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Gothic rock
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Gothic rock (also referred to as goth rock or simply goth) is a musical subgenre of alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes. The genre itself was defined as a separate movement from punk rock during the early 1980s largely due to the significant stylistic divergences of the movement; gothic rock, as opposed to punk, combines dark, often keyboard-heavy music with introspective and depressing lyrics.
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Encyclopedia
Gothic rock (also referred to as goth rock or simply goth) is a musical subgenre of alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes. The genre itself was defined as a separate movement from punk rock during the early 1980s largely due to the significant stylistic divergences of the movement; gothic rock, as opposed to punk, combines dark, often keyboard-heavy music with introspective and depressing lyrics. Notable gothic rock bands include Bauhaus, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Cure, Fields of the Nephilim, and The Sisters of Mercy, among many others. Gothic rock gave rise to a broader goth subculture that includes clubs, various fashion trends and numerous publications that grew in popularity in the 1980s. Following the immense popularity of Grunge in the United States, gothic rock slowly faded from the mainstream and has since then remained a largely underground entity.
Style, roots and influences
Gothic rock takes the guitar and synthesizer sounds of post-punk and uses them to construct "foreboding, sorrowful, often epic soundscapes". According to music journalist Simon Reynolds, standard musical fixtures of the genre include "scything guitar patterns, high-pitched basslines that often usurped the melodic role, beats that were either hypnotically dirgelike or 'tribal' [. . .] and vocals that were either near operatic and Teutonic or deep, droning alloys of Jim Morrison and Leonard Cohen". Many goth bands use drum machines that do not stress the back beat in the rhythm.
Gothic rock typically deals with dark themes addressed through lyrics and the music atmosphere. The poetic sensibilities of the genre led gothic rock lyrics to exhibit literary romanticism, morbidity, religious symbolism, and/or supernatural mysticism. Musicians who initially shaped the aesthetics and musical conventions of gothic rock include The Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and The Sex Pistols. Nico's 1969 album, The Marble Index, was also particularly influential. Gothic rock creates a dark atmosphere by drawing influence from the drones used by protopunk group The Velvet Underground, and many goth singers are influenced by the "deep and dramatic" vocal timbre of David Bowie, albeit singing at even lower pitches.
History
Origin of the term
In the late 1970s, the word "gothic" was used to describe a "doomy atmosphere" in the music of post-punk bands like Joy Division. In 1979, Tony Wilson described the band as "gothic" on the television show Something Else. Not long after, the term was used in a derogatory fashion in reference to bands like Bauhaus, Joy Division, and Siouxsie & the Banshees. Despite their legacy as progenitors of gothic rock, these groups disliked the label. In 1982, Ian Astbury of the band Southern Death Cult used the term "gothic goblins" to describe Sex Gang Children's fans.
Early phase
Bauhaus's debut single "Bela Lugosi's Dead", released in late 1979, is considered to be the beginning of the gothic rock genre. Around the same time post-punk bands like Siouxsie & the Banshees and The Cure fully embraced the goth sound. With their fourth album, 1981's Juju, the Banshees established many of the classic Gothic qualities, lyrically and sonically.
Gothic rock thrived in the early 1980s. Clubs such as the Batcave, in London, provided a venue for the goth scene. The emerging scene was described as "positive punk" in a February 1983 article in the NME magazine. Journalist Richard North described Bauhaus and Theatre of Hate as "the immediate forerunners of today's flood" and declared, "So here it is: the new positive punk, with no empty promises of revolution, either in the rock'n'roll sense or the wider political sphere. Here is only a chance of self awareness, of personal revolution, of colourful perception and galvanisation of the imagination that startles the slumbering mind and body from their sloth." After the Southern Death Cult became a more conventional hard rock group and the Batcave closed down, The Sisters of Mercy became prominent. As journalist Jennifer Park puts it, "the original blueprint for gothic rock had mutated significantly. Doom and gloom was no longer confined to its characteristic atmospherics, but as the Sisters demonstrated, it could really rock." The Sisters of Mercy, influenced by Leonard Cohen, Gary Glitter, Motörhead, The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, The Birthday Party, Suicide, and The Fall, created a new, harder form of Gothic rock. In addition, they incorporated a drum machine. The group created their own record label, Merciful Release, which also signed The March Violets, who performed in a similar style. The Violets toured with The Danse Society, a group inspired by The Cure in their Pornography period.
Subsequent developments
The Mission UK, which included two former members of The Sisters of Mercy, achieved commercial success in the mid-1980s, as did Fields of the Nephilim and All About Eve. Bands who continue to be associated with gothic rock include Alien Sex Fiend, All Living Fear, And Also the Trees, Balaam and the Angel, Cauda Pavonis, Dream Disciples, Inkubus Sukkubus, Libitina, Marion, Fields of the Nephilim, Rosetta Stone, and Suspiria.
American gothic rock began with 45 Grave and Christian Death, both of whom were strongly influenced by The Cramps. This style is often described as deathrock. European groups inspired by the style have also proliferated, including Xmal Deutschland and Clan of Xymox. These groups are associated with dark wave, which draws on Gothic rock in addition to synthpop and industrial music.
See also
Footnotes
External links
StylusMagazine.com article on gothic rock.
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