DARK & GOTHIC ESSENTIAL HISTORY

During the Romantic Movement, around 1800, many people felt attracted to the past and a revival of gothic and medieval things came into fashion. Romanticism emerged as a reaction to the rationalism of the Enlightenment. Emotive, nonrational aspects were central to the movement, and the creative power of the individual. Romantics wanted to escape from the concrete historical situation. During the Romantic period gothic became associated with the dark, the strange, the bizarre. Many symbols and themes in Romantic art have remarkable similarities with the present gothic subculture. Romantic and decadent writers like Byron, Shelley, Baudelaire and Verlaine were interested in the darker realms of human conscience and experience. The Romantic spirit was also clear in the visual arts. In architecture, a neo-gothic style was fashionable in the nineteenth century. Gothic literature existed of a complex mixture of terror, horror and the mysterious, with action situated in out-of-the-ordinary settings. A typical character in Gothic fiction is the vampire. Examples of gothic literature are Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the work of Edgar Allan Poe and of course Bram Stoker's Dracula. Stoker took the rather vague and contradictory picture of the vampire that had emerged from the nineteenth-century literature and earlier times and developed a fascinating, satisfying, and powerful character whose vampiric life assumed mythic status in popular culture.

During the 1980's a new gothic movement came to the surface. It was preceded by punk, which came into life at the end of the 70's when there was a need for a distinctive non-conformist alternative culture. Maybe gothic came as a sort of reaction against punk, at the same time a group of people seemed to share certain needs and tastes. The music celebrated the dark, shadowy side of life and had a distinct fascination with death. Its slow, driving sound was frequently described as melancholy, gloomy, even morbid. Those enthralled by the new gothic culture found the vampire the single most appropriate image for the movement. According to J. Gunn: 'Lyrically, themes of death, destruction and explorations of darkness are common among gothic artists, as well as romantic themes of love and loss found in the gothic novels of the literary movement. The music, despite the addition of electronic sounds and dance-beats as the genre has evolved to present, continues to emphasize minor chords, sparse, minimalist rhythms, and slower tempos characteristic of an recognizable 'eerie' or 'gloomy' texture. Visually, gothic artists and fans seem to promote a death-like aesthetic that, para-musically, abides the dark timbre: pale white faces, black clothing, victorian-styled fashions such as corsets or ruffled shirts, medieval ruins and gothic architecture and so on'.

It's hard to give an exact date of birth of gothic. At the end of 70's many new groups emerged with a somewhat dark sound and/or image. To name but a few: the Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees, the Damned, Adam & The Ants, Ultravox, Killing Joke, the Sound, the Comsat Angels and Joy Division. Their New Wave or Dark Pop music had a lot of influence on people who would later call themselves gothic. Perhaps the first real Goth anthem was `Bela Lugosi's dead' by Bauhaus. The story goes that gothic originated from the London club the Batcave, but when this club opened in 1981, gothic already was well on its way. But the bands that performed there, like the Virgin Prunes and Alien Sex Fiend with their horror image, helped to spread the movement. Bands like The Sisters Of Mercy, The Mission and Fields Of The Nephilim. Their gothic rock and image became the standard form of gothic for years (and maybe still is in Britain). These bands become absolute classic cults. A problem was though that many later groups had difficulties to create their own sound, they tended to copy their idols too much. In England this type of gothic still is very popular, at dance parties a lot of old-style gothic is still being played. Lots of contemporary English Goth groups like Midnight Configuration, Inkubus Sukkubus, Rosetta Stone still play caring of the old sound.

But there were bands that were popular in the 80´s Goth scene that followed other musical lines. Best example is Dead Can Dance, whose self-titled debut is a typical Goth album, but later releases have a more ethereal sound, with influences ranging from the medieval to the oriental. They have reached a broader audience in later years, but have split up recently. The Cocteau Twins, were even more ethereal. And the Dutch formation (Clan Of) Xymox, who recently made a successful comeback, made people dance on their tunes, with a melancholy electronic sound. But England wasn't the only place where 'dark' music was being made. The Swans for example, originating from the New York avant-garde scene. Only recently their career ended, but Michael Gira and Jarboe continue to make fascinating music. Another legendary band is Christian Death, perhaps the best known US Goth band. They are still active, making numerous, often controversial albums, with a lot of B-movie and sexual themes. Most recommended are only Theatre of Pain and Catastrophe Ballet. Contemporary American Goth bands are for instance Faith & The Muse and London After Midnight.

