Gothic metal
Gothic metal is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music. The genre originated during the early 1990s in the United Kingdom originally as an outgrowth of death-doom, a fusion of death metal and doom metal. Lyrics are generally dark and introspective with inspiration from gothic fiction as well as personal experiences.
Pioneers of gothic metal include Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema, all from the north of England. Other pioneers from the first half of the 1990s include Type O Negative from the United States, Lake of Tears, Tiamat and Katatonia from Sweden, and the Gathering from the Netherlands. Norwegian band Theatre of Tragedy developed the "beauty and the beast" aesthetic of combining aggressive male vocals with clean female vocals, a contrast that had been adopted by groups before them, but not as a regular trademark; several bands have employed the technique since. During the mid-1990s, Moonspell, Theatres des Vampires, Rotting Christ and Cradle of Filth brought the gothic approach to black metal. By the end of the decade, a symphonic metal variant of gothic metal had been developed by Tristania and Within Temptation. Nightwish also integrated elements of gothic metal into their well-known mix of symphonic metal and power metal.
In the 2000s, gothic metal has moved towards the mainstream in Europe, particularly in Finland where groups such as Entwine, Charon, HIM, Lullacry, the 69 Eyes, and Poisonblack have released hit singles or chart-topping albums. In the US, however, only a few bands such as Type O Negative and Evanescence have found some degree of commercial success.
Etymology
Some musicians have disputed the gothic label associated with their bands, including Rozz Williams of Christian Death and Andrew Eldritch of the Sisters of Mercy. In the gothic metal subgenre, members from such groups as After Forever and Nightwish have similarly downplayed or dismissed the gothic label from their music.Characteristics
Sonic traits
The music of gothic metal is generally characterised by its dark atmospheres. The adjective "dark" is commonly used to describe gothic music in general while other terms that are less frequently used include deep, romantic, passionate and intense. Gothic metal has also sometimes been viewed as "a combination of the darkness and melancholy of goth rock with heavy metal". Allmusic defines the genre as a fusion of "the bleak, icy atmospherics of goth rock with the loud guitars and aggression of heavy metal" and further notes that "true goth metal is always directly influenced by goth rock — ethereal synths and spooky textures are just as important as guitar riffs, if not more so".Gothic metal is a varied genre with bands pursuing many different directions, from "slow and crushing variations" to "orchestral and bombastic". The doom metal background of early pioneers like Anathema, Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride has been taken up by groups like Artrosis, Ava Inferi and Draconian. The black metal approach of Cradle of Filth, Theatres des Vampires and early Moonspell can be found in such subsequent bands as Graveworm and Samsas Traum.
Vocals
There is also a diverse range of vocal styles in gothic metal. Male singers in the genre range from the guttural growls and black metal shrieks of Dani Filth and Morten Veland to the clean baritone vocals of Østen Bergøy and the bass range of Peter Steele. For the female singers, the different vocal styles includes the screams and growls of Cadaveria, the "poppy" vocals of Tanja Lainio from Lullacry and the operatic soprano style of Vibeke Stene from Tristania. There are more female singers in gothic metal than there are in any other heavy metal subgenre, but female vocals are neither necessary nor synonymous with the genre. Liv Kristine of Theatre of Tragedy and Leaves' Eyes notes that the gothic tag is often misinterpreted and points out that "not every band with female vocals is a gothic band". The genre is also known to attract more female fans relative to other subgenres of heavy metal music.Lyrics
The lyrics of gothic metal are known to be melodramatic, fantasized, romantic, dark or sometimes gloomy. For the three English bands that helped to pioneer the genre, their gloomy lyrics reflect their background in doom metal while their darker or melodramatic lyrics draw influence from gothic rock. The music of My Dying Bride has been noted as "dripping with treachery and pain" from a "lyrical fascination with deceit and transgressions of every variety". Lyrics that focus on suicide and the meaninglessness of life can be found in Anathema while Paradise Lost too has "never lost their depressive edge".File:Theatre Des Vampires.jpg|thumb|left|The Italian gothic, black metal band Theatres des Vampires manifests a deep interest in the vampire myth, a common staple of gothic horror fiction.
Gothic fiction, a literary genre that blends horror and romance, has been a source of inspiration for the lyrics of many gothic metal bands like Cadaveria, Cradle of Filth, Moonspell, Theatres des Vampires and Xandria. Critic Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic identifies drama and mournful beauty as requisite elements of the genre. For My Dying Bride, the subjects of "death and misery and lost love and romance" have been approached repeatedly from different angles. The common gothic theme of lost love is a subject that has been tackled by such gothic metal bands as Theatre of Tragedy and Leaves' Eyes.
