• Record Label: Reprise
  • Release Date: Oct 18, 2005
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 22
  2. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. 100
    Not only is Depeche Mode virtually indestructible, the pioneering British synth-pop group also keeps getting better.
  2. Every moment screams to be played a little bit louder and a little bit longer; because Playing the Angel is just that good.
  3. Like the best Depeche Mode, almost everything on the album will make an initial wowing impact while remaining layered enough in subtle details to surprise and thrill with repeated listens.
  4. Q Magazine
    90
    Sounds so sure and committed that it could be the work of a new band. [Nov 2005, p.127]
  5. Filter
    86
    It's got all the allure of classic D-Mode, but there's that lingering hint of taking oneself a tad too seriously. [#17, p.97]
  6. Billboard
    80
    Revels in dirty guitars and fuzzy distortion while maintaining Depeche Mode's familiar electronic sound. [22 Oct 2005]
  7. Some may say it doesn't move Depeche Mode forward a great deal; I say I don't give a damn, it's a real treat and I'll have some more, please.
  8. 'Playing the Angel' is hardly the most essential Depeche Mode album ever, but it is Depeche Mode doing what they do best.
  9. Urb
    80
    [A] remarkable return to form. [Oct 2005, p.75]
  10. Uncut
    80
    A pleasant surprise: engaging, exciting, and a much better album than most bands can muster after 25 years together. [Nov 2005, p.106]
  11. Under The Radar
    80
    It's taken ten years, but our beloved Mode has returned in fast fashion. [#11, p.106]
  12. The album skillfully and confidently showcases all of Martin Gore’s songwriting strengths.
  13. Alternative Press
    80
    It's DM's ability to make you dance and look over your shoulder--sometimes simultaneously--that makes them relevant. [Dec 2005, p.212]
  14. Mojo
    80
    Shows a good deal more focus than their last two studio efforts. [Nov 2005, p.104]
  15. Los Angeles Times
    75
    There's an unexpected freshness to most of the songs. [16 Oct 2005]
  16. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    Their most self-assured and accessible release in over a decade. [28 Oct 2005, p.83]
  17. It may be grim round Depeche's way, but they don't let it get in the way of a good melody.
  18. If you really are the sort of person who's been waiting with bated breath for a new Depeche Mode release, then don't worry: You'll love this. Dear everyone else: It's pretty okay.
  19. The formula remains largely the same, although the group adds some production tricks, dialing down the perv factor and turning up some extra chirps and bloops they haven't used before.
  20. New Musical Express (NME)
    50
    Far from bad... but so much of it sounds like a museum piece, the glum-pop self-harmings of another time. [12 Nov 2005, p.45]
  21. Blender
    40
    The second half drops off badly--the band seem to think that the tonic for a weak lyric is to slow the tempo to a crawl. [Nov 2005, p.130]
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 246 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 11 out of 246
  1. Feb 9, 2013
    10
    With hindsight being 20-20, and this review being written 7-1/2 years after the released of this album, I can write, without any hesitation,With hindsight being 20-20, and this review being written 7-1/2 years after the released of this album, I can write, without any hesitation, that Playing the Angel is my favorite Depeche Mode album and that is saying a lot because I am a completely devoted fan of the band since I first heard them in 1986. Playing the Angel is a different kind of Depeche Mode album and it would be unfair to try and compare it with any other album, except maybe Violator. This album is so good that it has been the staple of my musical diet since the day it was released. What sets this album apart from all others are two secret ingredients never before present in a Depeche Mode album. First is a unique and permeating throbbing that flows from song to song and ties them all together, and secondly David Gahan contributed songs to the album, and not just any songs, a couple of fantastic songs. Individually, nearly every song is excellent beginning with the explosive opening of A 'Pain That I'm Used To' right down to the last note of the last song 'Darkest Star'. This album is far greater though than the sum of its individually outstanding parts, and that is what sets this album apart. 'Suffer Well' is my personal favorite, and this song has replaced 'In Your Room' from 'Songs of Faith and Devotion' as my all-time favorite Depeche Mode song. I find it very ironic that 'Suffer Well' (written by David Gahan) has become my favorite DM song of all time because it is the first song written by anybody but Martin Gore in 25 years, and I have long considered Martin Gore to be among the greatest songwriters of all time. This album excels on all levels and there are six standout tracks that help give this album an unparalleled timelessness and longevity: John the Revelator, Suffer Well, Sinner in Me, Precious, Nothing's Impossible, and Darkest Star. Full Review »
  2. Mar 25, 2023
    7
    Best hits here are Precious, Suffer Well, John the Relevator and A Pain that I'm used to. Very good album. 7.5/10
  3. May 14, 2021
    10
    Ironic how this is an album I favour the most out of professional Depeche Mode groups works and yet for hundreds of the generic fans who claimIronic how this is an album I favour the most out of professional Depeche Mode groups works and yet for hundreds of the generic fans who claim to be "devoted", this was the last straw. If anything, this is the stylistic revival for the analog mishap that was Exciter, that was also a non-functioning mess of a production and quite possibly the hardest, most obnoxious album of theirs to just casually sit through out of all of them, future ones included. I have been a fan since my introduction to them at the time I was born in early 2004; if I was born in the 20th century, I'd STILL claim this to be one of the better albums of theirs rather than the worse and STILL wouldn't immediately refer back to Violator as the best as though they're not even remotely comparable in terms of, basically anything worth comparing them to. The likes of 'Nothing's Impossible' doesn't match Violator's tracks, nor does 'Precious', the most popular track on this album in particular, and the same people choosing Violator over Playing the Angel are the same people who claim 'Precious' to be up at the top in terms of general tracks. However, contrary to the general consensus, 'Precious' is the more generic tracks on there, not only because it's popular, but because it sounds much more stereotypical than any of the other tracks and even the album's B-sides and repeats the same phrases over and over again without any difference. Even the piano leitmotif of that song is used for both the beginning and end with no significant difference, and the only other track on here that does anything similar to that is 'Suffer Well' with the guitar leitmotif written by Dave and performed by Martin.

    This album is its own thing, even the members themselves claim that by noting that it was produced by someone who has never heard of Depeche Mode, so there isn't a sign of the band's traditional pop sounds and sample works (of which meant that, prior to advanced technology, they used samples of things that weren't created primarily by them before transitioning to fully unique sounds, sampling being some people APPARENTLY like more). Comparing them is the biggest, most naïve action to make to reach a conclusion on the overall quality of Playing the Angel.
    Full Review »