Gothic / Dark / Deathrock
familyStarted 1979Peak 1982-1992Last big hit still active
Rock built on minor-key dread, cavernous reverb and tremolo-iced guitars over flanged, lead-melody basslines and stark drum-machine or tom-heavy beats. Vocals range from baritone croon to graveside theatrics; lyrics dwell on death, decay, ritual and the romantic macabre. The aesthetic, all monochrome and funereal, is inseparable from the sound.
History
Crystallized when post-punk bands chilled punk's heat into atmosphere; Bauhaus's 1979 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' is widely cited as ground zero. Britain bred the gothic rock template while LA's punk scene spawned deathrock around Christian Death. Through the 1980s it split into clubland, metal-tinged and electronic offshoots, sustaining a self-renewing global subculture for decades.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_rock
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathrock
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bela_Lugosi's_Dead
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_metal