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Rating: After a long wait, they have returned to make headlines for better or for worse.
Four long years after the unfinished "Exciter," the DM present themselves with "Playing The Angel," starting to play with double meanings (as Gahan says, the double meaning between playing the angel and acting the role of the angel...) before playing with their favorite toy, electronics.
A sort of siren accompanied by saturated samples introduces A Pain That I'm Used To, which will be the second single released from the album. The verse is elegant, dark and played on semitones before exploding into a chorus that heavily resembles Nine Inch Nails with the use of distorted synths and the robust beat of the rhythm section.
Without much astonishment, we move to the following and more convincing John The Revelator, where we magically go back in time, to the periods of Violator or even Music For The Masses, classic 80s beat and especially a voice full of reverb as in the best Eighties style, all surrounded by gospel choirs that give depth to the chorus. A track that pumps.
Thus arrives the first of three signatures by Dave Gahan, often considered a great frontman but not very incisive in arrangement, scores a good track. Suffer Well has an aggressive and futuristic tempo in which the guitar plays a fundamental role creating instability with the use of semi-distorted power chords; the track slides by with pleasure even if one expects a more incisive chorus.
The Sinner In Me, a piece that refers a lot to the best Barrel Of A Gun, in perfect Depeche Mode style presents Gore's voice an octave higher than Gahan's, an experiment done in the past but always effective, capable of creating a mix of unease and sweetness. The finale is a crescendo of distorted and hypnotic synths.
We then arrive at the single Precious aired billions of times on Mtv and All music... it's definitely a great single, very well arranged but it lacks a couple of things: it refers too much to the much-celebrated Enjoy The Silence and listening to the entire CD the song seems a bit out of context. Beautiful... but a standalone single.
Gore remembers he can also sing and when he does it's enveloping... this happens when listening to Macro, one of the two songs sung by the leader-composer-genius of the group. The vocal line is higher than the songs sung by Gahan in the rest of the album... it feels like a sort of prayer sung with emphasis in the hope of being heard by those far away. The final intertwining of the guitars seems to give resignation to this request. It's one of the most beautiful episodes of the album.
Subsequent tracks by Gahan, I Want It All and Nothing's Possible, aren't as convincing as the previous Suffer Well, especially the latter remains too static while in I Want It All it's interesting the change from minor to major keys in the verse even though the chorus is not very incisive.
After Introspectre... one of those instrumental parentheses that, as in "Ultra," allow you to catch your breath before the finale, Gore returns to the voice in Damaged People, a more intimate track than the previous one but not for this reason above the lines. Moving.
Before the conclusion of this chapter, we dive back into 80s sounds with Lilian, one of the easiest tracks to listen to but not for this reason predictable, which brings back energy after Gore's intimate reflection.
The Darkest Star is the dark conclusion of an album with gray tones, here everything is finally tinged with black, even Gahan's voice, almost robotic... The choirs give even more the feeling of instability.
In conclusion, this comeback can never be compared to gems like "Violator" or "Songs Of Faith And Devotion," perhaps it's even a tad below "Ultra," but compared to the recent past the three survivors of the star life storms still have something to say and have what it takes to do so, even managing to surprise with an unexpected return to dark-laden sounds.
P.S: I would have liked to give it half a point more but I can't... for me it’s worth 3.5/5
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 A Pain That I'm Used To (04:11)
I'm not sure what I'm looking for anymore
I just know that I'm harder to console
I don't see who I'm trying to be instead of me
But the key is a question of control
Can you say what you're trying to play anyway
I just pay while you're breaking all the rules
All the signs that I find have been underlined
Devils thrive on the drive that is fueled
All this running around, well it's getting me down
Just give me a pain that I'm used to
I don't need to believe all the dreams you conceive
You just need to achieve something that rings true
There's a hole in your soul like an animal
With no conscience, repentance, oh no
Close your eyes, pay the price for your paradise
Devils feed on the seeds of the soul
I can't conceal what I feel, what I know is real
No mistaking the faking, I care
With a prayer in the air I will leave it there
On a note full of hope not despair
All this running around, well it's getting me down
Just give me a pain that I'm used to
I don't need to believe all the dreams you conceive
You just need to achieve something that rings true
All this running around, well it's getting me down
Just give me a pain that I'm used to
I don't need to believe all the dreams you conceive
You just need to achieve something that rings true
02 John the Revelator (03:42)
John the Revelator, put him in a elevator
Take him up to the highest high
Take him up to the top where the mountains stop
Let him tell his book of lies
John the Revelator, he's a smooth operator
It's time we cut him down to size
Take him by the hand, and put him on the stand
Let us hear his alibis
By claiming God as his holy right
He's stealing a God from the Israelites
Stealing a God from a Muslim too
There is only one God through and through
Seven lies multiplied by seven
Multiplied by seven again
Seven angels with seven trumpets
Send them home on the morning train
Well who's that shouting, John the Revelator
All he ever gives us is pain
Well who's that shouting, John the Revelator
He should bow his head in shame
By and By
By and By
By and By
By and By
Seven lies multiplied by seven
Multiplied by seven again
Seven angels with seven trumpets
Send them home on the morning train
Well who's that shouting, John the Revelator
All he ever gives us is pain
Well who's that shouting, John the Revelator
He should bow his head in shame
By and By, By and By
John the Revelator
By and By, John the Revelator
By and By, John the Revelator
03 Suffer Well (03:49)
Where were you when I fell from grace,
a frozen heart an empty space
Something's changing it's in your eyes,
please don't speak they're only lies
I found treasure not where I thought
peace of mind that can't be bought,
Still I believe
I just hang on, and suffer well
sometimes it's hard, it's hard to tell
An angel lead me when I was blind
I said take me back I changed my mind
and now I believe
From the blackest room I was torn
you called my name, a love was born
So I believe
I just hang on, and suffer well
sometimes it's hard, it's hard to tell
I just hang on, and suffer well
sometimes it's hard, so hard to tell
04 The Sinner in Me (04:56)
If I could just hide
The sinner inside
And keep him denied
How sweet life would be
If I could be free
From the sinner in me
I'll never be a saint
That's not a picture that your memory paints
Not renowned for my patience
I'm not renowned for my restraint
But you're always around
You can always be found
To pick me up when I'm on the ground
If I could just hide
The sinner inside
And keep him denied
How sweet life would be
If I could be free
From the sinner in me
I'm still recovering
Still getting over all the suffering
More known for my anger
Than for any other thing
But you've always tried
To be by my side
And catch my fall when I start to slide
If I could just hide
The sinner inside
And keep him denied
How sweet life would be
If I could be free
From the sinner in me
05 Precious (04:10)
Precious and fragile things
Need special handling
My God what have we done to You?
