Gothic rock

   

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Gothic rock evolved out of post punk during the late 1970s. The first of those groups to be labeled "gothic" by 1979 were Siouxsie & the Banshees and Joy Division. Originally considered just another aspect of the punk rock/post punk explosion, Goth only began to be defined as a separate movement with the emergence of Bauhaus in 1979.

While most punk bands focused on aggressive, outward rock, the early gothic groups were more introverted and personal, with elements that can be traced to much older literary movements such as Gothic horror, Romanticism, existential philosophy, and the political construct of nihilism.

First Generation (c1979-c1985)

While Siouxsie & the Banshees and The Cure have retained their goth imagery throughout their careers, their music has strayed from the Gothic style. Siouxsie up to and including the Nocturne (1983) album is undeniably goth rock. After 1983, their output shifted to softer focus on Gothic themes. The Cure's contribution to the genre is centered around Faith, Seventeen Seconds, Pornography and Disintegration (1989). This sound originated from the song "Three Imaginary Boys" on the first album (Three Imaginary Boys, 1979), which is generally considered closer to being a New Wave album.

Joy Division was a consistently Gothic band, though after the suicide of Ian Curtis, the group reformed as New Order and became a New Wave/dance group. Bauhaus is also a consistently Gothic band, strongly influenced by English Glam rock, such as David Bowie and T. Rex. Some of the members of Bauhaus formed Tones on Tail after the disintegration of that group, releasing Gothic music influenced strongly by Pet Sounds-era The Beach Boys and psychedelia.

Early Gary Numan material from Tubeway Army to The Pleasure Principle can be considered to be goth. The use of analog synths and subject matter were a definite influence on later goth bands. His imagery & fashion have influenced contemporary goth Cyberpunk fashion. Other bands worth mentioning are Sex Gang Children (formed c. 1982), Southern Death Cult (1982), Killing Joke (1979), Specimen (c. 1982), Alien Sex Fiend (1982), and the Sisters of Mercy (1980).

Each of these bands had much in common with the punk movement, though any similarity with punk was owed to the fact that that was the scene from which they were emerging, and were attempting (whether consciously or unconsciously) to leave behind. What is most notable about the core early '80s post punk bands is that, typical to their punk roots, they had a general distaste for labels, presumably seeing such things as anathema to creative expression [1] (http://www.gothics.org/subculture/articles/undead.php). In recent years, the tendency has swung almost entirely the other way, with many bands being quick to label themselves as goth.

From the late seventies onward, the Death Rock movement in Los Angeles, California was on the rise, with such bands as Christian Death (formed 1981), Gun Club (1981), 45 Grave (c. 1983), and the legendary Kommunity FK (c. 1983) fronted by Death Rock Ikon Patrick Mata; Nivek Ogre's Skinny Puppy (formed c. 1982), were also doing their "thing", quite apart from the Death Rock scene. Whilst all of these groups began as quite distinct from goth, they soon began to be equated with it, and are now recognised as strong early influences. Many fans of early gothic rock are embracing a Death rock revival, as a return to the original music and fashions of the first generation goth.

Goth was as much a continental European phenomenon as it was British or American. At the same time that The Cure and Christian Death were forming in those countries, in Germany (home to the largest modern gothic festival, the yearly Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig which started in 1992) were such dark bands as Xmal Deutschland formed 1980, Die Krupps formed 1981, and Der Mussolini. Belgium gave rise to electronic body music (EBM) with influence from bands such as Kraftwerk and the early Industrial band Front 242 formed in 1981. Meanwhile, Amsterdam had Clan of Xymox formed in 1983.

Australia also deserves a mention, the emerging movement there characterised by Nick Cave's first band, The Birthday Party formed c. 1979 and later moving to London.

Second Generation (c1985-c1995)

Though they had been around since 1980, The Sisters of Mercy became one of the most influential on second generation Gothic rock. Throughout the '80s, there was much cross-pollination between the European goth subcultures, the Death Rock movement, and the New Romantic (New Wave) movement.

The rise in popularity of rock music in the mid-eighties, was mirrored by the rise of gothic rock, most notably in the form of the seminal goth rock bands, The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim (1984), a new version of Christian Death (1985), The Mission (1986), and Mephisto Waltz (c.1987) founded by former Christian Death composer / guitarist Barry Galvin (alias Bari Bari), Galvin defined the dark droning style of Christian Death on the Album 'Atrocities', the songs of which he composed and later transferred to the Mephisto Waltz Repertoire.

In the UK this period saw goth bands at their most popular, and the subculture at its largest extent.

Contemporary dance club goth evolved simultaneously with industrial music, and both use the same techniques and types of synthesis equipment. The main difference is that industrial is "harder" sounding, and goth is "softer" sounding. Modern goth has the evolutionary feel of New Wave music or synth pop, while industrial is an evolution of noise music and Musique concrète. The guitar is not used much in contemporary goth, but is often used extensively (with a lot of distortion) in industrial.

Musical Predecessors (1960s-1970s)

  • David Bowie and Glam Rock. Elements of the seventies glam subculture helped influence goth both musically and visually. As goth broke further away from punk, the androgynous look, which Bauhaus favoured, developed, and was taken even further by bands like Alien Sex Fiend and their followers. David Bowie’s androgynous appearance, love of melodrama and his use of dark themes meant he had a major influence on many early goth bands. His songs frequently appeared on the Batcave playlists. Bowie had also described his Diamond Dogs (1974) album as gothic when it first came out.
  • The Doors were described as "gothic rock" in 1967 and were a musical influence on some goth bands, most noticeably on Southern Death Cult. Though Joy Division denied any direct influence from the Doors, similarities did not go unnoticed.
  • Genesis, a progressive rock quintet from the late '60s featured mystic and very dark and twisted religious elements during the period that Peter Gabriel was lead singer, had significant medieval gothic elements. Gabriel's pale makeup and extravagant, often twisted costumes also had a profound early influence on Goth culture.
  • Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath are also worth acknowledging, despite rarely being considered goth music, they were key influences in the darker trend rock music began to take and have continued to take. Alien Sex Fiend in particular were Cooper fans.

