one on both the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. It also topped the charts in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland. The album received largely positive reviews from critics and peers of Depeche Mode. The Guardian critic Adam Sweeting dubbed Songs of Faith and Devotion an "astonishingly powerful album" and a "masterpiece". David Quantick of NME called it "a very fine record indeed", while Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote that "the songs make desire more desperate, and more alluring, than ever". A mixed review came from Rolling Stones Arion Berger, who wrote that the album "documents how Depeche Mode's savvy justifies its worst instincts; like the band itself, it's gloomy, pretentious and winning." Robert Christgau of The Village Voice assigned the album a "dud" rating. In a retrospective review, Ned Raggett of AllMusic stated that "Songs of Faith and Devotion continues the Depeche Mode winning streak", and in 1999, he ranked the album at number 18 on his list of "The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties" for Freaky Trigger. Q later included it on their list of "In Our Lifetime: Q's 100 Best Albums", along with Violator. Band member Alan Wilder stated he felt "In Your Room" and "Walking in My Shoes" as some of the best works the band had ever done, a sentiment agreed upon by producer Flood, who commented that "many people" involved in the project shared such sentiments. Fellow musician Gary Numan also stated that Songs of Faith and Devotion was the album that saved his career, noting, "[after listening to this album] [my] music changed dramatically. It became much darker. At school I was excused from religious instruction because I had no faith and Songs of Faith and Devotion suddenly gave me something to write about and something to be bothered about. [...] I love Depeche Mode, always will." Tour The subsequent Devotional Tour to support the album was the largest Depeche Mode had undertaken to that point. The tour spanned fourteen months, visiting twenty-seven countries and played to over two million people over 158 dates. The tour covered 100,000 miles and required 90 tonnes of equipment. The huge scale of the tour was to cover the sponsoring costs. Anton Corbijn designed the elaborate stage design, the first time he had ever done so. The huge scale of the tour took its toll on the band