Playing The Angel
by Depeche Mode
  • Record Label: Reprise
  • Release Date: Oct 18, 2005
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 246 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 221 out of 246
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 246
  3. Negative: 11 out of 246

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  1. RAYV
    Oct 21, 2005
    9
    One Of Depeche Mode s Great Albums Very Good As Always
  2. Endorphine
    Oct 22, 2005
    10
    Very vibrant and deeply layered music, that takes hold of your brain. Good to see a varied mix of songs this time, and more upbeat.
  3. SteveJ
    Dec 2, 2005
    10
    A truley incredible album. Like everyone else I agree their best since Violator. Also this is their best concert since world violation tour. I have no doubt that deeche mode is the greatest band ever to see live! I have seen bands like The Rollingstones, Matellica, Korn, Green Day, etc. Depeche Mode blows them away. Also I think that although depeche mode has never really been too A truley incredible album. Like everyone else I agree their best since Violator. Also this is their best concert since world violation tour. I have no doubt that deeche mode is the greatest band ever to see live! I have seen bands like The Rollingstones, Matellica, Korn, Green Day, etc. Depeche Mode blows them away. Also I think that although depeche mode has never really been too comercial and a household name like The Stones, U2, Beatles, Nirvana, etc. I really do pray that this will be their year to be recognized at the Grammys!! Some people say they are the kings of electronic music, I say they are the Beatles of Alternative music, Depeche Mode is truley in my opinion the Greatest Band in our generation!!!… Expand
  4. JohnD
    Oct 25, 2005
    8
    Any band that can make the same song for 20 years and still make it sound great deserves at least a 7.
  5. skyew
    Oct 26, 2005
    10
    Ive really enjoyed this album and i just cant get enough!
  6. Bryan
    Oct 27, 2005
    9
    Theres something Wilder added that has been missing the past couple of albums. However PTA has brought back about 80% of that feeling I got when I was a teenager. And the best part is, as I was ready to give it thumbs down on the first couple of listens, now I'm beginning to think its pure genius. Everyone is talking about "suffer well" and its comparison to "behind the wheel", I Theres something Wilder added that has been missing the past couple of albums. However PTA has brought back about 80% of that feeling I got when I was a teenager. And the best part is, as I was ready to give it thumbs down on the first couple of listens, now I'm beginning to think its pure genius. Everyone is talking about "suffer well" and its comparison to "behind the wheel", I think its pure "Question Of Time" ingredients. Best tracks by far(not in any order) : John Revelator (Faith Devotion like track) :Suffer Well (Question of Time like) :Sinner in Me (Rocks) very (Violator "Clean" meets Music Masses) Nothing Impossible (Kicks ass, delivered chills) Damaged People: Awesome ("World Full of Nothing"/"Home" Gore Track..however "macro" sucks By the way, Precious sucks, doesnt even fit in this album..Wanna be "Enjoy the Silence" And it comes nothing close to the brillance of that track. Lillian couldve been better..but props up to Darkest Star..Weird track but haunted depeche like construction time days was half the reason I got into them. 9/10 Rating… Expand
  7. BroderickH
    Oct 29, 2005
    9
    A band who have been recording for 25 years produce an album which is only bettered by their best, the absolute classics "...Masses" and "Violator". Not even Bowie, Ferry or Dylan can hold a candle to this.
  8. OskarS
    Nov 21, 2006
    10
    It made me feel emotions that I haven´t felt since 1990. Great collection of addictive songs..
  9. jg
    Feb 21, 2006
    10
    some of DM's best stuff!!!!!!
  10. TaninoM
    Nov 13, 2005
    10
    A great album by one of the best and most consistent bands in th world. My favourite tracks are Precious, John The Relevator, Nothing is Impossible and Lilian. A great reurn to form !
  11. MyosotisC
    Nov 17, 2005
    9
    This album is absolutely amazing! It's hard, dirty and synthy. The lyrics are awesome as the vocals and the melodies. The only bad thing is the instrumental Introspectre, why do they keep doing instrumental songs? You notice how good the melodies are in teh other songs. Otherwise from the alarm in A pain that I'm used to to the desperation of The darkest star: Enjoy, because it This album is absolutely amazing! It's hard, dirty and synthy. The lyrics are awesome as the vocals and the melodies. The only bad thing is the instrumental Introspectre, why do they keep doing instrumental songs? You notice how good the melodies are in teh other songs. Otherwise from the alarm in A pain that I'm used to to the desperation of The darkest star: Enjoy, because it doesn't get much better than this!… Collapse
  12. DavidZ
    Nov 18, 2005
    10
    Very enjoyable. A more industrial electronic sound than in recent albums. Martin's lyrics are thoughtful and interesting. I saw the live concert in Vancouver and it was excellent. It makes you realize how many great songs Depeche have written over the years. Best tracks Precious, Suffer Well (Dave Gahan wrote this - now I want to buy Paper Monsters CD) and the Darkest Star.
  13. AlexJ
    Nov 19, 2005
    10
    After several listens, I found my enjoyment growing and the emotional depths of DM's electronic layering as rich, unique and beautifully bizzare as any previous work of theirs that has endeared me so much to this group. Playing the Angel is full of fresh new sounds, providing an all too familiar sense of awe. How do they do it?
  14. LilianW
    Nov 26, 2005
    10
    ...I just cant get enough of Depeche Mode! Im really impressed with their new album...very very Depeche Mode-ish!! Cant express how honoured I felt (and still do -blush blush sigh sigh) seeing they came out with a song called Lilian.....with ONE L, too!! Now thats what I call justice in the world!!!
  15. jennifer
    Nov 26, 2005
    10
    doesn't get any better than this....live in san diego was awesome.
  16. erikam
    Dec 14, 2005
    10
    the best!!!
  17. RobertN
    Dec 28, 2005
    10
    Great album from a great band.
  18. listener
    Nov 13, 2011
    8
    Good album but overall sound quality is not so great-the sound is unbelievably loud and distorted but also kind of flat,with no natural dynamic range.
  19. devotee
    Nov 29, 2012
    10
    While most recognize that DM began to ascend around Black Celebration and peaked somewhere between Violator and SoFaD, this is the blip in the flat line that makes you think there still may be some life left in them. Suffer Well, Nothing's Impossible, Precious...all brilliant. Even the b-sides from this album's singles rock. Get everything you can related to this album! Singles, TourWhile most recognize that DM began to ascend around Black Celebration and peaked somewhere between Violator and SoFaD, this is the blip in the flat line that makes you think there still may be some life left in them. Suffer Well, Nothing's Impossible, Precious...all brilliant. Even the b-sides from this album's singles rock. Get everything you can related to this album! Singles, Tour DVDs, remixes...… Expand
  20. jatv1994
    Apr 13, 2013
    9
    An awesome comeback, after a few "meh" albums, Depeche creates kind of a Violator 2; a modern masterpiece, sure, its has flaws; but which album doesnt?
  21. commentspae
    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 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 justIronic 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.    … Expand
  22. vesper_wolf
    May 29, 2020
    9
    This is Depeche mode's welcome return to elegant productions of pre pre "faith and devotion" band. It's very melodic, the production is immediate and sometimes sexy. It sounds very much like (albeit less anthemic) 21st century's Violator
  23. Alexgamechanger
    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
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Awards & Rankings

21
#21 Most Discussed Album of 2005
57
#57 Most Shared Album of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. AllMusic
    90
    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.
    Read full review
  2. Billboard
    80
    Revels in dirty guitars and fuzzy distortion while maintaining Depeche Mode's familiar electronic sound. [22 Oct 2005]
  3. 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]
See all critic reviews »