Blasphemous Rumours by Skold

In the early days of Depeche Mode’s career, many dismissed the group as the kind of fluffy new wave electropop that was as inconsequential and easily discarded as chewed up bubblegum. Opinions began to change, however, as the group matured and darkened their sound for their fourth album, 1984’s Some Great Reward, which featured harsher sounds, edgier production and lyrical themes of BDSM (“Master & Servant”), persecution (“People Are People”) and, most powerfully, religious disillusionment on the controversial closing track “Blasphemous Rumours.”

Swedish industrial icon Skold knows a thing or two about controversy. As a member of Marilyn Manson’s band and even in his solo career, Skold has courted the wrath of the religious community for his use of spiritual imagery in both his album artwork and lyrics. Thus, it’s no surprise that DM’s “Blasphemous Rumours” would resonate with Skold, and no surprise also that his cover version would have an even sharper bite than the original. As Skold himself puts it, “Depeche Mode has obviously had a very big influence on me and the music I make. I chose this specific song mainly because the heart crushing lyrics but also
because of the very ‘industrial’ stylings of the track. I have covered Depeche Mode before together with Marilyn Manson [2004’s “Personal Jesus”] so I have “experience” for lack of a better term. It may be crazy but I see a clear line from Depeche Mode to music from more current artist too, for example XXXTentacion and the Weeknd and yeah I’m naming those 2 together to underscore the incredible diversity of music that is Depeche Mode.”