Name	Gothic rock
Bgcolor	crimson
Color	white
Stylistic origins	Punk rock, post-punk, glam rock
Cultural origins	Late 1970s, United Kingdom
Instruments	Guitar - Bass - Drums - Drum machine - Synthesizer - Keyboard
Popularity	Largely underground until the mid and late 1980s; low since the mid 1990s.
Derivatives	Ethereal Wave
Fusiongenres	Dark cabaret - Deathrock - Gothabilly - Dark Wave
Other topics	Dark Wave - Culture - Fashion }}

Gothic rock (also referred to as goth rock or simply goth) is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes. The genre itself was defined as a separate movement from punk rock during the early 1980s largely due to the significant stylistic divergences of the movement; gothic rock, as opposed to punk, combines dark, often keyboard-heavy music with introspective and depressing lyrics. Notable gothic rock bands include Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins, The Cure, The Sisters of Mercy, Virgin Prunes, Sex Gang Children, Christian Death, The Damned, Southern Death Cult, This Mortal Coil, Flesh for Lulu, UK Decay, The Mission, Specimen, Theatre of Hate, Theatre of Ice, Xmal Deutschland, The Danse Society, Dead Can Dance, Clan of Xymox, 45 Grave, Gene Loves Jezebel, Kommunity FK, Fields of the Nephilim and Alien Sex Fiend, among many others. Gothic rock gave rise to a broader goth subculture that includes clubs, fashion and numerous publications that grew in popularity in the 1980s.

Style, roots and influences

Gothic rock takes the guitar and synthesizer sounds of post-punk and uses them to construct "foreboding, sorrowful, often epic soundscapes". According to music journalist Simon Reynolds, standard musical fixtures of the genre include "scything guitar patterns, high-pitched basslines that often usurped the melodic role; [and] beats that were either hypnotically dirgelike or 'tribal'". Reynolds described the vocal style as consisting of "deep, droning alloys of Jim Morrison and Leonard Cohen". Many goth bands use drum machines that do not stress the back beat in the rhythm. Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure tended to play the flanging guitar effect, producing a brittle, cold, and harsh sound that contrasted with their psychedelic rock predecessors.

Gothic rock typically deals with dark themes addressed through lyrics and the music atmosphere. The poetic sensibilities of the genre led gothic rock lyrics to exhibit literary romanticism, morbidity, religious symbolism, and/or supernatural mysticism. Musicians who initially shaped the aesthetics and musical conventions of gothic rock include The Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and The Sex Pistols. Nico's 1969 album, ''The Marble Index'', was also particularly influential. Gothic rock creates a dark atmosphere by drawing influence from the drones used by protopunk group The Velvet Underground, and many goth singers are influenced by the "deep and dramatic" vocal timbre of David Bowie, albeit singing at even lower pitches. J.G. Ballard was a strong lyrical influence for many of the early gothic rock groups; The Birthday Party drew on Arthur Rimbaud and Charles Baudelaire.

In 1976, ''Interview with the Vampire'' by Anne Rice was published. The main character, although dark, wanted companionship and love. The book, according to music journalist Dave Thompson, slowly created an audience for gothic rock by word of mouth. The same year saw the punk rock band The Damned debut. The group's vocalist Dave Vanian was a former gravedigger who dressed like a vampire 24 hours a day. Brian James, a guitarist for the group, noted, "Other groups had safety pins and the spitting and bondage trousers, but you went to a Damned show, and half the local cemetery would be propped up against the stage".

History

Origins and early development

The term gothic was used to describe Velvet Underground singer Nico as early in 1971. The term was used occasionally in the years that followed. In the late 1970s, the word "gothic" was used to describe the atmosphere of post-punk bands like Joy Division. In 1979, Martin Hannett described Joy Division as "dancing music with Gothic overtones". The same year, Tony Wilson described the band as "gothic" on the television show ''Something Else''. Not long after, the term was used in a derogatory fashion in reference to bands such as Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees. However, the term was not adopted as "positive identity, a tribal rallying cry" until a shift in the scene in 1982. Despite their legacy as progenitors of gothic rock, these groups disliked the label. Adam Ant's early work was also a major impetus for the gothic rock scene, and much of the fan base came from his milieu.