Now that we have left Great Britain it is time to look at gothic in a broader sense. Because the music that is appreciated nowadays does not all lead back to the British Goths. Take for instance more electronic based styles. Belgium was the founding father of Electronic Body Music (EBM), with cold, dark, rather minimal electronic sounds. Influences are electronic bands that started in the 70´s like Kraftwerk and Cabaret Voltaire. In the early 80´s a Neue Deutsche Welle brought DAF and Die Krupps. But the real founders of EBM are Front 242, who became really succesful with their minimalistic beats, cold sounds, and militaristic commando outfit. Hits like No Shuffle, Headhunter and Tyranny for you still bring people to the dancefloor. the Klinik, Insekt, Dive, Click Click, A Split Second and later Suicide Commando are other big names here. Dive, the band of Dirk Ivens, formally the Klinik and also active with the noise project Sonar, still knows how to create a cold atmosphere, and Johan van Roy's Suicide Commando has had some dancefloor smashers like See you in hell and Desire.

In the U.S. and Canada they spoke of Industrial. The electronic heroes here were/are Front Line Assembly (with side-projects like Delerium and Synaesthesia) and the Canadian Skinny Puppy (also with various other projects). Both bands make pretty complex music, with many layers of sound, which is very suitable to hear with headphones on. Front Line Assembly is easier to listen to, and easier to dance to. Classic albums are Caustic Grip (1990) and Tactical Neural Implant (1992), which should be in everyone´s EBM collection. Live concerts of Front Line Assembly are very energetic. Skinny Puppy is less accessible, but made some dancefloor classics though, like Assimilate and Smothered Hope, compiled on the 12' Anthology. Most albums of Kevin Key and friends though, like Last Rights, are pretty hard to digest. Apart from these two giants some industrial bands rose to fame which used more guitar sounds in their music, like Ministry or Nine Inch Nails. Some less commercial varieties of these crossover style, like Godflesh can be found on the Earache label. There are many contemporary American electro bands, like the popular Velvet Acid Christ, and for some reason their sound differs from European electro, most of the times American electro for instance has more (sampled) guitar sounds.

In Germany, the biggest gothic scene can be found nowadays, as you can see at the yearly Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig. In the 80's Germany got its own succesful acts. One of the first German acts in the gothic scene was Project Pitchfork still a popular formation, although their style has changed a bit. A classic album is their debut Dhyani, which contains the typical dark vocals and critical lyrics of frontman Peter Spilles, combined with the dark technoid sounds which make Pitchfork suitable for the dancefloors. Another top act is Deine Lakaien, who nowadays even achieve chart succes in Germany. These skilled musicians make beautiful romantic songs like 'Love me to the end'. Alexander Veljanov is responsible for the emotional vocals, musical masterminds Ernst Horn and Michael Popp also have succes with the medieval ensemble Qntal. Not to forget Sopor Aeternus (with the tragic he/she figure of Anna-Varney), whose first album was very dark but later work is a bit lighter, with some medieval influences. There also emerged a whole bunch of German groups who began to sing in their own language. A good example is Goethes Erben, the band name says it all. Especially their first three albums, a trilogy, are recommended. During live shows they are at their best, with the theatrical entertainer Oswald Henke. Both Lacrimosa, with the romantic spirit Tilo Wolf, and Umbra et Imago, with the anthem Gothic Erotic from their debut Infantile Spiele are nowadays taking the metal path. Of course we have to mention Das Ich, their classic album is 'Die Propheten'. They make long, complicated tracks, like Kain und Abel, to which Stefan Ackermann adds his intellectual lyrics. The dark electro band Calva y Nada have texts in both German and Spanish (!), sung with the instant recognizable low voice of Brenal. Der Prager Handgriff sound a bit similar, but their texts are mostly about political and social issues, an exception in the gothic world. Many German bands have a somewhat Romantic mood in their music. Some good examples are Wolfsheim, Silke Bischoff, Illuminate and Diary of Dreams.

A label based in Liechtenstein which has obtained a lot of succes lately is M.O.S., with some great romantic bands like Weltenbrand and Die Verbannten Kinder Evas. They also release the work of L'Ame Immortelle, who combine romantic poppy songs with dark electro tracks. From the end of the 80's on many good electro (a modern name for EBM) bands emerged, like Mentallo & the Fixer, X Marks the Pedwalk, the dark Leatherstrip (from Sweden), the even darker Yelworc, the list could go on and on. The big acts at the moment are Wumpscut, who has made some powerful classics (like Black Death and Soylent Green) in a short time, and Terminal Choice (with side projects Seelenkrank and Tumor) with a very dark sound and image and the master song 'Totes Fleisch'. This type of danceable electronic music is also sometimes called 'dark techno'. Other recent popular (and very danceable) electro bands are Covenant, Apoptygma Berzerk and Evils Toy. Intelligent Electro with techno/trance influences is made by the likes of Haujobb and Abscess.