We always try to share
The tenderest of care
Now look what we have put You through...
Things get damaged
Things get broken
I thought we'd manage
But words left unspoken
Left us so brittle
There was so little left to give
Angels with silver wings
Shouldn't know suffering
I wish I could take the pain for you
If God has a master plan
That only He understands
I hope it's your eyes He's seeing through
Things get damaged
Things get broken
I thought we'd manage
But words left unspoken
Left us so brittle
There was so little left to give
I pray you learn to trust
Have faith in both of us
And keep room in your hearts for two
Things get damaged
Things get broken
I thought we'd manage
But words left unspoken
Left us so brittle
There was so little left to give
06 Macro (04:03)
Overflowing senses
Heightened awareness
I hear my blood flow
I feel its caress
Whispering cosmos
Talking right to me
Unlimited, endless
God breathing through me
See the microcosm
In macro vision
Our bodies moving
With pure precision
One universal celebration
One evolution
One creation
Thundering rhythm
Pounding within me
Driving me onwards
Forcing me to see
Clear and enlightening
Right there before me
Brilliantly shining
Intricate beauty
See the microcosm
In macro vision
Our bodies moving
With pure precision
One universal celebration
One evolution
One creation
11 Lilian (04:49)
Oh Lilian
Look what you've done
You've stripped my heart
Ripped it apart
In the name of fun
Oh Lilian
I'm a poor man's son
And precious jewels
Weren't found in schools
Where I came from
Pain and misery
Always hit the spot
Knowing you can't lose
What you haven't got
Oh Lilian
I should have run
I should have known
Each dress you own
Is a loaded gun
Oh Lilian
Oh Lilian
I need protection
I hear your voice
And any choice I had is gone
Oh Lilian
Once I'd begun
I couldn't stop
Till every drop
Of blood was sung
Pain and misery
Always hit the spot
Knowing you can't lose
What you haven't got
Oh Lilian
Look what you've done
You stripped my heart
Ripped it apart
In the name of fun
Oh Lillian
Oh Lillian
Oh Lillian
Oh Lillian
12 The Darkest Star (06:55)
Oh you sad one
Playing the Angel
Isn’t so easy where you’re from
Oh you wild one
Devil’s companion
You won’t stay satisfied for long
I don’t want you to change anything you do
I don’t want you to be someone else for me
Oh you dark one
Eternal outsider
Caught in the spider’s web you’ve spun
Oh you blind one
Gentle and kind one
Seeing the world as a loaded gun
I don’t want you to change anything you do
I don’t want you to be someone else for me
Stay as you are the darkest star
Shining for me
Majestically
I don’t want you to change anything you do
I don’t want you to be someone else for me
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Other reviews
By AR (Anonima Recensori)
The first notes of the new work announce a return to the origins, a balanced piece that is at the same time simple and brilliant.
Honoring the mysterious charm that still envelops this immortal band and its devotees even after 25 years.
By ma3x
Once the CD was put in the CD player, I shut up (which for some is really an event...).
It’s rough, dirty just right (probably the hard covers from various Manson types added a bit of spice)...
By Torre Ste
"The first track must capture the listener’s attention, and this song succeeds completely, marking a return to the golden years of the group’s sound."
"‘Precious’ is somewhat the new ‘Enjoy The Silence,’ with the same bite, the same melancholy, the same minimalism, yet at the same time as bright as few."
By Boris
"Playing the Angel seems to be a synthesis of two distinct periods of DM: those of the early ’80s and those of the late ’80s and early ’90s."
"DM have conceived an album worthy of their best works, capable of synthesizing 25 years of music as only a few bands can do."
By Giordyboy
"PAIN AND SUFFERING IN VARIOUS TEMPOS" perfectly summarizes the album.
"Perhaps it’s one of the most beautiful Depeche Mode songs ever."
