There were few albums at the time this dark yet able to remain catchy and vibrant. The Cure's "Pornography" was equally dark but not nearly as accessible - not necessarily a bad thing depending what you want. Bauhaus may have been more artistic, yet it took many years for a larger audience to realize their brilliance.

All in all, this may be the Sisters best. I have heard it maybe 1,000 times and every song has been a favorite at one time or another. "Nine While Nine", "Marian", "Some Kind of Stranger and the title track are epic tales of loss, betrayed love, smoldering desperation and loneliness. A must for anyone a little dark on the inside.

Note: for people who claim that Fields of the Nephilim were nothing more than a Sisters clone, that is a sad and empty claim that reflects more on your lack of knowledge than on reality. It may have seemed true at first but Nephilim went on to release several amazing works. "The Nephilim" and "Elizium" are unparalelled in this genre and most others, including TSOM. "Elizium" might be the most fully realized vision ever created in what is called Goth but it transcends the label so greatly it is pointless to use the term.


Sisters' impressive debut album   May 3, 2000
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

After years of obscure demo's and some notable classics ("Body Electric", "Temple of Love", "Alice", "Gimme Shelter") all compiled on "Some Girls Wander by Mistake", this marks the beginning of three superb albums by the Sisters of Mercy. "First and Last and Always" (followed by "Floodland" and "Vision Thing") is a very strong debut album. It contains the somewhat radio friendly singles "Walk Away" and "No Time to Cry". The rest of the album is very dark. Eldritch' cemetery voice is perfectly offset by almost danceable electronic drums performed by the living drum machine Dr. Avalanche. "Marian" is haunting with dark german lyrics showing up halfway through the song. "First and Last and Always", "Nine while Nine" and "Logic" are very strong compositions with their repetive, hypnotic rhythms. This is not just goth-music, this is a milestone.


100+ Stars...   February 9, 2004
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Folks, I have a tendancy to change my favorite artist/album, very often. I know I recently stated ELO's 'Discovery' as my all-time favorite, but after listening to this album a few times today, I have been forced to change my mind. I may change again, and trust me it gets annoying - but I will never stop loving this album. The guitars are low, haunting, and chiming echos that linger in your thoughts for the longest time. Eldrich is a pure musical genious. His dark, haunting, and extremley low vocals have influenced every Goth band this side of the equator. Amazing vocals. This music sounds like something you would hear at a graveyard. It's not rock, It's not metal, It's...Goth. It is hard to describe. IT Is beautifully crafted, dark, romantic, classical influenced goth music. And It's excellent. Everything. 'Black Planet', 'Walk Away', 'No Time To Cry' and 'Marian' are all dark and brooding, dismal and dreary. They my disturb as during the music you will begin to think of death. But this music is excellent. A must own, pure brilliance - A Classic.


dark beats, dark glasses, dark hair and dark all over Europe   December 28, 2000
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

The Sisters' first LP, this is the only one to feature the lineup that made the Sisters name infamous, created two bands called the Sisterhood, and eventually split up to form the new "Floodland" SOM and the Mission. At this point, the band is Wayne Hussey and Craig Adams, Gary Marx, the unmistakeable drum machine Doktor Avalanche, and Mr. GAF himself, Andrew Eldritch. Musically, this is the most basic rock album the Sisters made, nothing at all like Floodland or even Vision Thing. The beats are simple and dark, the guitars are screaming all the basic Goth chords, the production doesn't even exist, and you can practically hear smoke machines in Andrew's voice. Hussey's voice is pretty unmissable in some of the backgrounds, too. The lyrics are all about abandonment and drugs, sex and drugs, death and drugs, and general malaise and drugs. Oh yeah, and some darkness too. It sounds cool even if it doesn't mean a lot. Worth checking out if you like old Cranes, Rosetta Stone, Paradise Lost, Course of Empire, the early Mission, maybe even Iggy Pop in his 80s incarnation. And if you really like FALAA, check out Some Girls Wander etc. - most of the songs on it are by the same lineup, and musically they're pretty similar.