So many different styles are being associated with gothic nowadays. Take dark folk for instance. The best examples are Current 93, Death in June, Sol Invictus and Fire + Ice. The first releases of Current 93 are very experimental and hard to digest, but in later years they switched to an acoustic folky style, with the characteristic vocals of David Tibet. Death in June's first albums like Nada offer a rather classic gothic sound. The group is a bit controversial, because they are being accused of extreme right-wing tendencies. Later work, like Rose Clouds of Holocaust is, instead a neo-folk classic. Their latest album Take Care and Control is very dark with it's ritual sound. Sol Invictus is the band around Tony Wakeford, who also has side-projects like the neo-classical L'Orchestre Noir. A good introduction to Sol Invictus is In Europa, which contains most of their best songs. Another nice folky band is the Italian group Ordo Equitum Solis. Yet another popular musical form is the medieval genre, maybe not very surprising, because gothic is often connected with the Middle Ages. Many musicians in this genre have a classical education. German examples are Qntal (with the hit Ad Mortem Festinamus, with a danceable beat), Estampie, Freiburger Spielleyt, the Sarband, early Merlons, and many others. Some try to make 'authentic' medieval music, others combine it with modern influences and electronics. The music of Corvus Corax and Tanzwut can be better described as energetic party music.

Italy also has some influence, with Ataraxia and Camerata Mediolanense. Most of these groups don't only play for 'gothic' audiences, but also in classical environments. Yet another style is dark ritual music, of which The Moon lay Hidden Beneath a Cloud and Rosa Crux are examples. Of course there are always bands that are hard to put a label on. Take Kirlian Camera from Italy, active for almost twenty years now and whose electronic music seems to change every year. Or the very sensual dark electro from the French Die Form (often with S/M themes), which surprises with every release. Another French band is Collection d'Arnell Andrea, sounding very romantic with piano and strings. And where to place In the Nursery, who make bombastic orchestral music but also film soundtracks. We can't even begin about Laibach. A story apart are the releases from the Swedish Cold Meat Industry label, which have a unique own sound, always very dark and mysterious, from brutal experimental music like Brighter Death Now or Deutsch Nepal to atmospheric ambient from Raison d'Etre, neo-classical from The Protagonist, the ritual Ordo Equilibrio or the heavenly Arcana. More heavenly music can be found in bands like Love is Colder than Death, Black Tape for a Blue Girl or Stoa.

Another rather popular genre in the gothic scene the last years is industrial noise. Industrial music perhaps started in the mid 70´s, with the formation of Throbbing Gristle and the label they set up, Industrial Records, which tried to show the potential of noise as music. On this label experimental groups were released like Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA, Monte Cazazza and SPK. Other groups like Test Department, Whitehouse and Einsturzende Neubauten seemed to share the same interests. To make things complicated, American bands like Ministry are also called industrial, but their music can't be compared to the aforementioned more experimental and noisier groups. Recently harsh industrial music gets a lot of attention. Esplendor Geometrico from Spain are active now for many years, more recent bands are Sonar (with Dirk Ivens from Dive), Imminent Starvation, Winterkalte, Noisex and PAL. Their rhythmic industrial music attacks the dancefloors of many clubs nowadays.

And if you want to hear the real experimental noise, a trip to Japan is strongly recommended. Who knows if gothic will ever be a mass phenomenon. Some of the more superficial visual characteristics may be used by popular culture, but I think that gothic will remain an underground scene, although festivals seem to attract more visitors and some bands achieve chart success, like Wolfsheim and Deine Lakaien in Germany. In Holland though, even so-called alternative magazines don't write about gothic music. Lots of gothic bands are experimenting nowadays with other styles like techno or metal and maybe so can bridge the gap. There are some bands that are popular both in the gothic scene and in more popular circles, like Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and Rammstein. Of course there are also connections with related music like gothic/black metal. Sure is that nowadays gothic has become a truly international phenomenon. There are well-known bands from all possible continents, like Ikon from Australia or Aghast View and Hocico from South-America. Gothic is more than just a type of music, it's a lifestyle, it's an attitude, like happens for other phenomenons like punk and metal. Music is accompanied by a sort of esthetical taste which superficially explains the follower's thoughts and often, politics. Most people in the gothic scene want to distinguish themselves from the average, everyday world, where there is not much room for fantasy and deviation from the norm. Gothic can be a fantasy world to escape into, a dark romantic world. You can express a gothic feel in music, but also in clothing, art, literature, film. Some have a nostalgia for the past, others embrace modern technology. For some people music is the most important, for others it's more about the look. But it's all interconnected. And there is a variety of styles, not only in music.