Gothic rock

:This article is about notable bands within the goth scene. For the goth scene in general, see Goth.

Second generation (c. 1985–c. 1995)

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

Related Topics:
Goth - European goth subcultures - Death Rock - New Romantic - The Sisters of Mercy - Fields of the Nephilim - Christian Death - The Mission - Mephisto Waltz - Barry Galvin - Bari Bari

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Around 1985, the post punk era came to an end and many of the first generation gothic groups either disbanded or changed their style. That era closes with The Sisters of Mercy's debut album First and Last and Always (1985) which cracked the British top ten and is a good picture of the transition between first and second generation Goth. Despite the fact that they had formed in 1980, the Sisters would prove to be very influential on the second generation. Vocalist Andrew Eldritch had a voice very different from any of the other first generation gothic rock groups and by the late 1980's was labeled the "Godfather of Goth". The Sisters of Mercy were also the first among the gothic rock groups to use a drum machine, along with the March Violets, who, like the Sisters, were also from Leeds, England. The drum machine seems to been a unique feature of goth bands coming out of Leeds (the Three Johns and Red Lorry Yellow Lorry are good examples) and became much more common during the second generation. The drum machine continues to be common in goth music to this day.

Related Topics:
Post punk - The Sisters of Mercy - Andrew Eldritch - Godfather of Goth - Sisters of Mercy - Drum machine - March Violets - Three Johns - Red Lorry Yellow Lorry

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was during the second wave of goth that the term and the style became noticed outside of a few tight-knit circles. The term began to appear in mainstream British publications like The Face and the NME, fanzines and goth-only clubs began to spring up in the tradition of London's Batcave (which was still going strong). The 1983 vampire film "The Hunger" starred David Bowie and featured an appearance by Bauhaus, cementing the relationship between glam, horror, goth and mainstream in a way that influenced much of the second generation. Several goth magazines arose during this time, the first possibly being Propaganda (though it later became a softcore gay porn magazine). Goth zines split their direction in much the same way that the scene itself did; earlier magazines such as Permission were allied to the punk roots of goth, and tended to veer towards industrial music as the years went on, while later magazines such as Carpe Noctem focused more on the lace-and-poetry romantic sound, setting the stage for the "spooky kids" of the third wave.

Related Topics:
NME - Fanzines - Batcave - David Bowie - Bauhaus - Glam - Horror - Goth - Mainstream - Propaganda - Permission - Punk - Industrial music - Carpe Noctem - Spooky kids

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By 1987, gothic groups started to emerge in Toronto and Montreal Canada. Those worth mentioning of achieving any acclaim include: Disappointed a few people (Montreal 1986), From Toronto, Masochistic Religion (electrip) (1988?-2003). The signer relocated to Montreal and is still active as a musician but the band, for all intensive purposes, is now dormant. Masochistic Religion also included the singer from Armed and Hammered, the Guitarist from technicolour rain coats and a member from Ichor. Also Die Screaming.

Related Topics:
Masochistic Religion - Armed and Hammered - Technicolour rain coats - Ichor - Die Screaming

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Among these bands, and included in the scene was a fledgling Industrial scene which included: D.H.I. (Death and Horror Inc.) (Fringe Records), Digital Poodle (electrip) and Dog Pile (electrip) who achieved rather formidable acclaim in the Netherlands.

Related Topics:
Industrial scene - D.H.I. - Death and Horror Inc. - Fringe Records - Digital Poodle - Electrip - Dog Pile

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.

Related Topics:
Dance club - Industrial music - Industrial - Goth - Synth pop - Noise music - Musique concrète - Guitar - Contemporary goth - Distortion

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~