Gothic Metal

With so much of underground and alternative music in the 1990s being so drenched in angst and disenchantment with everyday life, it only makes sense that metal would be a main player in this collective loathing somnambulation. "Gothic" is a term that has existed to mean many things over the course of centuries. Originating as an ethnonym for a group of East Germanic tribes in the third century AD, 'goth' has come to represent anything from architecture to literature to a subculture of middle schoolers. As so many bands and genres did before it, gothic metal relies heavily on the proto-doom metal of Black Sabbath with its plodding tempos and harrowing subject matter. Gothic metal combines this with gothic rock, which was an offshoot of post-punk that rose to prominence in the mid- to late-1980s with bands such as The Cure, Bauhaus, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Combining romantic and dreamy content of the goth rock bands with the ever-depressive doom metal sound and aesthetic, early gothic metal bands took their first steps.

Gothic metal found itself culminating in northern England with the "Peaceville Three" credited for creating death doom metal: Paradise Lost, Anathema and My Dying Bride. All of these bands showed significant input to the developing gothic metal genre, with their romantic, poetic lyricism and direct references to many gothic art forms prior to the metal offshoot. Not all bands were rooted in death metal though, as bands like Type O Negative, Tiamat, and Saviour Machine reared their heads towards the middle of the decade, drawing influence anywhere from progressive metal to heavy metal to alternative metal and even ethereal wave. Gothic black metal also saw a potential future with bands like Moonspell also arriving onto the scene.

Towards the end of the '90s, gothic metal began to solidify itself into something different than from what it had initially been raised. Bands like the Gathering, the Sins of Thy Beloved, Tristania, Lacrimosa, and many others began to incorporate what is now known as the "Beauty and the Beast" vocal style, which often showcases an operatic female lead vocalist juxtaposed against a more gruff male backing vocalist. This became a trademark aspect of gothic and symphonic metal to the point of where it's the genre's main stereotype.

Recommended '90s gothic metal listening:
1. Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (1993)
2. Tiamat - Wildhoney (1994)
3. Moonspell - Wolfheart (1995)
4. Paradise Lost - Draconian Times (1995)
5. The Gathering - Mandylion (1995)

There were points in the 2000s where gothic metal's symphonic, operatic side became more and more angled towards the mainstream, taking in more and more influence from alternative metal until bands like Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil, and even Evanescence were being associated with the genre, despite the former two bands drifting away from gothic metal fairly early in their careers, and the latter having nearly nothing to do with the genre aside from some aspects of imagery. The doom metal-oriented sound, however, took flight in a most spectacular of ways. New releases from bands like My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost and Moonspell continued to be wonderful, as well as bands such as Draconian, Virgin Black, Novembre, and Sentenced making their names heard. That's not to say that the symphonic metal style was failing in terms of artistic value however, as bands like Sirenia and After Forever released landmark albums in the genre in this time frame as well.

Recommended '00s gothic metal listening:
1. My Dying Bride - The Dreadful Hours (2001)
2. Sentenced - The Cold White Light (2002)
3. Sirenia - At Sixes and Sevens (2002)
4. Draconian - Arcane Rain Fell (2005)
5. Virgin Black - Requiem: Mezzo Forte (2007)

In the 2010s, gothic metal mostly remained in the hands of the classics; Paradise Lost, Moonspell, Draconian, Swallow the Sun, and Novembre held the genre up with their dreary cloaks opened to the night. Newcomers like Tribulation (which initially began as an experimental death metal group), Woods of Ypres, Idle Hands, Lethian Dreams, Pantheist, the Foreshadowing, Before the Dawn (an interesting case combining gothic metal with melodic death metal), Ava Inferi, and the Vision Bleak would all submit major contributions to the genre's history in the 2010s too, however.

Recommended '10s gothic metal listening:
1. Woods of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light (2012)
2. Tribulation - The Children of the Night (2015)
3. Paradise Lost - The Plague Within (2015)
4. Swallow the Sun - Songs from the North I, II & III (2015)
5. Idle Hands - Mana (2019)

Though album releases from gothic metal bands rarely make waves in the way that more prominent genres may, it is nevertheless essential to look to gothic metal as a guiding light to underrated and underappreciated masterpieces. I once heard this genre referred to as "doom metal for theater kids," and in some ways that's a fairly accurate description. Always full of flair and oft-rivaling power metal in grandiosity, gothic metal remains a powerful and inspirational niche in the metal family tree.

Note: Hey guys! Sorry for not posting an entry last week, I was away for the weekend. I saw Periphery (with Plini and Arch Echo) on Friday and Thrice (with mewithoutYou, Drug Church and Holy Fawn) on Saturday. Both shows were phenomenal and every band gave their all. Tomorrow I'll also be going up to the Apollo Theater in New York City to see the one and only Opeth (with support from Graveyard), so I'm super stoked on that. Thanks for reading!