Track Listing

1. Vision Thing
2. Ribbons
3. Detonation Boulevard
4. Something Fast
5. When You Don't See Me
6. Doctor Jeep
7. More
8. I Was Wrong

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #68550 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-22
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
The third Sisters Of Mercy album, VISION THING, makes a dramatic shift from its predecessor, introducing heavy metal riffs to the band's genre-defining goth sound. Far from signifying a fundamental change in Andrew Eldritch's sound (once again, he had a new group of musicians with him, keeping onlythe drum machine, Doktor Avalanche), this combination is anexcellent sonic fit. The swaggering machismo of heavy metalsits nicely next to Eldritch's studiously straight-faced delivery of his colossally egocentric (and intentionally funny) lyrics.
Opening with the monster riff of the title track, VISION THING is a note-perfect parody of metal, while also pushing the boundaries of goth, something the Sisters havedone consistently with each of their releases. Standouts include "Ribbons", where the guitars alternately call to mind crashing waves and thunderclaps, and the caustic lyrics end in a desperate howl. "Doctor Jeep" is a jittery, caffeinatedswipe at American commercialism, and "More", a masterpiece of bombast built on a big, chugging guitar riff, incorporates everything from sawing, synthesized violins and a piano fade out, to gloriously selfish lyrics and swooping backing vocals.

Customer Reviews

outstanding
vision thing is the sound of a rock band at the height of its powers - an intellectual and visceral tour de force. it takes a different direction to other sisters output, with a clear metal inlfuence. but don't be fooled by the initially quite superficial sound, which will soon begin to reveal many layers and subtleties. this is a record fuelled not by testosterone and angst but by irony, wit and venom. never has a songwriter produced such astonishing lyrics: "her lovers queued up in the hallway/ i heard them scratching at the door/ i tried to tell her about marx and engels, god and angels/ i don't really know what for/ but she looked good in ribbons/ SO JUST WALK ON IN" and allied them to such a pounding, savage sound. it's not all amps turned up to 11, however, as a couple of more reflective songs shows. don't listen to those that will tell you the sisters are goths. they're not (although quite a few of their fans are). this is more than just a rock record. this is an example of rock band at its most audacious, its most ambitious. it's a towering achievement.

Underrated by both Goths and the mainstream
Ok - I was a goth, but that was ages ago. This album is genuine intelligent rock, like Radiohead with better lyrics, or the Smiths with more balls. Their other albums are rated better by the fans, but I've heard the lot and this is the one I keep coming back to. And yes, 'Ribbons' is brilliant.

Eh?
I don't know what went wrong here. The Sisters tried to go nasty, but Al Jourgensen's Ministry did it a zillion times better on the just plain scary "Psalm 69". "Vision Thing" is a near-comical farce.

With the exception of "Ribbons" (which ripped the place apart at The Sisters' 1991 10th anniversary gig) you can pretty much ignore the rest of this horrendous record. If "First And Last And Always" was as well produced as "Floodland", The Sisters would have made the only album they ever needed to. Instead it seems they forgot their own joke and "Vision Thing" was a laughable attempt at just that. I'm glad Eldritch stopped here.