THIS WEEK I’M LISTENING TO...MARQUIS DE SADE – Resurrection (Golden Core)

Although things appear to have been pretty quiet in the MdS camp since the release of their stunning comeback album ‘Chapter II’ in the summer of 2023 the band have been working on a project that’s been dear to their collective hearts, and which now sees the light of day.

Fans will know that back in the heyday of the NWOBHM the band (then featuring vocalist Kriss and bassist Pete Gordelier, guitarist Kevin and drummer Gary Pope and keyboard player San Remo) recorded just one single, the highly collectable and haunting ‘Somewhere Up In The Mountains’, before going their separate ways by the end of 1981. With a new line-up featuring guitarist Pauly Gordelier joining his brothers and Giles ‘Doc’ Holland on keyboards Marquis De Sade reformed just about the time that Covid shut the world down, but released ‘Chapter II’ as a statement of intent and have now followed it with ‘Resurrection’. A four-track EP, ‘Resurrection’ takes that original single and its more frenetic flipside ‘Black Angel’ and couples them with two brand new recordings of the tracks, this time with orchestral backing largely based around the violin playing of the hugely talented Hayley Pope (this band do like to keep things in the family!).

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Where this release scores massive metal points though lies in the fact that the orchestral treatments are not only hugely sympathetic to the original material, but also lift it to a higher level. It’s not unusual these days for bands to grab an orchestra as a way of getting a new release out of older material but, in my very humble opinion, it almost never works (apologies to KISS and Metallica fans in particular). What we have here though is a perfect partnership between the old and the new, and although I for one never thought you could better that 7” single these renditions elevate it to a new level. As beautiful as the original was, ‘Somewhere Up In The Mountains’ is now a sweeping elegy with its orchestral backing adding more substance to the verses and really punching home behind Pauly Gordelier’s exquisite solo. With its hacking intro, meanwhile, ‘Black Angel’ becomes a beast of a track, both effervescent and malevolent, with the orchestration driving the verses, that plaintive slow passage mid-song dominated by Pete Gordelier’s bass and yet another forceful solo almost wrenched from the fretboard. Kriss Gordelier has never sounded better, Doc Holland’s soundscapes add verve and depth, and Gary Pope – whose artwork is once again exemplary – hammers things along for all he’s worth.

Naturally, the updated production gives the material a bit more clout, but at the end of the day a great song is a great song, and that’s exactly what you’ve got here. ‘Resurrection’ is available on both CD and 12” and is a truly exceptionally release. Trust me on this...