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With a gimmicky name like this, I wasn't expecting much from this band. If they were from Taiwan or something I might believe it was an accident, but Depeche Mode are so well-known in Europe I knew this could be nothing except a joke. Not a good sign. Surprisingly, Depressed Mode are not terrible.

This band plays gothy Doom/death in the vein of later Paradise Lost stuff with maybe a little My Dying Bride thrown in. The riffs are heavy and slow, but they leaven them with a lot of keys and piano accompaniment. The vocals trade off between a typical rasp/clean approach and some very pretty female vocals of a mournful, non-operatic style. The band tries hard to create a deep, emo atmosphere, and they do pretty well. The problem is that overall there is just not enough going on to sustain the album through its entire running time. Ghosts of Devotion is gloomy and dark, but not as interesting or majestic as it wants to be. If you like other Firebox bands like The Eternal then you will find something to like here, but Depressed Mode are not so great that you can't miss them.