Concert Review: The Sisters of Mercy Return to ACL Live: Goth icons cast a bewitching spell over their rabid Austin fanbase.
This past Sunday, The Sisters of Mercy played their second performance in Austin in just over a year. This was a welcome surprise, given the 17-year absence that preceded their 2023 return.
Darkwave duo Blaqk Audio (featuring AFI members Davey Havok and Jade Puget) opened, and quickly won over the crowd with their synth-driven earworms and Havok’s melodramatic vocals. Sporting a glittery ensemble and an awe-inducing mullet, Havok was a captivating presence throughout.
The Sisters followed shortly after, emerging from billows of smoke, kicking things off with a medley of Doctor Jeep and Detonation Boulevard, with drum machine Docktor Avalanche (operated by Chris Catalyst) supplying a reliable whipcrack beat.
Vocalist Andrew Eldritch’s inimitable, unholy croak remains intact, even if his impossibly low baritone was occasionally hard to discern, but it emerged triumphant on tracks like the churning, serrated Ribbons and their hypnotic first single Alice.
Eldritch was flanked by two guitarists: his longtime axe man Ben Christo (click here for my recent interview), and new guitarist Kai.
They cut shadowy poses throughout, with Christo’s towering mane staying perfectly in place during his guitar heroics, while Kai brought a metal energy to the proceedings, perpetually in motion as he blasted out searing riffs.
Much of the set pulled from material that has never been officially released, a point of contention for fans who have been pining for a new Sisters release ever since 1990’s Vision Thing.
No matter, however, as newish material like Summer, Don’t Drive on Ice, and Eyes of Caligula blended in perfectly with the group’s better-known singles and deep cuts. Speaking of deep cuts, Eldritch and co. busted out a searing rendition of Giving Ground, a track from his short-lived project The Sisterhood.
Eldritch managed to be both low-key and compelling, stalking the stage, occasionally putting his face in front of a spotlight to dramatic effect during songs like their classic More, which has lost none of its sexy stomp, and fan favorite Temple of Love, which featured Kai on backing vocals, expertly emulating the late Ofra Haza’s ethereal wail.
The band returned for an encore (which allowed Eldritch to smoke the cigarette that was dangling anxiously from his hand throughout the set). Lucretia My Reflection remains an all-time banger, while their iconic hit This Corrosion (off hit album Floodland) made goths of a certain age (me included) feel like it was 1987 all over again.
Who knows if we’ll be blessed with another Sisters of Mercy performance in 2025, or if we’re due for a longer gap between appearances. Here’s hoping for the former.
