From “Sister of Night” to “My Cosmos Is Mine”: Here are ten really dark Depeche Mode tracks.
Do you want it darker?
1. “To Have And To Hold” (from MUSIC FOR THE MASSES, 1987)
At the beginning, a Soviet radio announcer can be heard reporting on the dangers of the nuclear arms race. The song is based on a Gore demo that sounds even poppier. Alan Wilder shifts it to claustrophobic darkness.
But Martin Gore doesn’t completely abandon his original idea: his lighter version, “To Have And To Hold (Spanish Taster)”, is a bonus track on the CD version of the album.
2. “Death’s Door” (from the soundtrack of “Until the End of the World”, 1991)
Wim Wenders has already assembled an amazing team for the soundtrack to his film: U2, REM, Nick Cave, Patti Smith, Lou Reed. He would also like to have Depeche Mode. Gore suggests a piece he had left over because it didn’t fit VIOLATOR’s sound. Wilder arranges it as a dark cool jazz piece in the style of the Twin Peaks soundtrack. A slightly warmer “jazz mix” later becomes the B-side of the 1993 single “Condemnation”.
3. “One Caress” (from SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION, 1993)
An excursion into “electronic music”: Almost on a whim, a string quartet takes over the instrumentation, Martin Gore sings along almost spontaneously, with a certain awe at the skills of the studied musicians. The composition sounds sacred, celebratory in a diffuse way – and like no other piece by the band.
4. “Judas” (from SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION, 1993)
At the beginning, Depeche Mode play bagpipes with reverb, then the song transitions into a slow rhythm before dark strings underlie the melody in the chorus. The text is about toxic love: about betrayal, doubts – and the false belief that love has something to do with submission. For the final mantra “If you want my love,” the band uses several dozen vocal tracks.
5. “Sister Of Night” (from ULTRA, 1997)
Dave Gahan has attempted suicide; heroin is taking over his life and ruining his abilities as a singer. He doesn’t get much done in the studio in New York; sometimes he has to sing the tracks line by line.
“Sister Of Night” is nevertheless a masterpiece: Gahan enters the dark world of Gore’s composition, sings truthfully and with dark elegance.
6. “The Dead of Night” (by EXCITER, 2001)
A zombie story about the broken nightlife in London at the end of the nineties, inspired by a club in the East End where drug use in the VIP areas creates a diabolical zombie world in which broken characters destroy themselves. The synthesizers should sound as dirty as possible. Hardly any song by the band takes you out of your comfort zone so much: uneasy listening.
7. “The Darkest Star” (from PLAYING THE ANGEL, 2005)
The unofficial title track of the album PLAYING THE ANGEL – the title refers to the eternal inner duel between angel and devil. The lyrics are also a homage to the band’s fans, to the “eternal outsiders” who have the courage to face their dark side: “Stay as you are the darkest star / Shining for me, majestically.”
8. “Jezebel” (from SOUNDS OF THE UNIVERSE, 2009)
As is so often the case, Gore’s love ends up in hell via a few detours. In an interview he says: “Betrayal, longing, suffering, religion and sex – all in one song. Maybe I’ve finally written the ultimate Depeche Mode song lyrics?”
The music sounds like a cosmic electro march, quite uplifting, but be careful: “You’re going straight to hell.”
9. “The Worst Crime” (by SPIRIT, 2017)
SPIRIT is an album of songs about worldly sins: the regression of civilization, the failure of the West – or, in this piece, climate change as a man-made apocalypse in progress. Martin Gore cannot imagine a greater crime.
The music sounds like the end times version of a Morricone soundtrack.
10. “My Cosmos Is Mine” (by MEMENTO MORI, 2023)
Shot by the news and attacks of the past few months, Gore forbids any further intrusion in the text: “My Cosmos Is Mine”.
The music hisses and rumbles, offering a sensational intermediate part that is reminiscent of the Sparks’ art-pop theatrics – just lived out in the basement.