Why The Sisters of Mercy never released another album

The Sisters of Mercy was formed in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England in 1980 and released their debut album “First and Last and Always” five years later in 1985. At that time the band was formed by Andew Eldritch (Vocals), Craig Adams (Bass), Wayne Hussey (Guitar, keyboards) and Gary Marx (Guitar) and already on that album the band used a drum machine that they later nicknamed “Doktor Avalanche”.

That debut album already showed all their potential and with the release of the second one “Floodland” in 1987, they became one of the most promising Goth Rock bands in the world. With only Eldritch remaining from the previous formation, he recruited the American bassist Patricia Morrison. With hits like “Dominion”, “Lucretia My Reflection” and “This Corrosion”, that album put them on the map definitely and performed well in many countries.

Three years later, Eldritch was the only remaining member from the previous formation. He recruited Tim Bricheno (Guitar), Andreas Bruhn (Guitar) and Tony James (Bass) to record a new album. The result was “Vision Thing”, which helped to consolidate their success. That album had hits like “More” and “Doctor Jeep”.

That was the last album that The Sisters of Mercy but the band remained active touring around the world the last three decades playing the songs from those albums. But why did the band never released another record?

Why The Sisters of Mercy never released another album

Well, The Sisters of Mercy actually wrote many new songs during the last three decades but they never recorded them in the studio and of course, never compiled them into an album. Instead they played them live in their concerts and that’s what’s been happening. There are more than 60 songs the group wrote after their last album and were never officially released. They were only played live by them.

The reason why they didn’t record them in the studio and made a new album was explained by Andrew Eldritch. He said that it takes effort and a lot of money to make an album. Since it is no longer a profitable business, he prefers to continue to tour and make money with the shows.

He explained that in an interview with Classic Rock in 2016. “Well, the fans have been hearing our new material for over 20 years at our concerts. And of course we’re incredibly grateful that they keep coming. The main problem with a new album is that I don’t want to blackmail my band into doing it for free. It takes a lot of work and effort. In this day and age music unfortunately no longer seems to have any value.”

He continued:

“On the one hand nobody wants to pay for it anymore, on the other the information overkill has led to a world in which mainly music devoid of any content is consumed. Add to that the fact that I haven’t spoken to the label in years and vice versa. I have thought about crowdfunding, but nothing is decided. I’m just glad people still listen to our old songs so much. At least in this respect the streaming boom has been advantageous for us. But we’ll see,” Andrew Eldritch said.

He once offered Rockstar Games a new album for free to be in a Grand Theft Auto game

Curiously, Andrew Eldritch confirmed in an interview with Mark Andrews in 2023 that he once offered to deliver a new Sisters of Mercy album for free to Rockstar Games. He wanted the new record to be part of a new Grand Theft Auto game but the company said no. “True. They didn’t even say, “Can we hear it first?” They just said, ‘No. Can’t be bothered,” Andew Eldritch said.

The band sold an estimated amount of more than 1 million records worldwide. Nowadays have more than 900 monthly listeners in Spotify, for example. It keeps being rediscovered by younger generations and having a good audience anywhere they go.

With almost four decades of existence the band continues be mysterious. The reason is that they don’t use the social networks a lot to connect with fans.

They have a really old website with the following message: “We are a rock’n’roll band. And a pop band. And an industrial groove machine. We are intellectual love gods. We make records, sometimes – we play concerts, sometimes. You’re here anyway. This website contains ninety-seven million words, which are ‘REDEMPTION’ and ‘BEACH'”.