what are some good Goth bands?

[SpaceProg]

Mostly why I think that way is there's so many different ones, they all blend together in my head anyway. "Er.. I'm listening to trad-industrial-goth-metal-fusion-fission-fallout...stuff... I think..."

 

[Qyöt27]

There are also a number of bands that are often considered to skirt the trad goth/cyber goth (as the EBM/industrial scene is called in the UK) boundry. These include bands like the Cruxshadows, Mesh and interestingly enough Front 242.

I was almost a little confused there for a second before I looked it up on a different website . There's also an American band called Mesh that had a 'not-even-one' hit back in 2001 (the song's name was 'Maybe Tomorrow'). And they weren't Goth or Industrial at all. I'm not sure why I mentioned that, just a funny anecdote . It's kind of ridiculous how many bands have had to change their names, even if slightly, just because there's a more prominent/semi-prominent band with the same name in another country.

 

[DJ_Ghost]

Big thing to remember about all this: Who cares about labels? If you like it, listen to it.

I tend to agree. Music labels should be a guide to help shopers decide if they may like to risk trying an album by a band, not a strait jacket that people should adhere to at all costs. Whilst Trad goth and guitare lead industrial are my main musical loves I also listen to some rock, some indie, EBM, Electro, I like bands like Fleetwood Mac and Big Country, Bony M and Meatloaf, the list is extensive. Occasionaly people point out "Thats not Goth", as if this is a revilation to me! I think a well rounded music collection with albums and tracks from other genres is a very good thing, anyone who only listens to one genre is missing out on an awfull lot of music they may like.

Ghost

 

[DJ_Ghost]

I was almost a little confused there for a second before I looked it up on a different website . There's also an American band called Mesh that had a 'not-even-one' hit back in 2001 (the song's name was 'Maybe Tomorrow'). And they weren't Goth or Industrial at all. I'm not sure why I mentioned that, just a funny anecdote . It's kind of ridiculous how many bands have had to change their names, even if slightly, just because there's a more prominent/semi-prominent band with the same name in another country.

Yes that is pretty amussing. I remember that track and you are right it isn't something you could call Goth or Industrial.

I'm pretty impressed with your knowledge of early Goth for some one who is 18. Looking back on this thread you realy know your stuff.

Ghost

 

[Qyöt27]

I'm pretty impressed with your knowledge of early Goth for some one who is 18. Looking back on this thread you realy know your stuff.

Ghost

Thanks. The retro and modern rock stations in my area used to play a lot of Depeche Mode and New Order [and sometimes some mainstream-ish stuff like The Cure and Gene Loves Jezebel-actually, come to think of it, the modern rock station (which, sadly, got axed in favor of an urban station) hosted a performance at one of the concert venues in the area and Gene Loves Jezebel was on the bill, with A Flock Of Seagulls and Wang Chung], and then about three years ago the local alternative rock station started having an old-school alternative program and played them too. But it also would be alongside the Sisters, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, Peter Murphy, and The Cure (and a whole bunch of other forms of pre-1994 alternative music, especially early Punk and late 80s Industrial). The few songs by those artists that they would play (something like 4 or 5 from the Banshees, 3 or 4 of the Sisters, practically only "Bela Legosi's Dead" and "Cuts You Up" from Bauhaus and Peter Murphy, and maybe 3 or 4 of The Cure's) got me interested in the style, particularly the Sisters at first.

Other than that, I'm really interested in music history and progression, and www.allmusic.com has a lot of essays and such that I read and soaked the information up like a sponge (it does seem to look at most styles from a mainstream point-of-view, unless the style is so far underground that it can't be looked at that way; so some details have gotten smudged over here and there). It also gave me a lot of names of other bands to look for and how the different styles related to each other. I also got some exposure to other bands like The Cruxshadows because in one of the communities I belong to, people have used their music in their video projects, and my interests just sort of grew like wildfire. As a whole, Goth, Industrial, Electronic, and Post-punk are my favorite styles, but overall, doesn't make up a lot of my collection. Most of the other stuff is music I liked before I found those styles, or stuff that's just a lot more common to find around a music store.

 

[DJ_Ghost]

Qyot27, can you get the Mick Mercers books in the USA? I think you will find the first 2 (The Black book of Gothic rock and The Hex Files) very interesting. Although I would not bother with the last one (21st century Goth) which is vertualy a Net directory which was already out of date by the time it was published (both of my Goth businesses, Forever In Black and The Charnel house, are mentioned in it and both have the old web site address, which we had altered by the time the book came out!).

Pete Scarthes website is also pretty good but I can't recall the address. Its linked from,

www.netgoth.org.uk

He mentions the Andi Sex-Gang pre-dating Bauhaus for ussing the term Goth, which is a little known fact since Bauhaus popularised the term more than Sex gang Children, who, although they predated bauhaus, realy became popular after Bauhaus emerged.

Ghost

 

[Qyöt27]

Qyot27, can you get the Mick Mercers books in the USA? I think you will find the first 2 (The Black book of Gothic rock and The Hex Files) very interesting.

I was able to find them on Amazon, from associate sellers. I'll definitely see about ordering them when I get the chance.