The Sisters of Mercy : Dominion/Mother Russia
[purchase]
Mother Russia, released in 1987, is about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster the year before. The "old man in a dry season", a reference to a T.S. Eliot line, is Reagan, and the whole song expresses Andrew Eldritch's anti-American sentiments, with numerous references to the Cold War.
The Sisters of Mercy released 3 albums, each with a different line-up; the consistent member is Eldritch (well, and his drum machine, Doktor Avalanche). Their last recording was in 1993, but they (for various values of "they") still tour. In fact, I enjoyed their gothic rock sound so much that I ventured off to see them live a few years ago, which turned out to be one of the weirder and most distancing concerts I'd ever been to. The continuous use of 3 fog machines rendered the stage nearly opaque, so much so that it wasn't until halfway through the show that I realized there was actually a live bass player up there—and I was a mere 15 feet from the stage. At least I presume he was live. I don't think any of us could tell if the musicians were simply acting out to prerecorded music or not, and the in-between comments were kept to an absolute minimum.
I do recommend their music as great work-out stuff, though. That heavy drum beat is hard to surpass for exercising to.
