the Sisters of Mercy, keeping its direction intact alongside his favored drum machine, Doktor Avalanche. Rising from the Leeds underground in the early 1980s, the band reached wider audiences with three pivotal albums—First and Last and Always (1985), Floodland (1987), and Vision Thing (1990)—that fused brooding industrial metal and art rock with ornate dance-pop and darkwave-tinged post-punk. Although the group halted studio work in the early 1990s, it has remained an active touring concern through the 2020s with Eldritch still in command.

Eldritch launched the project in Leeds in 1980 together with guitarist Gary Marx, issuing the independent debut single “Damage Done.” Guitarist Ben Gunn and bassist Craig Adams were soon added to support live shows, and the band cultivated a following through EPs and post-punk singles such as “Alice,” “The Body Electric,” and “Adrenochrome.” After the 1983 Reptile House EP, the group signed with WEA. Gunn departed over creative differences and was replaced by Wayne Hussey, who appeared on the first album, First and Last and Always, released in 1985. Internal tensions fractured the lineup two years later; Marx left to form Ghost Dance, and Adams and Hussey followed. A legal fight over the name ensued after Adams and Hussey tried to use Sisterhood; Eldritch countered by releasing an EP under that name, forcing the pair to adopt the Mission instead.

Thereafter Eldritch relied chiefly on temporary musicians—former Gun Club bassist Patricia Morrison served briefly as an official member—and delivered the band’s two strongest-selling albums. Floodland, co-produced by Jim Steinman in 1987, expanded the sonic palette with choral layers, sweeping guitars, and dense keyboard vistas supporting Eldritch’s deep baritone; it reached number nine on the U.K. Albums Chart and spent six weeks on the Billboard 200. Bassist Tony James of Sigue Sigue Sputnik and guitarists Tim Bricheno and Andreas Bruhn joined for the next record. Vision Thing appeared in 1990 with a heavier industrial-metal sound and lyrics assailing the policies of the George H. W. Bush administration. A 1992 re-recording of the early track “Temple of Love” climbed to number three in the U.K., while the compilation Some Girls Wander by Mistake reached number five. Further personnel shifts preceded the final commercial single, 1993’s “Under the Gun,” followed later that year by the greatest-hits collection A Slight Case of Overbombing.

Since then Eldritch has assembled successive touring lineups. In later years new songs including “Eyes of Caligula” and “Don’t Drive on Ice” have entered set lists, although he has indicated that no further studio album is planned.