Sisters of Mercy, the gothic underground band from the 80s is not to be confused with a Catholic group; the band’s style is comprised of dark, hypnotic melodies, featuring a few albums decorated with pentagrams. Floodland, their second album released in 1987, is the band’s best piece of art. Many of Sisters of Mercy’s hits, such as Lucretia my Reflection and This Corrosion are featured in that record. Floodland’s style is similar to the rest of the albums; the gloomy, mysterious psychedelia is present throughout all of their music. The songs in this album do not quite flow together, which helps to show off the diversity, yet the same style, in the songs. The very deep voice, owned by Andrew Eldritch, is perhaps the band’s most distinct feature.

Sisters of Mercy’s first album, First and Last and Always, was released in 1985. They gained fame throughout England among the goth scene, and since then have put out four other albums, each being quite a success. The band was originally formed by Eldritch, along with guitarist Gary Marx and a drummer that went by the name Doktor Avalanche. Later on, guitarist Benn Gunn and bassist Craig Adams were added to strengthen the band. Unfortunately, the band split up two years after they released their first album, but Eldritch keep the band going until the first decade of the 2000s.

The drums, electric guitar, and synthesizer are especially the most noticeable. Most of the songs start off with an interesting drum beat, and a trippy electric guitar starts the melody. Interesting melodies exist throughout all the songs; none of the songs in Floodland are bland. In Lucretia my Reflection, the drums and the bass are very potent and catchy, along with the chorus, “I hear the sons of the city and dispossessed, get down, get undressed, get pretty but you and me, we got the kingdom, we got the key, we got the empire, now as then, we don’t doubt, we don’t take direction, Lucretia, my reflection, dance the ghost with me. The song Never Land has a very creepy and especially dark feel to it. The voice is barely understandable, which just makes the song more interesting. A synthesizer playing only a few notes ties the entire song together. The song is very simple, overall, as it contains little lyrics. “A fragment, I had a face on the mirror, I had a hand on the gun, I had a place in the sun and a ticket to Syria, I had everything within my reach, I had money and stuff, Each and every call, Too much but never enough, Tear it up and watch it fall.” The words themselves are very haunting, which captures the essence of the band. The song This Corrosion is very unique; it starts off with a church choir but transforms into a drum beat and a rougher voice. The catchy chorus “hey now, hey now now,” makes the song simple but catchy. It is very upbeat and a little less dark than the rest of the songs. The drums and the electric guitar, like the rest, stand out a lot in this song.

Floodland does compare to the rest of Sisters of Mercy’s albums, although not much. Every album has the same style, but improvements can definitely be seen after their first album. Catchier, more popular songs were released as the band gained fame. The deep voice belonging to Eldritch is consistent throughout the entire career, but the quality of music changed slightly, when Sisters of Mercy topped their first album and continued to do so with their other albums. Sisters of Mercy aren’t very influenced by other bands, but are similar to other older bands such as the Cure and Echo and the Bunnyman, which all have the same gray, gloomy sound.

Since Floodland contains many of the band’s best songs, it is one of their most famous albums.