“This Corrosion”: The Sisters of Mercy’s Monumental Gothic Anthem
By 1987, The Sisters of Mercy had already carved out cult status in the post-punk underground—but “This Corrosion” took everything to the next level. Released as the lead single from their album Floodland, it was bigger, louder, and more theatrical than anything they’d done before. Powered by Jim Steinman’s maximalist production and Andrew Eldritch’s cryptic lyricism, the track became a sprawling, cinematic blast of gothic rock that was impossible to ignore.
It wasn’t just moody—it was monumental.
Steinman’s bombastic magic
The band brought in Jim Steinman—best known for working with Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler—to produce the track, and the result was nothing short of operatic. “This Corrosion” comes loaded with 40-piece choirs, sweeping orchestration, pounding synths, and the ever-present industrial heartbeat of Doktor Avalanche, the band’s iconic drum machine.
Steinman pushed the sound to stadium-level scale, turning Eldritch’s dark musings into a gothic rock opera. The textures are dense, the energy relentless, and the atmosphere somewhere between a dystopian mass and a glam apocalypse.
Eldritch at his enigmatic best
At the center of it all is Andrew Eldritch, delivering his vocals with hypnotic, shadowy authority. His deep baritone flows through layers of sonic chaos with commanding presence, reciting verses steeped in disillusionment, betrayal, and near-spiritual decay. Fans and critics alike have speculated that the lyrics are a satirical jab at his former bandmates who formed The Mission, adding another layer of tension beneath the cryptic lines.
Think: ritual poetry meets post-punk vengeance.
A vision built for widescreen
The music video—directed by Stuart Orme—matched the scale of the song perfectly. Set in a windswept, stylized cathedral, it features Patricia Morrison amidst decaying grandeur, while Eldritch appears as a messianic figure bathed in shadows. Gothic excess, religious undertones, and moody cinematography all combine to reinforce the track’s aura of epic darkness.
Chart rise and underground glory
“This Corrosion” was the band’s biggest single to date, reaching No. 7 in the UK and No. 6 in Ireland, with solid placements in Germany and US club charts as well. It crossed over from the gothic underground into broader alternative scenes, pulling in both trenchcoat-clad purists and curious mainstream listeners.
The track also made waves in pop culture, appearing in the 2013 film The World’s End and finding its way into countless club playlists and darkwave compilations.
Still booming decades later
Whether blasting through headphones or shaking the walls of a goth club, “This Corrosion” holds up as one of the genre’s most powerful statements. It’s been covered by bands like Lambchop, In Extremo, and Diane Birch, sampled in heavy acts like Most Precious Blood, and reissued on collections like A Slight Case of Overbombing. It’s not just dramatic—it’s operatic. Not just dark—it’s grand.