Gothtastic...
2006-11-09 by The Double K
The Sisters Of Mercy – This Corrosion
To the dismay of everyone except perhaps Kevvy K, those Eldritchean vocals on Ketamine Entity got me in the mood for some of the real thing.
There has been talk of “guilty (musical) pleasures” here before, and I guess this is one of mine. I was never a goth, although I did buy a pair of black jeans once. They were far from skin-tight: I just don’t have the de rigeur svelte goth figure, and never really got the whole dressing up thing anyway.
Of all the goth bands for me the Sisters stand out as being the only ones with a real sense of fun, and this makes them by far the best. Sure, they enjoy dressing up but don’t take it too seriously and play it for the slightly camp theatricals that it is, having a whole lot of fun along the way.
This track is my favourite from their classic LP Floodland – everything about it is so over-the-top right from the word go: the opening choral sequence sets the scene before a chunky 80’s pop beat kicks in. Screeching guitar licks are set in counterpoint to harpsichord, the choir resurfaces throughout and it’s all taken to the next level by Eldritch’s trademark vocal style.
In fact I don’t even feel guilty about this: it’s pure class.
- The Site of Mercy
- Sisters fansite
- The Sisters Of Mercy
- Official site
- Buy Floodland
- Remastered and expanded, apparently
Comments 
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Predictably enough, I do indeed love The Sisters. About time we touched goth base on DC.. might have to drudge up a few more form the crypt.
I was a sort of goth/indie hybrid in my sartorially challenged teens, right down to back-combed dyed black hair, the most disgustng acrylic cardies that charity shops had to offer (with artfully appled cigarette burns) and arguments with my dad about wearing eye-liner to school.
And anyway Kev, the whole svelte thing never seemed to stop Robert Smith.
I did used to have a Robert Smithesqe stupidly-long-fringe which got in my eyes.
Good call, on the SOM post. I remember hearing this tune randomly on the chart countdown one sunday night and being convinced it was just about the best song I'd ever heard. It wasn't till I realised the full satorial implications of liking the sisters that it became a secret guilty pleasure.
It feels good to be finally at peace with my adolescent music taste.
Great stuff. I too admit to a penchant for eye liner and backcombing in my teens and certainly bopped about to This Corrision at Cardiff's infamous Square Club. Let's break out the guilty pleasures – but, please, no Wayne Hussey and his sodding Mission…
Wicked. I was so excited when this came out and played it back-to-back for days. I was a teeny goth, and missed the first wave of goth..The original lineup of SOM. So when they reformed and released this it was as though they did it just for me. How about some Nephelim posts too?