The Sisters of Mercy

Guitarists Wayne Hussey and Gary Marx look back at the U.K. rockers' darkly compelling 1985 debut, First and Last and Always

- JOEL MCIVER

LIKE THEIR COUNTERPARTS in the case of the Sisters of Mercy, the masters of doom who first came up with the somber, post-punk template that has fuelled a thousand goth bands since the Eighties, that denial is complete — at least if you ask their leader, Andrew Eldritch.

When GW sits down with the British band’s former guitarists Wayne Hussey and Gary Marx, however, they're a bit more relaxed about the goth tag: for them, the sole album that they made with Eldritch is simply a guitar-loaded classic. Recorded in 1984 in the English cities of Manchester and Reading by Hussey and Marx plus vocalist Eldritch, bassist Craig Adams and a drum machine nicknamed Doktor Avalanche, First and Last and Always was plagued with logistical difficulties. Eldritch suffered from ill-health during the sessions and was even hospitalized at one point; he was unable to come up with lyrics until long after the backing tracks were recorded; and his habit of working at night while the others recorded by day led to conflict, too. Certain band members’ enthusiastic consumption of amphetamines didn’t help matters, either.

Still, the album was eventually released by the Warner subsidiary WEA on March 11, 1985, reaching Number 14 in the U.K. and doing moderately well in Europe. The singles “Walk Away,” “No Time to Cry” and a U.S. radio release of “Black Planet” all did decent business, too. The none-more-atmospheric anthem “Marian (Version)” and the title cut are still essential listens for fans of mid-Eighties rock, but the album remains of cult rather than widespread appeal due to its introspective, relatively lo-fi vibe.