Hvad gør man, når en vital del af ens lyd (Alan Wilder) forlader bandet efter 13 år på grund af bad blood, ens frontmand er døden nær af en overdosis, og det er snart fire år siden, man har udgivet noget? Lægger man sig til at dø som et firserrelikvie, der fik lov lige at få start-90erne med? Nej. Man genopfinder sig selv som en trio med lidt mere triphop, lidt mere alternativ rockguitar, lidt flere industrialvibes og lidt mere introspektivitet. Resultatet blev hvad nogle fans kalder bandets “andet debutalbum" - ‘Ultra’ fra 1997 er synth-rockerne Depeche Modes niende plade, og emnet for denne omgang track-for-track.
Vi begynder med åbneren og førstesinglen:
1. Barrel of a Gun. En aggressiv åbner om at blive nedslidt og udmattet af folks forventninger. Inspireret af Gahans selvmordsforsøg.
(Instrueret af Anton Corbijn)
[Verse 1]
Do you mean this horny creep
Set upon weary feet
Who looks in need of sleep
That doesn't come?
[Verse 2]
This twisted, tortured mess
This bed of sinfulness
Who's longing for some rest
And feeling numb
[Pre-Chorus]
What do you expect of me?
What is it you want?
Whatever you've planned for me
I'm not the one
[Verse 3]
A vicious appetite
Visits me each night
And won't be satisfied
Won't be denied
[Verse 4]
An unbearable pain
A beating in my brain
That leaves the mark of Cain
Right here inside
[Pre-Chorus]
What am I supposed to do
When everything that I've done
Is leading me to conclude
I'm not the one?
[Chorus]
Whatever I've done
I've been staring down the barrel of a gun
Whatever I've done
I've been staring down the barrel of a gun
Whatever I've done (Whatever, whatever)
[Pre-Chorus]
Is there something you need from me?
Are you having your fun?
I never agreed to be
Your holy one
[Chorus]
Whatever I've done
I've been staring down the barrel of a gun
Whatever I've done (Whatever, whatever)
I've been staring down the barrel of a gun
Whatever I've done (Whatever, whatever)
I've been staring down the barrel of a gun
Dave Gahan skrev:This was a weird time for me. I wasn’t feeling particularly confident during the making of Ultra, and I had some rough times during it. In the middle of making it we stopped completely, and I had to go into a treatment place to get taken care of. I also got arrested during the course of that album, busted in Los Angeles, and then I was in real trouble. That was kind of the beginning of the end for me. I was still dabbling in the idea that I could play that game and also still continue my life, but the gig was up.
I was actually grateful for being arrested, for the judge that promised me that I would go to prison if I didn’t stay clean, because I listened to him and something clicked. Those two years when we were making that album and I had to go back and forth to court to prove to the judge that I’d stayed clean, it gave me this time to suddenly realize, ‘Oh, I can do this, I can crawl my way back, I can get better. And I do want to be here.’
But that record is one of my favorites, “Barrel of a Gun” in particular, because I think Martin was also playing with this imagery as well, sort of pointing the finger at me. When I perform that song now, it really describes the way I felt at that time: This creature that was barely existing, but somehow still thought he had it going on. Martin was spot-on with his lyrics. I mean, I don’t even know if the song was written about me, or for me, or poking at me to say ‘For f–k’s sake, get your s–t together!’ But it worked. I liked it.