Bauhaus's debut single "Bela Lugosi's Dead", released in late 1979, is considered to be the beginning of the gothic rock genre. According to Peter Murphy the song was written to be tongue in cheek but since the group performed it with "naive seriousness" that is how the audience understood it. Around the same time post-punk bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure fully embraced the goth sound. With their fourth album, 1981's ''Juju'', the Banshees established many of the classic Gothic qualities, lyrically and sonically. Steve Severin attributes the supernatural lyrical aesthetic of the album to the influence of The Cramps. The Cure were the most commercially successful of these groups, eventually recording two double platinum albums. The Cure's style was atmospheric and withdrawn, contrasting with their contemporaries The Birthday Party, who drew on funk, blues, and spastic, violent turmoil. Their 1981 single "Release the Bats" was particularly influential in the scene. Killing Joke were originally inspired by Public Image Ltd., borrowing from funk, disco, dub, and later, heavy metal. Calling their style "tension music", Killing Joke distorted these elements to provocative effect, as well as producing a morbid, politically-charged visual style.

Gothic rock thrived in the early 1980s. Clubs such as the Batcave, in London, provided a venue for the goth scene. In 1982, Ian Astbury of the band Southern Death Cult used the term "gothic goblins" to describe Sex Gang Children's fans. Southern Death Cult were themselves icons of the scene, drawing aesthetic inspiration from Native American culture. The group appeared on the cover of ''NME'' in October 1982. The emerging scene was described as "positive punk" in a February 1983 article in ''NME''. Journalist Richard North described Bauhaus and Theatre of Hate as "the immediate forerunners of today's flood" and declared, "So here it is: the new positive punk, with no empty promises of revolution, either in the rock'n'roll sense or the wider political sphere. Here is only a chance of self awareness, of personal revolution, of colourful perception and galvanisation of the imagination that startles the slumbering mind and body from their sloth." That year, myriad Goth groups emerged, including Flesh for Lulu, Play Dead, Rubella Ballet, Gene Loves Jezebel, UK Decay, Blood and Roses, The Virgin Prunes and Ausgang. The 4AD label released music in a lighter, more ethereal style, by groups such as Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance and Xmal Deutschland. The Icelandic group Kukl also appeared in this period, which included Björk and other musicians who later participated in The Sugarcubes.

Simon Reynolds speaks of a shift from early Goth to gothic rock proper, advanced by The Sisters of Mercy. As journalist Jennifer Park puts it, "the original blueprint for gothic rock had mutated significantly. Doom and gloom was no longer confined to its characteristic atmospherics, but as the Sisters demonstrated, it could really rock." The Sisters of Mercy, influenced by Leonard Cohen, Gary Glitter, Motörhead, The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, The Birthday Party, Suicide and The Fall, created a new, harder form of gothic rock. In addition, they incorporated a drum machine. Reynolds identifies their 1983 single "Temple of Love" as the quintessential Goth anthem of the year, along with Southern Death Cult's "Fatman". The group created their own record label, Merciful Release, which also signed The March Violets, who performed in a similar style. The Violets toured with The Danse Society, a group inspired by The Cure in their ''Pornography'' period.

Subsequent developments

Southern Death Cult reformed as The Cult, a more conventional hard rock group. as did Fields of the Nephilim and All About Eve. Bands who continue to be associated with gothic rock include Alien Sex Fiend, All Living Fear, And Also the Trees, Balaam and the Angel, Claytown Troupe, Dream Disciples, Feeding Fingers, Inkubus Sukkubus, Libitina, Fields of the Nephilim, Nosferatu, Rosetta Stone, and Suspiria.

American gothic rock began with 45 Grave and Christian Death, both of whom were strongly influenced by The Cramps. This style is often described as deathrock. European groups inspired by the style have also proliferated, including Xmal Deutschland and Clan of Xymox. These groups are associated with Dark Wave, which draws on gothic rock in addition to synthpop and industrial.

See also

List of gothic rock bands

Goth subculture

Gothic fashion

References

;Footnotes

;Bibliography

Collins, Andrew. "Bluffer's Guide to Goth." ''NME''. 30 November 1991.

Charlton, Katherine. ''Rock Music Styles''. Fourth edition. McGraw-Hill, 2003. ISBN 0-07-249555-3

Furek, Maxim W. "The Death Proclamation of Generation X: A Self-Fulfilling Prophesy of Goth, Grunge and Heroin." i-Universe, 2008. ISBN 978-0-595-46319-0

Hannaham, James. "Bela Lugosi's Dead and I Don't Feel So Good Either". ''Gothic''. Boston: MIT Press, 1997.

Kilpatrick, Nancy. ''The Goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined''. Chapter 5, "Music of the Macabre: In the Beginning ..." New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2004.

Mercer, Mick. ''Gothic Rock''. Los Angeles: Cleopatra Records, 1994.

Mercer, Mick. ''Gothic Rock Black Book''. London: Omnibus Press, 1988.

