Goth metal (also called Gothic Metal) is a crossover between Doom Metal , heavy metal music and goth music itself. It developed in the early 1990s in Europe and the United States.
Originally, Gothic Metal evolved from Doom Metal, where bands like Paradise Lost (U.K.) and Theatre of Tragedy (Norway) added female vocals and melodic keyboards to heavy doom riffs and death grunts. Bands such as Type O Negative (U.S.), My Dying Bride (U.K.), and Anathema (U.K.), focused on eerie keyboards and gloomy atmosphere as well. Paradise Lost's Gothic is considered to be the first Gothic Metal song ever created, introducing duet of female vocals and death grunts.
The Gothic Metal scene is currently very developed in Northern Europe, especially Norway.
Norwegian bands, such as Theatre of Tragedy, Tristania, and Sins of Thy Beloved added gorgeous vocals to dark, haunting music. The medieval-classic elements - Gregorian Chant choruses, church organs, side-flutes, violins and operatic female vocals - have added a new layer to the heavy Doom metal riffs and created a fascinating style of music. This style known as "Scandinavian Gothic Metal" and often resembles symphonic Black metal\\Death metal (bands such as Therion).
A softer version of Gothic Metal evolved in the mid-late 1990s. These bands focused on female vocals as well, although not neccesserly operatic ones, and reduced Doom Metal elements and male death vocals significantly. These bands include The Gathering (Neth.), Within Temptation (Neth.), Lacuna Coil (It.) and Lacrimosa (Switz.). Some of these bands also combined electronic sounds and/or mainstream rock music with the traditional Gothic Metal sound to create a lighter and more accessible form of the genre.
In general, Gothic Metal lyrics focus on a variety of subjects: religion and God, heaven and hell, romance, horror, depression, bereavement, emptyness, and death.
Gothic Metal bands include:
Related genres:
Metal and Goth databases: