Goth Rock

Gothic literature and art have frequently inspired music, but a focus on the dark, the melancholy, the tragic… this was a central feature of the post-punk rock sub-genre known as Goth.

Often using minor keys and underpinned by either a funereal drum foundation or hypnotic tribal rhythms, Goth bands regularly deployed synthesisers to add a brooding, mysterious element to the music. There was a visual element too, with black cloths and black on white facial makeup adding to the overall image.

A contender for the first Goth album is the debut LP by Bauhaus, In The Flat Field (1980). Other bands considered part of the movement are Joy Division, The Cure, and Siouxsie & The Banshees. Although primarily a British phenomenon, other territories threw up Goth bands as well, including Christian Death (USA), The Birthday Party and Dead Can Dance (Australia) and Xmal Deatschland (Germany). Many (especially in Australia) consider the crown prince of goth to be Nick Cave.