Mercer, Mick. ''The Hex Files: The Goth Bible''. Woodstock: Overlook Press, 1996. ISBN 0-87951-783-2

Park, Jennifer. "Melancholy and the Macabre: Gothic Rock and Fashion". ''Gothic: Dark Glamour'' by Valerie Steele and Jennifer Park. Yale University Press, 2008.

Reynolds, Simon. ''Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984''. Chapter 22: "Dark Things: Goth and the Return of Rock." London: Faber and Faber, 2005. ISBN 0-571-21569-6

External links

Category:Alternative rock * Category:Post-punk

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name	Theatre of Tragedy
background	group_or_band
origin	Stavanger, Norway
genre	Death/doom, gothic metal (early)Industrial rock, electropop (mid)Gothic metal (late)
years active	1993–2010
label	AFM / Candlelight (2006–10)Nuclear Blast (2000–05)Massacre/Century Media (1995–99)
website	Official site
current members	Raymond RohonyiNell SiglandFrank Claussen Vegard K. ThorsenLorentz AspenHein Frode Hansen
past members	Liv KristineTommy LindalTommy OlssonPål BjåstadGeir FlikkeidEirik T. Saltrø }}

Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which provided a great deal of influence to the gothic metal genre.

Biography

Theatre of Tragedy was founded on 2 October 1993. Drummer Hein Frode Hansen had recently quit his former band Phobia and started looking for a new musical project to play in. A friend of his told Hein that a band called Suffering Grief was looking for a new drummer, and after contacting them, he joined the band. At the time, Suffering Grief was composed of vocalist Raymond István Rohonyi and guitarists Pål Bjåstad and Tommy Lindal. No bassist had joined the band yet, but Eirik T. Saltrø had agreed to play with them in live concerts.

After finding a rehearsal place, the band decided to work upon a couple of piano arrangements composed by Lorentz Aspen. The vocals, at the time, were mostly entirely composed by raw death grunts.

After composing their first song, "Lament of the Perishing Roses", the band changed its name to La Reine Noir and then to Theatre of Tragedy. They subsequently invited singer Liv Kristine Espenæs to do female vocals for one song, but quickly invited her to join the band permanently.

In 1994, their first studio demo was recorded, and in 1995, the debut album ''Theatre of Tragedy'' was released, followed by ''Velvet Darkness They Fear'' in 1996 and the ''A Rose for the Dead'' EP in 1997, which contained unreleased material from ''Velvet Darkness They Fear''. Arguably, the band reached the apogee of its career in 1998, with the release of the critically acclaimed album ''Aégis''.

Released in 2000, ''Musique'' was a massive departure from the gothic metal sound that Theatre of Tragedy had developed over the previous three albums. The heavy guitars and Early Modern English lyrics were replaced by electropop and industrial-influenced metal. It was met with a very mixed reception, and while some older fans were understandably shocked by the new direction of the band, it did gain them a number of new fans.

With 2002's ''Assembly'', the band continued along the same musical path as on their previous album. It was seen as a more refined and confident electropop record than its predecessor. It was also the first album to feature their long-time session guitarist, Vegard K. Thorsen, as a full member of the band.

In August 2003, the band declared in an official statement on their website, that Liv Kristine was removed from the band's line-up due to "musical differences which could not be bridged".

Female singer Nell Sigland (from The Crest) joined Theatre of Tragedy on the following year. In winter 2004/2005 a short concert tour (together with Pain, Sirenia and Tiamat) with Sigland singing was performed.

The band released their sixth studio album ''Storm'' on March 24, 2006 and a European tour followed, with Gothminister as supporting act. The album's title song was released as a single on February 24, 2006. While still keeping on the industrial and electronic roots of the last two albums, the album showed a return to some of the sounds developed in their first albums.

On 2 October 2008, Theatre of Tragedy celebrated their 15th anniversary. In December 2008 the band posted a snippet of new track "Frozen," which was expected to be on the new album, on their MySpace music page:

::"''Time for some updates. Things are slowly moving forward with the next album. As usual with the Theatre machinery there is many things to take into consideration when doing stuff and recently we were forced to change collaborators for the production of the album, and postpone the recordings. But fear not the heavy responsibility has been entrusted to Alexander Møklebust (Zeromancer, Seigmen, Gåte, Monomen, Delaware etc) and the ToT crew will enter Room 13 in May and June for recordings and general mayhem! Estimated release from AFM is end of September. Rumor has it that there will be a vinyl version for the diehard fans. We will keep you posted.''"

