The Sisters Of Mercy - Floodland (1987)

"Floodland" is the second album by the British band The Sisters of Mercy, which was released in 1987 and marked their commercial break-through.

While the goth scene in England was picking up commercial steam in the mid-'80s, the Sisters of Mercy may have seemed quiet, but they roared back with 1987's "Floodland". Opening with the driving two-part hymn "Dominion/Mother Russia," Sisters leader Andrew Eldritch (along with bassist Patricia Morrison) creates a black soundscape that is majestic and vast, company mix styles with a dark and gloomy palette. Songs are built with punishing and/or danceable drum machine tracks, guitars that alternately moan and crash, touches of '80s keyboards, and Eldritch's deeply resonant, undertaker voice, for a sound that made the Sisters one of the leading lights of the '80s Goth movement.

While the earlier Sisters releases were noisy, sometimes harsh affairs, "Floodland" is filled with lush production (thanks to Meat Loaf writer/producer Jim Steinman and the New York Choral Society) and lyric imagery that is both scary and glorious. The slower tracks, like "Flood" and "1959," are some of the best ethereal sounds goth has to offer. Especially notable here is the inclusion of the band's best known single "This Corrosion," a multi-layered goth-pop gem held together by a eerie back-up choir and a driving dance beat.

 

01. "Dominion/Mother Russia"  (Andrew Eldritch)  - 7:00

02. "Flood I"  (Andrew Eldritch)  - 6:22

03. "Lucretia My Reflection"  (Andrew Eldritch)  - 4:57

04. "1959"  (Andrew Eldritch)  - 4:09

05. "This Corrosion"   (Andrew Eldritch)  - 10:55

06. "Flood II"  (Andrew Eldritch)  - 6:47

07. "Driven Like the Snow"  (Andrew Eldritch)  - 6:27

08. "Neverland (a fragment)"  (Andrew Eldritch)  - 2:46

Released:  November 13, 1987

Genre:  Gothic Rock, Dark Wave

Length:  49:16

Label:  Merciful Release/WEA

Producer:  Andrew Eldritch, Larry Alexander, Jim Steinman

The Sisters Of Mercy:

Andrew Eldritch - vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming

Patricia Morrison - vocals, guitar, keyboards