Lmst

so this is both really annoying and kinda funny. i'm a TIDAL subscriber, and i got a notification that The Sisters of Mercy put out a new album, their first since 1993! as a goth i went HELL YEAH and went to listen.

the title is "Gregorian Chants for Inner Renewal and Sacred Calm"...okay? maybe ironic? NOPE listened and this definitely ain't them

anyway TIL that there's a Christian band by the same name :blobcat_cry:

#music #thesistersofmercy #goth

Screenshot of the TIDAL artist page for The Sisters of Mercy, showing Lucretia My Reflection, This Corrosion, and the Gregorian Chants album next to their last album, Vision Thing, released in 1990.

Hey now hey now now
#Floodland38
#thesistersofmercy

Happy anniversary to The Sisters Of Mercy’s album, ‘Floodland’. Released this week in 1987. #thesistersofmercy #floodland #thiscorrosion #dominion #1959 #lucreciamyreflection

Esprit D’Air – Aeons Review

By Baguette of Bodom

Electronic music and metal joining forces is often treated with suspicion. Not electronic in the ‘band member finds a Casio keyboard in their cellar’ sense,1 but a genuine fusion of the two with synthesizers on the forefront. Esprit D’Air is one of the more recent bands making waves with their take on this mix. A Japanese band formed in London in 2010 and spearheaded by Kai (The Sisters of Mercy—yes, that one), they’ve quickly formed their identity around a catchy blend of alternative metal, J-rock, and trance, among other stranger things. One break-up and reformation later, debut album Constellations finally appeared in 2017, followed by 2022’s Oceans and 2024’s Seasons.2 Fourth full-length Aeons is looking to delve deeper into Esprit D’Air’s niche, attempting a more varied package without any of their usual guest features help. How do they handle this melting pot of genres alone?

Aeons is here to have fun, first and foremost. While the resurrected post-2016 incarnation of Esprit D’Air is technically a solo project—Kai being the only ‘official’ full-time member—they do function as a band in practice. Frontman Kai and partner-in-crime Takeshi Tokunaga are behind most of the album’s writing and instrumentation, with Jan-Vincent Velazco handling the drum department. It’s difficult to pin down simple comparison points to Esprit D’Air’s genre soup shenanigans, but the majority of Aeons is built around alternative metal filtered through an anthemic, rock-oriented quality, the likes of X Japan (“Like a Phoenix”). Occasionally, their sound even leans towards the AOR, power-ish metal soar of newer Battle Beast (“Shadow of Time,” “Silver Leaf”). The guitar work usually resides next to or behind the keyboards, but it does a fine job adding extra heaviness to the album, and the instrumentation in general is tight and snappy. Kai’s vocal chops also play a major role on the record, further decorating strong choruses with melodic, J-rock-inspired vocal lines (“Chronos,” “羽ばたけ”).

Esprit D’Air has a penchant for strong hooks, especially on keyboards. Tracks like “Silver Leaf” and “Like a Phoenix” highlight the album’s greatest strengths, fusing together J-rock with extremely catchy synth patches that borrow from both techno and trance. Crucially, its multifaceted arsenal of keyboard and guitar styles makes the songs distinct from one another. Though the guitars could be more prominent, their relatively simplistic rhythmic role is complemented by powerful leads and intricate solo work when needed. The band’s attitude on instrumentation and songwriting is at times reminiscent of the way Elyose fuses early 2000s electronic and metal influences together, occasionally drifting towards their modern djentier alt-metal sound (“Chronos,” Lost Horizon”) or even the melodic downtuned attack of Periphery (“Quetzalcoatl”). Through their spectrum of styles, Aeons fulfills the band’s threat to feature more variety in a sleeker form.

The variety of Aeons, while intriguing, is a double-edged sword. There’s a particular spot around tracks 8–10 where the album’s alternative edge morphs into an edgier, nu-informed sound, both instrumentally and vocally (“Broken Mirror,” “絶望の光”). Despite Esprit D’Air kind of pulling it off, it doesn’t fit the album’s mood, especially not with all of it centered on one region. Half-ballad “Stardust” also quiets the album’s thunder somewhat, its bright but melancholic soundscape causing Kai to overstep his optimal vocal range. Fortunately, the majority of Aeons is memorable and at times even infectious. Its brevity softens its missteps; where Oceans landed at almost an hour, Aeons does more in nearly half the amount of time. This slick 35-minute runtime means its speed bumps aren’t fatal, but the middle of the album does still sag in comparison to the powerful start and finish.

