The Sisters of Mercy at Rockhal

One member of The Sisters of Mercy has been there in every line-up since 1980: the drummer, a machine called Doktor Avalanche. The Leeds band took their name from a Leonard Cohen song, became a cornerstone of gothic rock, and have kept touring without a studio album since 1990.

The Sisters of Mercy play the Rockhal Club on Sunday 8 November, with Real Farmer. Doors at 19:30.

Andrew Eldritch has kept the band on the road for four decades without releasing a studio album since 1990, which is either the most stubborn position in rock or the most consistent. The live show is loud, smoke-filled and deliberately hard to see through. Real Farmer, from the Netherlands, open.

Standing, in the Club. Forty years of gothic rock in a room this small is about as close as this band gets.

Who are The Sisters of Mercy?

The Sisters of Mercy formed in Leeds in 1980, started by Andrew Eldritch and Gary Marx. They took their name from a Leonard Cohen song heard in Robert Altman’s film McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Their dark, driving sound became a cornerstone of gothic rock, and from the very start their drummer has been a machine, known as Doktor Avalanche. Eldritch and the Doktor are the two constants through every line-up.

Early on, Eldritch told Melody Maker they were “not a provincial band, we’re a major entity.” The band have released no studio album since 1990, yet they have kept touring, and between 2019 and 2024 they played thirteen new songs on stage, among them “There’s a Door” and “Quantum Baby”.

Their records

• First and Last and Always (1985): the debut album, made with guitarist Wayne Hussey in the line-up.
• Floodland (1987): the big breakthrough, with “This Corrosion”, “Dominion” and “Lucretia My Reflection”.
• Vision Thing (1990): a harder, heavier sound, with the single “More”.

In 1992 the band re-recorded their 1983 single “Temple of Love” with the singer Ofra Haza. Songs to know before the night: “Alice”, “Temple of Love”, “This Corrosion”, “Dominion”, “Lucretia My Reflection” and “More”.

The 2026 tour

Belval comes near the end of a long autumn run across Europe: 35 shows in 15 countries, from Athens on 12 September to Stockholm on 16 November 2026. The Rockhal listing promises the classics alongside newer material, wrapped in a cinematic stage production.