"Dominion" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...

. It was released as the second single from their second studio album, '' Floodland'', in February 1988. The version on ''Floodland'' features "Dominion" as well as a

coda Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...

piece titled "Mother Russia". It was written by band frontman

Andrew Eldritch Andrew Eldritch (born Andrew William Harvey Taylor, 15 May 1959) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is the frontman and only remaining original member of the Sisters of Mercy, a band that emerged from the British post-punk scene, ...

and produced by Larry Alexander, Eldritch, and

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

. The song peaked at number 7 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

, number 13 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and number 30 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart.

Background and composition

Eldritch has revealed the song disguises an anti-American diatribe flavoured by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. At the time of release he also claimed that the second part of the song "Mother Russia" was a call for the West to give up Berlin to the Soviets, "because in reality they already control the city. It's only stupid to pretend otherwise". Recording of the song took place in 1987 at Power Station Studios in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

.
Mary Scanlon: "Bridge over Troubled Water" (in: '' Sounds (magazine), Sounds'' magazine 19 December 1987, page 10) Like its Steinman-produced twin "

This Corrosion "This Corrosion" is a song by English rock band The Sisters of Mercy, released as the lead single from their second studio album, '' Floodland'' (1987), in September 1987. The song peaked at number 6 in Ireland, number 7 in the UK, and number 17 in ...

", "Dominion/Mother Russia" features vocals from the New York Choral Society. The full version comprises two main parts, "Dominion" and "Mother Russia", with "Dominion" being released as a standalone single. The B-side "Ozymandias" is simply an edit of "Dominion", with most layers of the track played backwards except for the drums. When "Ozymandias" is itself in full played backwards, it sounds simply like a remix of "Dominion" with backwards-echoed drums, in a similar fashion to the drum layer in " Peek-a-Boo" by

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

. "Sandstorm" consists of various sampled saxophone and keyboard parts from "Dominion", mixed to a moody short instrumental track, which was used in the opening section of the video. "Untitled" is a slowed-down instrumental excerpt from "Dominion". A cover of the song "Emma" by

Hot Chocolate Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate ...

is also included.

Track listing

All songs written by

except "

Emma Emma may refer to: * Emma (given name) Film * Emma (1932 film), ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown * Emma (1996 theatrical film), ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow * Emma (1996 TV film), '' ...

", written by

Errol Brown Lester Errol Brown MBE (12 November 1943 – 6 May 2015) was a British-Jamaican singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the soul and funk band Hot Chocolate. In 2004, Brown received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contributi ...

and Tony Wilson.

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dominion Mother Russia 1987 songs 1988 singles The Sisters of Mercy songs Song recordings produced by Jim Steinman Songs written by Andrew Eldritch Songs about Russia Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements