Gothic Rock

Gothic rock is one of the earliest forms of alternative music, with a history dating back to the late 1970s as bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, and The Sisters of Mercy began their rise to fame. Also simply known as goth, the scene was largely a rebellion against punk music, with lyrics that were thought to be depressive and introspective while punk was more antagonistic. The genre of gothic rock has mutated little in the past decades, but it has continued to attract a steady base of fans that consistently support the fledgling scene.

While the term goth was used as early as 1971 to describe some works by the Velvet Underground, the genre of gothic music is thought to have begun nearly a decade later, in 1979. It was at this time that the Bauhaus released a single titled “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.” The song was meant to be a novelty joke, but the serious attitude of the musicians when they performed the song resonated with audiences. In the same year, other bands started to appear that had a similar sound, thus giving rise to the goth movement. Of the many gothic bands that appeared during the 1980s, The Cure had the most success. In addition to releasing many albums, the band had several hits that crossed over to mainstream radio.

In recent times, gothic music has maintained much of its original sound, but the base of fans has largely changed. Many of the current goth fans are in their teenage years and are attracted to the full gothic culture that exists around the music scene. A casual visitor to a gothic music concert will quickly notice that most of the audience are part of the show itself, being painted with haunting makeup and dressed in primarily dark colors and costumes.