Gothic Post-Punk
tagStarted 1979Peak 1981-1987Last big hit 1989
Located in 3 routes
Post-punk darkened into the original goth template: flanged, chorus-drenched guitars, prominent tribal or chorused bass, cavernous reverb, minor-key dread and theatrical, declamatory vocals. Lyrics about death, decadence and the supernatural. Cold, ornate, funereal and dramatic, with a vampiric romance and brooding atmosphere.
History
Crystallized when Bauhaus released 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' in 1979, retrospectively called goth's ground zero. Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Cure pushed post-punk toward darker overtones; London's Batcave club gave it a scene. In the US, Christian Death and 45 Grave spawned deathrock. It hardened into a self-contained subculture by the mid-80s.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_rock
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus_(band)
- https://underground-england.com/history-of-goth-rock/
- https://darkwaveradio.net/gothic-rock/