In June 2009 saw the band reveal ''Forever Is The World'' as the title of the new album. Their 7th album, it was released in Europe on 21 September 2009, with the band making a step towards their earlier sound of ''Aégis''. A special Tour Edition of ''Forever Is The World'' was issued on March 12, 2010. The Tour Edition contained a bonus CD known as the "Addenda EP" which contains song reworkings and unreleased tracks.

Metal Mind Productions issued a press release in July stating that they were, with the co-operation of the band, re-releasing ''Musique'' and ''Assembly''. Both albums have been remastered and will be backed with bonus tracks. New liner notes and artwork are said to be a part of the package. Each album is limited to 2000 numbered copies.

On 1 March 2010, Theatre of Tragedy issued a statement informing fans of their decision to split on 2 October 2010. The statement cited personal desires to spend more time with family and an inability to juggle their everyday working lives with a "rock and roll" lifestyle. On 12 March, Theatre of Tragedy kicked off their farewell tour, "Forever is the World Tour". The Norwegian symphonic goth metal band Where Angels Fall played support on the European part of the tour. In September, fans helped the band to secure funds to finish their first and last DVD by making donations when the label pulled out most of the funding for the production.

Musical style

The band made use of contrasting vocals – male bass vocals (making some use of death grunts) and female soprano singing (commonly referred to as "Beauty and the Beast" vocals) – and on their first three albums, presented lyrics written predominantly in Early Modern English. Starting from the album ''Musique'', however, Theatre of Tragedy made drastic changes to its style, which became significantly inspired by the industrial rock genre, abandoning Early Modern English writing and death grunts in the process.

Members

Final lineup

Raymond István Rohonyi – Vocals (1993–2010)

Nell Sigland – Vocals (2004–2010)

Frank Claussen – Guitars (1997–2010)

Vegard K. Thorsen – Guitars (1999–2010)

Lorentz Aspen – Keyboards (1993–2010)

Hein Frode Hansen – Drums (1993–2010)

Former members

Liv Kristine Espenæs Krull – Vocals (1993–2003)

Tommy Lindal – Guitars (1993–1997)

Tommy Olsson – Guitars (1997–1999)

Geir Flikkeid – Guitars (1995–1997)

Pål Bjåstad – Guitars (1993–1995)

Eirik T. Saltrø – Bass (1993–2000)

Touring members

Bjørnar Landa – Guitar (2006)

Erik Torp – Bass (2010)

Discography

Albums

''Theatre of Tragedy'' (1995)

''Velvet Darkness They Fear'' (1996)

''Aégis'' (1998)

''Musique'' (2000)

''Assembly'' (2002)

''Storm'' (2006)

''Forever Is the World'' (2009)

Live Albums

''closure:live'' (2001)

''Last Curtain Call'' (2011)

DVD's

''Last Curtain Call'' (2011)

EP's

''Theatre of Tragedy'' (demo, 1994)

''A Rose for the Dead'' (1997)

''Virago'' (1999)

''Inperspective'' (2000)

''Addenda'' (2010)

Singles

"Der Tanz Der Schatten" (1996)

"Cassandra" (1998)

"Image" (2000)

"Machine" (2001)

"Envision" (2002)

"Let You Down" (2002)

"Storm" (2006)

"Deadland" (2009)

References

External links

Official website

Category:Norwegian gothic metal musical groups Category:Norwegian heavy metal musical groups Category:Norwegian doom metal musical groups Category:Norwegian rock music groups Category:Norwegian musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1992 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Category:Musical sextets

af:Theatre of Tragedy cs:Theatre of Tragedy da:Theatre of Tragedy de:Theatre of Tragedy es:Theatre of Tragedy fa:ثیتر آو ترژدی fr:Theatre of Tragedy hr:Theatre of Tragedy it:Theatre of Tragedy lt:Theatre of Tragedy hu:Theatre of Tragedy nl:Theatre of Tragedy ja:シアター・オヴ・トラジディー no:Theatre of Tragedy pl:Theatre of Tragedy pt:Theatre of Tragedy ro:Theatre of Tragedy ru:Theatre of Tragedy sh:Theatre of Tragedy fi:Theatre of Tragedy sv:Theatre of Tragedy uk:Theatre of Tragedy

name	Lacrimas Profundere
landscape	yes
background	group_or_band
genre	Gothic Metal(early)Death/Doom(early)Gothic RockGlam rockHard rock |
alias	Rock'n'Sad Crew
origin	Waging am See, Germany
years active	1993–present
label	Napalm Records
website	lacrimas.com
current members	Oliver Nikolas SchmidRob VitaccaPeter KafkaTony BergerKorl Fuhrmann
past members	See Below }}

Lacrimas Profundere is a gothic metal band from Germany. Their name means "to shed tears" in Latin. Their stylistic aesthetic has evolved over time, originally a death doom rooted gothic metal band, they have progressively changed their style to a more mainstream gothic style with the late albums.