Third Generation (mid-1990s)

The mid nineties would see gothic rock merge with industrial music, with bands such as Nine Inch Nails. The band Project Pitchfork established the German electro-goth phenomenon of Darkwave, now including bands such as Das Ich. Mention must be given to New York band Type O Negative whose metallic style draws heavily on Gothic influences of black magic, fetish and depression.

Glam Rock diverged into Death Glam, assimilating some of the visual elements of goth, whilst retaining the frantic lollypop essence of Glam Rock with a dark theme, with bands like Marilyn Manson (formerly Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids).

With the arrival of Manson, the goth movement has became almost mainstream in popularity in the United States and has brought the "goth-not goth" debate to a head. Many people—including a large number of 'traditional' goths—balk at the claim that Manson or Mansonites are goths. Indeed to say as much is to commit heresy in many gothic circles. To them, Spooky Kids (as fans of the band have also been dubbed) are just not goth.

Others say that with many Mansonites consistently identifying themselves as goths, they speak for the movement, however much some may wish to deny them a place. Seeking a middle-ground, others have begun to accept a distinction between goth and goth-friendly, and placing Manson and his ilk in the latter category.

Another genre of music sometimes associated with the Goth subculture is Goth metal, which combines medieval Gothic music with heavy Doom metal. Goth metal is often described as sounding like "Beauty and the Beast" because of the characteristic duets between operatic female vocals and male death metal vocals. Some of the key bands in this area are Paradise Lost, Theatre of Tragedy, Tristania and Lacuna Coil. As with Manson, above, it is hotly debated whether this genre is really part of the Goth subculture; many traditional goths will have nothing to do with it.

In the UK of equal importance was the gradual rise of Cybergoth first developing at Slimelight, arguably the most famous and longest running Goth club in the world, currently based in a disused industrial complex in Islington, London.

Cybergoth developed in the late 90s, the term influenced by cyberpunk writers such as William Gibson, as a new breed of gothic fashion/lifestyle. With influences from rave culture, Industrial music and anime, the neon hair extensions, glowsticks, bright make up and clothes, and love of upbeat music sets this somewhat apart from the "mainstream" goth movement. For bands, see Goteki, Action Directe (http://www.actiondirecte.co.uk), Sheep on Drugs and Apoptygma Berzerk.

Goth, as a concept, continues to evolve and develop in the 21st century.

Bands

Related genres

Musical arrangements

Early English Goth rock follows a standard hard rock lineup, but often adds synthesizers, or at least guitar effects that sound like synths. The front person strategy varies, because the music is more introspective than high energy hard rock:

  • Singer/front-person
  • Guitar player
  • Bass player
  • Drummer
  • Synth player

Goth rock is at its most basic level a combination of punk rock and New Wave. Between 1979-1985 it was variously known as post-punk, alternative and new wave.

Contemporary Goth music is generally sequenced, making heavy use of FM & digital synthesizers. It is characterized by a crisp snare drum sample and a heavy bass drum sample. The auto-arpeggiate feature of modern synthesizers is used in often complex sounding multiple simultaneous arpeggiations. Vocals tend to be either spooky or lovelorn.

Lyrics are generally very poetic in nature, and follow melodies in the instrumentation of the song.

Guitar settings are the most notable influence to the overall musical style. Single coil pickups are important to achieve the correct sound, Fender Jazzmasters, Jaguars, & Mustangs fit the bill nicely. The guitar sound before processing ranges from clean, to warm overdrive with gain settings at approx 50%. Dynamics to this can include just turning all amp knobs to the right for chaotic amp-driven sounds found in some Bauhaus & Siouxsie material. For the most part, the combination of the following effects will give you this sound:

  • Chorus
  • Flange
  • Analog Delay, occasional usage of tape delay, as well.
  • Reverb from 0-75%

Bass is very warm and round sounding, and often uses chorus and/or flange effects.

Drums tend to be played by a human with an electronic kit, BPM ranges are from 80-150.

Synths usually have the above listed guitar attributes, and are generally based on a 'Strings' type of synth patch with a 25% attack rate. Invariably the synths are analog.

  • Song composition utilizes the 1-4-5 scalular progressions that typify rock & roll music, but are often augmented or diminished.
  • Minor key themes are prevalent, but major keys are not shunned.
  • Composition is usually guitar oriented, and follows surf music-like vertical scales, rather than blues-like horizontal scales.
  • Focal points are often on the two semitonal increments of the particular scale.
  • Various octave fingerings are often substituted for chords.
  • Playing style is generally all downstrokes, to create the 'sound'.

This type of gothic rock requires a fairly capable musician, as it will often include modal scales in song construction. Additionally, finger picking & up/down arpeggiation of chords will be found in many verse parts.

Overall song construction is similar to Hard rock

  • 1. an intro
  • 2. verse
  • 3. chorus
  • 4. solo
  • 5. chorus
  • 6. verse
  • 7. chorus
  • 8. an ending

There is much room for variation, and repetition of verses & choruses.

Equipment

See also

External links


Punk rock | Punk genres
Anarcho-punk - Gothic rock - Hardcore - Horror punk - New Wave - No Wave - Oi - Pop punk - Post punk - Riot grrl
Anti-folk - Death rock - Psychobilly - Two Tone
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