Lyrics based on personal experiences are another common feature of many gothic metal bands such as Anathema, Elis, Evanescence, Tiamat, Midnattsol and the Old Dead Tree. Graveworm moved away from fantasy stories in favour of personal lyrics after finding them more suitable for their style of music. The lyrics of fellow Italians Lacuna Coil also do not feature any "fantasy stuff or something that you cannot find in reality" as their co-vocalist Cristina Scabbia finds it desirable that people can relate themselves to her band's lyrics. Similarly, the band Lullacry features lyrics on the subjects of "love, hate, passion and pain" because a person "can easily connect to a song" with lyrics "about human relationships". A few bands, such as Saviour Machine and Virgin Black, deal extensively with Christian religious themes and navigating personal religious faith.
History
Precursors
Heavy metal
Heavy metal music is perceived by many members of the goth subculture as the "crass, crude macho antithesis of everything that their music represents". In contrast to the "softer" and "more feminine" character of gothic music, the heavy metal genre is typically associated with aggression and masculinity. Despite this difference, "a few bold souls have identified Black Sabbath's eponymous 1970 debut album as the first ever 'Goth-rock' record". The author Gavin Baddeley notes that the title track of the album "describes a satanic rite, complete with driving-rain and tolling bell sound effects, while the cover focuses on a black-cloaked, spectral-looking girl in a graveyard, shot through a sickly pale ochre filter". Other commentators have described Black Sabbath as the "absolute prototype gothic heavies" and observed that by separating the band's music "from their heavy metallic connotations", one "could cull a killer Goth album from their first five LP's, with every future reference point and requirement intact".The "vaguely medieval, minor-key sounds" of Rainbow, Dio and Judas Priest have also been described as "gothic" prior to "the emergence of goth rock as a post-punk genre". The bands Blue Öyster Cult and Iron Maiden have featured some gothic lyrics in their music on songs such as " The Reaper" and "Phantom of the Opera". Deep Purple's song "Stormbringer" has been called a "goth metal treasure". The Danish metal band Mercyful Fate had also demonstrated "a Gothic obsession with evil and the occult". Frontman King Diamond continued exploring his interest in gothic storytelling after establishing a solo career under his own moniker, issuing "a series of concept albums which told Gothic horror tales with sound effects and song". During the 1980s, the Misfits frontman Glenn Danzig also "occupied the no man's land between Goth and heavy metal". With the dissolution of his second band Samhain in 1988 and the creation of his own eponymous act, Danzig went on to combine heavy metal riffs with "a heavily romanticized, brooding, gothic sensibility".
The Swiss group Celtic Frost was another precursor to gothic metal, translating the influence they drew from gothic rock acts Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees into their own albums. The band's "radical fusion of violent black metal and elements of classical music" was dubbed "avant-garde" and had a huge impact "on the evolution of European heavy metal". Christofer Johnsson of Therion cites Celtic Frost's 1987 album Into the Pandemonium in particular for playing a key role in the development of the "gothic and symphonic wave of bands" in the 1990s, noting further that neither his group Therion nor Paradise Lost "would have sounded the way we did without Celtic Frost".
Gothic rock
had emerged as an offshoot of post-punk in the 1980s but by the end of that decade, the genre had splintered into different directions with bands such as the Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Mission incorporating "more pop and alternative elements" while the Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim and Christian Death took on a "heavier, sometimes metal-influenced approach". The Sisters of Mercy was one of the leading goth bands of the 1980s, playing "a slow, gloomy, ponderous hybrid of metal and psychedelia, often incorporating dance beats". The band only released three full-length albums with the debut First and Last and Always released in 1985. Their last album Vision Thing arrived in 1990 as one of the earliest attempts to mix gothic music with heavy metal. Fields of the Nephilim had also released only three studio albums before their initial dissolution in 1991. They have since reformed, released more albums and been recognised for their influence on the "glut of metal bands" in the early 21st century "that incorporated obvious elements of goth into their sound — especially detected in their appreciation of symphonic and keyboard sounds ".According to AllMusic, "goth metal first emerged during the early to mid-'80s, centered around Los Angeles' so-called 'death-rock' scene headed by Christian Death". Acclaimed as the "founding fathers of American goth rock", Christian Death went through a major personnel change in 1985 with the departure of the band's leader and founder Rozz Williams. Guitarist Valor Kand took over the reins and, under his leadership, Christian Death subsequently pursued a more metal-oriented direction. In particular, their 1988 album Sex and Drugs and Jesus Christ has been described by critic Steve Huey as "heavy goth-rock bordering on metal".