Goth rock : the love of gloom

Hello !

If I say goth rock, what’s your first thought?

If you have no idea, I’ll take you with me to discover this dark and gloomy universe.

Let’s go!

DISCLAIMER: This post is based on some of my knowledge and is backed up and supplemented by research done before its writing. You can find the sources at the bottom of the page.

Note: Bands/ artists I quote in the posts, I only mention them to give you an idea of the sounds you find in the different genres. But I want to be clear that over time it has become more and more complicated to do it with style blends and so on.
In addition, my goal is not to categorize artists, but to present them to you so that you discover the different possibilities that there are in rock and metal. And even make you enjoy those genres.

WHAT IS GOTH ROCK ?

It is a subgenre of post-punk that appeared «officially» in the 1970s in England and the USA. Its universe is dark and morbid. You could call it depressive music, even if it’s not necessarily true.

Do you see the Addams Family? Well, that’s about it, but in music.

ORIGINS OF GOTH ROCK

There are two genres that have a major influence on gothic rock: punk and glam rock.

Punk will influence aesthetically of course, but also with the energy, what the music feels like. Notably with bands like Suicide and The Cramps.

Glam rock will influence the stage performance (theatricality), with some sonorities (often an organ with a haunting sound) that can be found at Roxy Music and in the music of Brian Eno and David Bowie. Finally, it will influence aesthetics too.

But we can also mention in the influences that impacted Gothic rock (proto-goth):

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins with I Put A Spell On You (la seconde version),
The Doors with The End
Velvet Underground with Venus In Furs and All Tomorrow’s Parties,
Nico with her solo album The Marble Index,
Alice Cooper with Dead Babies,

GOTH ROCK CHARACTERISTICS

The very first important thing in Goth rock is the atmosphere that reigns in the songs. This dark, melancholic, evil, uncomfortable, oppressive atmosphere.

It’s the opposite of electro-pop.

Music and instrumentation

The music is slow. The melodies are simple, usually with semitone progressions, and the use of minor tones.

The bass is tuned lower to sound deep, to contribute to this climate.

At the battery level, we prefer playing on tom.

On guitar, distortion is required with the use of reverb and delay.

Singing

Mostly, the singing is slow, impassive, and with a deep voice. With often a ton of reverb on it.

Bands formation

In most cases, the band has :

drummer,
guitarist(s)
bass player,
singer,
and sometimes a keyboard player.

Lyrics

The texts are influenced by monsters and other creatures, madness, love (not the happiest way), death, and all other taboo/horrific/marginal subjects.

The genre itself is influenced by fantasy romanticism, horror films, pseudo-secret societies and funerary art.

The look

The gothic look has its own codes:

Black clothes
A mix of Victorian and fetish outfits
Pronounced makeup (black eyeliner + very pale foundation = winning combo, we love it)
Hair is mostly dark (black) with a messy hairstyle (the electrified kind).
Silver jewelry with macabre connotations or alluding to a secret society.

Today, the style has evolved. We can find Gothic with hair of all colors and not necessarily messy. But the basis remains the same: pronounced makeup, black clothes, and references to macabre, etc.

All this requires considerable preparation time. This is why, women have a great role in the diffusion of the aesthetics of the genre.

Now, that doesn’t mean that because you’re dressed in black, etc. you’re gothic. Do we have to talk about stereotypes again?

GOTH ROCK ARTISTS/BANDS

The first bands to be associated with Gothic rock were post-punk bands such as Siouxsie and The Banshees, Joy Division and The Cure.

Then, the first actual Gothic rock bands to appear are Bauhaus, Killing Jokes and The Birthday Party.

Other bands have followed the path like Sisters of Mercy, Dead or Alive, Lords of The New Church, Fields of the Nephilim, All About Eve or the 69 eyes.