Christian Death - Sick Of Love

By 1987, Christian Death had moved far beyond the raw deathrock of their earliest recordings. “Sick Of Love” belongs to a period when Valor Kand was pushing the band toward something increasingly theatrical, atmospheric, and unmistakably gothic.

Released in 1987, “Sick Of Love” comes from Christian Death’s The Scriptures era, with Valor Kand leading the band following Rozz Williams’ departure several years earlier. The lineup and sound had changed considerably, but the fascination with religion, sexuality, mortality, and provocation remained deeply embedded in Christian Death’s identity.

“Sick Of Love” leans into the more melodic side of the group’s gothic rock. Kand’s dramatic vocal delivery sits above chiming guitar, prominent bass, keyboards, and a steady rhythm that gives the song an almost hypnotic momentum. Rather than the frantic abrasion associated with early Christian Death, the atmosphere here is decadent and romantic, with darkness expressed through mood rather than sheer aggression.

The track is also representative of Christian Death’s increasingly European direction during the second half of the 1980s. After relocating their center of activity away from Los Angeles, the band became closely intertwined with the European goth scene, developing a sound that sat comfortably alongside the era’s darker post-punk while retaining Christian Death’s deliberately confrontational character.

This 1987 12-inch single on Jungle Records gives “Sick Of Love” room to stand apart from The Scriptures, capturing Christian Death during one of the most prolific and stylistically transitional stretches of their career. It’s a particularly interesting document of the divide between the band’s foundational American deathrock identity and the grander gothic rock that would increasingly define the Valor-led incarnation.

For listeners exploring Christian Death beyond Only Theatre of Pain, “Sick Of Love” reveals a very different chapter: darkly romantic, theatrical, melodic, and steeped in the atmosphere of late-’80s gothic rock.