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Gothic metal

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Goth metal (also called Gothic metal) is a crossover between heavy metal music and goth music itself; although the term 'metal' is debated by some who say very few elements of metal are present. It developed in the early 1990s in Europe and the United States. Goth metal has proven somewhat difficult to categorise. Some fans and musicians have a firm concept of genre and subgenre, but others reject such categorisation as limiting or useless. There is often significant crossover from one category to another, and often the influence of non-metal music.

Beginnings (1983-1990)

The earliest stage of goth metal could be traced to bands in the 1980s who utilized goth rock aesthetics with metallic songwriting. Although Glenn Danzig's Samhain made some attribution of this, Christian Death are regarded as the first and most influential of the genre. The deep vocal baritones of Rozz Williams and Valor Kand, the downtuned bass guitars and eerie synths made a strong impression on many bands that would form later, including those who experimented with other metal influences. Celtic Frost - although considered by many as an early black metal band - also played an early role for their "gothic-sounding" atmospherics.

Forward (1990-present)

In the 1990s, a group of young bands in Northern England borrowed from the early goth metal sound of the 1980s and incorporated it with the slow, downtuned guitar dirges of Black Sabbath. Gothic Doom, or DoomDeath, as it was often called, would be regarded as a second stage of the subgenre. Bands most notable for this style included Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, and Anathema.

Although the Scandinavian region was known more for its death metal and black metal fertility, many bands who started in either genre had progressed and conformed more to gothic metal styles - Tiamat, Theatre of Tragedy, and Lake of Tears being a few examples. Although Paradise Lost, Anathema used some female vocals in their music, Norway's Theatre of Tragedy was the first goth metal with a leading female singer, Liv Kristine Espenaes-Krull

Similarly, New York City's Type O Negative had some connections to death metal and thrash metal with lead singer/bassist's Peter Steele's earlier group, Carnivore. Although the band has taken a more humorous, tonque-and-cheek approach to the genre, they have played a large role in the genre and its characteristics.

A softer version of Gothic metal had evolved in the mid-late 1990s. These bands focused on female vocals as well, although not neccesserly operatic ones, and reduced doom metal elements and male death vocals significantly. These bands include The Gathering (Netherlands), Within Temptation (Netherlands), Lacuna Coil (Italy) and Lacrimosa (Germany). Some of these bands also combined electronic sounds and mainstream rock music with the traditional Gothic metal sound to create a lighter and more accessible form of the genre.

The Gothic metal scene is currently very developed in Northern Europe, especially Norway.

Misperceptions and Categorization

Although the style has seen much less controversy than other metal subgenres - and remarkably, fewer instances of debate - some arguments have gone on in regards to bands that have sported a gothic "image" versus those with direct genetics to the goth metal genre.

When widespread news events surrounded Marilyn Manson, for instance, some media personalities and journalists categorized him as a "gothic rock" and "gothic heavy metal" musician, eventhough few elements in his music would be classifiable of such. The growing popularity of industrial music in the 1990s can be factored as a major source to this, considering several artists in the genre inspired a "gothic" styled dress amongst suburban youths which was similarly debated in authenticity by those who proclaimed themselves "true" members of gothic subculture.

Although gothic metal - like most metal subgenres - is difficult to classify, some main attributes have remained fairly consistent:

  • lyrics focus on a variety of subjects: religion and God, heaven and hell, romance, (gothic) horror, depression, bereavement, emptiness, and death. Typically, the subjects are set in a pre-20th

century environment.

  • vocals are either sung by a male vocalist, female vocalist, or both. The male vocals are either in a deep tenor, or death grunt. Female vocals tend to be high and operatic, but sometimes sung in a regular tone with reverb usage for effects.
  • the guitar(s) and bass are often in minor key, but can also be slow and heavily distorted, as what would be heard in doom metal. Along with percussion (and sometimes synthesizers), the pace and tone is sometimes dependent on the performance of the singer or the nature of the song.

There are also (occasional) instances in which gothic metal crosses over into other genres, such as power metal and symphonic metal.

List of Gothic metal bands

See also

Metal and Goth databases:

Goth Metal magazines / portals / reviews:

Official websites of Goth Metal bands:

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