Gothic rock is a music genre that emerged in the late 1970s and has since become a significant and distinct style, known for its dark sounds and themes. The genre has had a significant impact on popular culture, spawning gothic metal, gothic clothing styles, and a broader gothic subculture. Cocteau Twins, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Joy Division are all well-known proponents of Gothic rock.
Despite its name, gothic rock is not a genre that arose from the fifth-century Goth tribes. Similarly, it has nothing to do with Jane Austen’s mockery of gothic romances or medieval gothic architecture. The term was first used in the 1970s to describe a few musicians, but it was born out of the decline of British punk. In 1979, British producer Martin Hannett coined the phrase to describe Joy Division.
By the following year, the term was being used to describe a variety of bands. The British band Bauhaus’ debut single “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” defined the genre in 1979. This early incarnation of the music evolved through the early 1980s, when the genre spread to America, quickly developing and spawning many of the bands who would later become the genre’s mainstays.
The Cure, Bauhaus, and Siouxsie and the Banshees’ original introspective and post-punk ideals died out during the 1980s. However, a number of mutated forms took their place. These ranged from pop music in the United Kingdom to heavier sounds from American bands like the Sisters of Mercy and Fields of the Nephilim.
Darker themes and a mix of soulful female vocals and harsh male vocals characterize the heavier end of gothic rock. Sins of Thy Beloved and Tristania are both proponents of this style of music. The music in this genre is harder and faster, with somber synthesizer atmospherics. Gothic rock has frequently merged and mixed with metal genres such as black and doom metal. It has also been mixed with a variety of genres, including darkwave and industrial music.
While punk is known for its stripped-down, raw sound, gothic rock drew on glam rock’s love of make-up and on-stage drama to create lavish performances. Gothic rock’s thematic focus also differs from punk’s. Unlike punk, which is anti-establishment and hedonistic, gothic rock is more existential or introspective. The genre began by focusing on personal issues, problems, and feelings, but it evolved to include elements of gothic romance and horror as well.