The Sisters Of Mercy – Live at The Roundhouse 10/09/2021

Written by Kahmel Farahani on September 17, 2021

The first of three consecutive night’s at the Roundhouse in Camden, The Sisters of Mercy have returned to play the first live show they’ve done in 18 months. As the curtain falls, the drum machine and smouldering guitars of `But Genevieve` kick off this special night. Its one of several new songs in the setlist tonight.

Its clear from the start that this is not a tired run at the greatest hits, but a band that’s still hungry after 40 years. gorgeous textures of electric and acoustic guitars balanced to perfection by guitarists Ben Christo and Dylan Smith. This is the art of The Sisters of Mercy at their best – a smoky, often sensual, occasionally ferocious blend of sonic textures with the drum machine merely providing the occasional punctuation.

Sisters Of Mercy Andrew

“We’ve had to go through so many preparations, but we are here! And you are here” frontman Andrew Eldritch tells the crowd gathered tonight, who respond with a delighted roar. One thing is for certain tonight: it seems that those 18 months away have revitalized often irascible frontman Andrew Eldritch, who is in a positively glowing mood tonight. For tonight’s performance, his vocals are near as makes no difference album perfect, with many fans in attendance muttering its the best he has ever sounded live. “No, no, no…than YOU” Eldritch tells the delighted crowd following a superb run through of `Flood II`.

Sisters Of Mercy live

The Sisters Of Mercy’s lead guitarist Ben Christo told TotalRock’s own Kahmel Farahani before the show:

“We’re looking forward to playing these shows! It’s become a bit of a tradition over the last 10 years for The Sisters to play The Roundhouse and we’ve had some fantastic nights there. Its the 40th anniversary so we’re going to be playing the classics, the hits and some new stuff we’re really excited about so we can’t wait for you guys to hear that! Its going to be great to be back on stage again and playing to the fans again, particularly because our last tour only got 4 dates in before it was cancelled, due to covid and it just felt really curtailed, so picking up where we left off about 18 months ago is kind of weird, but very exciting”.

Tonight’s long and varied setlist saw new songs like `Black Sails` nestling comfortable alongside fan favourites like `First and Last and Always`. If there is indeed a new Sisters Of Mercy album on the horizon, it’s shaping up to be a great one. “Damn, this has been a long time coming” says a satisfied Andrew Eldritch before the band began their encore with `Never Land (A Fragment)`. It’s followed by a superb run though of `Lucretia My Reflection`.

A standing ovation leads the band back on stage for their 2nd encore tonight. The Sisters Of Mercy end with the big guns, `More`and `Temple Of Love` before finally finishing with `This Corrosion`. Another huge round of applause and the 1st night is done. Tonight the Sisters of Mercy played what felt like a comeback gig and they proved to their fans and nay-sayers alike that they still have it.