Biography

Lacrimas Profundere was founded in 1993 by guitarist Oliver Schmid. At the time, the band was influenced by doom metal, and also made use of feminine vocals and classical elements. With the entrance of vocalist Anja Hötzendorfer, they drew enough attention to themselves to be able to record their debut, entitled ''... and the Wings Embraced Us'', which was released in 1995 and was followed by ''La Naissance d’un Rêve'' (French for "Birth of a Dream"), from 1997.

After the said releases, the band was granted a deal with Napalm Records which included five albums. A harpist was added to the band's line-up and they proceeded to record ''Memorandum'' (1999).

''Burning: A Wish'' from 2001 was Lacrimas Profundere's first album to receive attention from the international specialized press. This album featured the removal of the band's classical elements to some degree, and was also the first time they employed baritone vocals, supplied by Oliver's brother, Christopher Schmid. Their first international tour then began, including countries of Europe and Latin America.

Lacrimas Profundere's subsequent albums were ''Fall, I Will Follow'' from 2002 and ''Ave End'' from 2004.

''Filthy Notes For Frozen Hearts'' received considerable attention from Jackass star Bam Margera and the songs My Velvet Little Darkness, Short Glance, Should and Sweet Caroline along with a vocal excerpt from Sad Theme For a Marriage were played on his show Bam's Unholy Union.

In April 2007, Christopher Schmid, the band's founding member and vocalist left the band; citing prolonged stress from touring. It did not take long to find a new vocalist: Peter Kafka, who also sings for the Deutsch band Sonicslave. A Few months later basist Daniel Lechner left the band and vocalist Peter Kafka became the new basist and Rob Vitacca employed as the new vocalist, who also sings for the German Rock band Lost. Long time keyboardist Christian Steiner also left the band but supplied some parts for the new album. The album called "Songs For The Last View" was released in the summer of 2008. This was the first album featuring their new singer, Rob Vitacca.

Lacrimas Profundere's new album, The Grandiose Nowhere has been released on 30 April 2010.

Members

Current members

Rob Vitacca - Vocals

Oliver Nikolas Schmid - Guitars

Tony Berger - Guitars

Korl Fuhrmann - Drums

Former members

Guitars

Marco Praschberger

Christian Freitsmiedl

Stefan Randelshofer

Manuel Ehrlich (Seraph (Ger))

Ryan Gabriel Short

Bass

Markus Lapper

Rico Galvagno (ex-Darkseed)

Daniel Lechner

Peter Kafka

Drums

Willi Wurm (ex-Darkseed)

Christian Greisberger

Stefan Eireiner

Lorenz Gehmacher

Kevin Sumner

Other

Christopher Schmid - Vocals

Christian Steiner - Keyboards

Anja Hötzendorfer - Violin, Backing Vocals

Ursula Schmidhammer - Harp

Eva Stöger - Flute, Keyboards

Extra Members

Tony Cheirichetti

Alexandra Diehl

Discography

''...And the Wings Embraced Us'' (1995)

''La Naissance D'Un Rêve'' (1997)

''The Crown of Leaving'' (1997)

''The Embrace and the Eclipse'' (1998)

''Memorandum'' (1999)

''Burning: A Wish'' (2001)

''Fall, I Will Follow'' (2002)

''Ave End'' (2004)

''Again It's Over'' (2006)

''Filthy Notes for Frozen Hearts'' (2006)

''Songs for the Last View'' (2008)

''The Grandiose Nowhere'' (2010)

Videos

"Ave End" (2004)

"Amber Girl" (2004)

"Again It's Over" (2006)

"My Velvet Little Darkness" (2006)

"A Pearl" (2008)

"And God's Ocean" (2009)

"The Letter" (2010)

References

External links

Official website

Lacrimas Profundere at Napalm Records

Lacrimas Profundere at MySpace

Category:German heavy metal musical groups Category:German doom metal musical groups Category:German gothic metal musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1993 Category:Musical quintets

de:Lacrimas Profundere es:Lacrimas Profundere fr:Lacrimas Profundere it:Lacrimas Profundere la:Lacrimas Profundere nl:Lacrimas Profundere pl:Lacrimas Profundere pt:Lacrimas Profundere fi:Lacrimas Profundere