Aeons ends up being an entertaining, tight bundle of melodic genre-defying goodness. Its catchy rock/metal attack blends together everything ’00s, and the electronic influences are particularly satisfying. The record’s inconsistency does leave something to be desired, and its sonical direction is unfocused at points, but the positives ultimately outweigh its stumbles. When I picked up the promo for Aeons, I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into or what to expect. Now, it’s apparent Esprit D’Air have made an album that amounts to more than its components imply. I reckon their appeal can reach beyond their cited genre tags, and there’s plenty of room to further expand on their best qualities in the future.

Rating: Good!
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: FLAC
Label: Starstorm Records (self-run)
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: November 7th, 2025

#2025 #30 #aeons #alternativeMetal #battleBeast #electronicMetal #electronicore #elyose #espritDair #jRock #japaneseMetal #nov25 #periphery #review #reviews #starstormRecords #theSistersOfMercy #tranceMetal #xJapan

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #VarietyMix The Sisters of Mercy: 🎵 Lucretia My Reflection #TheSistersofMercy ▶️ 🪄 Automagic 🔊 show 📻 playlist on Spotify ▶️ Song/Cover on #Bandcamp:

Cover The Sisters Of Mercy - L...

extended video for extended Never Land by The Sisters Of Mercy

24 minutes long ( #train #snow )

(a murmury version and a version with lyrics)

#TheSistersOfMercy

https://youtu.be/E9YEiEwhHwk

Ribbons from Vision Thing by The Sisters of Mercy

#TheSistersOfMercy 🎀🎃🎀

(but video is clips fromthefilm Underworld featuring Kate Beckinsale, Michael Sheen and that bonjovilookingguy)

https://youtu.be/kYmq6e4B8Gg

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #AfternoonShow The Sisters of Mercy: 🎵 Alice #TheSistersofMercy ▶️ 🪄 Automagic 🔊 show 📻 playlist on Spotify ▶️ Song/Cover on #Bandcamp:

The Sisters Of Mercy - Alice (...

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #LaurenLaverne

The Sisters of Mercy:
🎵 Lucretia My Reflection

#TheSistersofMercy

https://daskelzer.bandcamp.com/track/cover-the-sisters-of-mercy-lucretia-my-reflection

https://open.spotify.com/track/20goDx14UZviYtCPtLbqvs

Na dobry początek: jakiś tydzień temu obchodziliśmy 35. urodziny "Vision Thing", a to oznacza, że właśnie od tylu lat The Sisters of Mercy nie nagrało nowego materiału.

Nie wierzę już, że taki stan rzeczy kiedykolwiek ulegnie zmianie, dlatego przygotowałem zestawienie projektów pobocznych zarówno samego Andrew Eldritcha, jak i towarzyszących mu muzyków, oraz parę innych niespodzianek, których możemy posłuchać w zastępstwie.

Enjoy: https://jeszczenie.pl/the-sisters-of-mercy-nie-wyda-juz-nowej-plyty-oto-czego-mozemy-posluchac-zamiast-niej/ (a jak polecacie coś jeszcze, to oczywiście chętnie obadam!)

#TheSistersOfMercy #muzyka #postpunk

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #VarietyMix The Sisters of Mercy: 🎵 Lucretia My Reflection #TheSistersofMercy ▶️ 🪄 Automagic 🔊 show 📻 playlist on Spotify ▶️ Song/Cover on #Bandcamp:

Cover The Sisters Of Mercy - L...

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #MorningShow The Sisters of Mercy: 🎵 This Corrosion #TheSistersofMercy ▶️ 🪄 Automagic 🔊 show 📻 playlist on Spotify ▶️ Song/Cover on #Bandcamp:

This Corrosion (The Sisters Of...

#theSistersOfMercy

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