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Even for a band as unique and uncompromising as dEUS is, it still makes sense to me that they began life as a covers band. How else would they be able to know the DNA of genres as disparate as punk, punk, jazz and prog rock well enough to splice them all together, sometimes in one great song, while still retaining an iron-clad sense of self and identity? That kind of open-mindedness can only come from playing a wide variety of different music and the earliest incarnations of dEUS did just that.
Shortly after forming, the band cut their teeth performing in Antwerp, Belgium’s Music Box venue, a noted hangout for artists, actors, musicians and performers from all over the city. That bohemian attitude rubbed off on the band during their most formative years, and frontman Tom Barman, along with founding bassist Stef Carlens, decided to write their own original material soon after settling in there.
Heartened by the material they were coming up with, Barman entered one of their first demos into a contest ran by longstanding Belgian rock magazine HUMO and reached the tournament finals. They might not have won the contest, but I don’t think they lost much sleep over it, as soon afterwards they became the first ever Belgian indie rock act to sign to a major international label, Island to be exact. If anything’s going to sooth the pain of losing a demo contest, becoming label-mates with U2 and PJ Harvey would do it better than most.
Their debut album “Worst Case Scenario” came out in 1994 and since then, they’ve become world renowned cult act, with their first three albums selling 750’000 copies all over the world. Six albums since that debut and they’re still going stronger than ever. They’re able to sell out arenas and multiple nights at concert halls in their native Belgium and slowly but surely they’re gaining a huge following all over Europe.
For a Belgian band to make it this big is already a good sign but a Belgian band this thrillingly unique? It’s a miracle. Highly recommended.
As the age of the rock duo continues to blossom, people constantly question the value of bassists in bands. Pedals and amp tricks can bring the low end just as well as any long-haired chump with a Gibson Thunderbird down by their knees, they seem to say. However, Andrew Eldritch and his dark hued rock ‘n’ roll project The Sisters of Mercy beg to differ. In their nearly 40 year history as a band they have never, ever, had a drummer on record or on tour. With them instead, is Doktor Avalanche, their faithful drum machine. Proving to thousands night after night that one doesn’t need a sticksman at all to rock like absolute monsters. Public perception might have them down as a Goth band but they’re a Goth band the same way that Motorhead are a metal band, which is to say that on the surface it might seem so, one doesn’t need to look hard to see that it doesn’t apply. The Sisters are a rock band to their very core; their music is loud, electric and raw. It deserves and demands to be seen live, Eldritch’s force of nature persona as a frontman is worth the price of admission alone but the performing trio of Eldritch, along with guitarists Chris Catalyst and Ben Christo have a chemistry and abandon that flies in the face of anyone who might think that performing with a drum machine makes the band any more static and any less exciting. These days, any band with a baritone singing frontman and a love of leather jackets owe something of a debt to them, so now’s a better time than any to see where it all began and have one hell of a good time along with it.
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