Gothic Metal

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Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music. Gothic metal combines the aggression of heavy metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The genre originated during the early 1990s in Europe as an outgrowth of death/doom, a fusion of death metal and doom metal. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music. Lyrics are generally melodramatic and mournful with inspiration from gothic fiction as well as personal experiences.

Pioneers of gothic metal include Paradise Lost, Theater Of Tragedy, The 3rd And The Mortal. Other pioneers from the first half of the 1990s include Type O Negative from the United States, Tiamat 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 has since been adopted by many gothic metal groups. During the mid-1990s, Moonspell, Theatres des Vampires 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.

In the 21st century, gothic metal has moved towards the mainstream in Europe, particularly in Finland where groups such as The 69 Eyes, Entwine, HIM, Lullacry, Poisonblack and Sentenced have released hit singles or chart-topping albums. In the US, however, only a few bands such as Lacuna Coil, Evanescence have found commercial success.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_metal

Sub-genre collaborators (shared with Symphonic Metal):

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gothic metal top albums

Showing only albums and EPs | Based on members ratings & MMA custom algorithm | 24 hours caching

Obsidian
PARADISE LOST
4.69 | 23 ratings

PARADISE LOST Draconian Times Album Cover

Draconian Times
PARADISE LOST
4.40 | 57 ratings

THEATRE OF TRAGEDY Velvet Darkness They Fear Album Cover

Velvet Darkness They Fear
THEATRE OF TRAGEDY
4.26 | 31 ratings

Icon
PARADISE LOST
4.23 | 52 ratings

Tragic Idol
PARADISE LOST
4.23 | 28 ratings

Wolfheart
MOONSPELL
4.14 | 30 ratings

Mandylion
THE GATHERING
4.12 | 43 ratings

Irreligious
MOONSPELL
4.10 | 27 ratings

PARADISE LOST Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us Album Cover

Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us
PARADISE LOST
4.10 | 25 ratings

TRIBULATION The Children of the Night Album Cover

The Children of the Night
TRIBULATION
4.13 | 14 ratings

In Requiem
PARADISE LOST
4.02 | 28 ratings

SIRENIA Perils Of The Deep Blue Album Cover

Perils Of The Deep Blue
SIRENIA
4.20 | 6 ratings

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gothic metal online videos

Inherently Lost - Intoxication of Pain
INHERENTLY LOST
Entwined

INHERENTLY LOST - UNRAVELING SANITY
INHERENTLY LOST
Entwined

TYPE O NEGATIVE - Halloween In Heaven - (OFFICIAL AI MUSIC VIDEO)
TYPE O NEGATIVE
UMUR

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gothic metal New Releases

gothic metal Music Reviews

TIAMAT The Scarred People

Album · 2012 · Gothic Metal

UMUR

"The Scarred People" is the tenth full-length studio album by Swedish metal act Tiamat. The album was released through Napalm Records in November 2012. It´s the successor to "Amanethes" from May 2008. There has been one lineup change since the preceding album as guitarist Thomas Wyreson has left and has been replaced by Roger Öjersson (who would later join Katatonia). Wyreson (originally known as Thomas Petersson) had been a member of Tiamat in three seperate periods 1990-1994, 1996-1999, and 2001-2008.

Stylistically the material on "The Scarred People" is more or less a continuation of the by now fully established gothic metal sound with the occasional psychedelic rock touches which Tiamat have played since he mid-90s. "Amanethes" brought back some of the band´s early extreme metal elements, although they were only a small part of the sound of the album. The heavier and more aggressive elements from "Amanethes" are not found on "The Scarred People" although it´s still occasionally a pretty heavy and dark gothic metal album. Tiamat as usual have written a both memorable and effective release, and the performances and the sound production values are also of a high quality.

Although I personally found "Amanethes" a bit more interesting than "The Scarred People", this is a release you don´t want to miss if you´re already a fan of Tiamat. On the other hand "The Scarred People" is not a Tiamat release which will win over those listeners who haven´t found Tiamat intereting since they left their doom/death metal roots behind now many years ago. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

3 days ago
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TIAMAT Amanethes

Album · 2008 · Gothic Metal

UMUR

"Amanethes" is the ninth full-length studio album by Swedish metal act Tiamat. The album was released through Nuclear Blast in May 2008. It´s the successor to "Prey" from 2003 and it´s a comeback album for the band after a 5 year long hiatus. There have been no lineup changes since the predecessor although guitarist Thomas Petersson has changed his name to Thomas Wyreson (if anyone wondered if it was a new member of the band). It would be Wyreson´s last album with Tiamat though as he left after recording "Amanethes". Wyreson was at that point on his third stint with Tiamat, having been a member of the band in the periods 1990-1994, 1996-1999, 2001-2008.

Although the last couple of albums by Tiamat have all been good quality releases featuring a gothic metal sound with touches of psychedelic rock (think mid- to late 90s Paradise Lost with touches of Pink Floyd and 80s goth rock influences), the occasionally more harder edged sound on "Amanethes" is a welcome addition to Tiamat´s sound (best heard on "Equinox of the Gods"). They haven´t included extreme metal elements like this since the early 90s. When that is said this really isn´t that extreme and it´s only on occasion that Tiamat dig deep and present the listener with a few extreme metal parts and elements, but it´s quite effective when it happens. Otherwise "Amanethes" in most other ways pretty much continues the gothic metal/psychedelic rock style which Tiamat have played since the mid-90s.

The musicianship is on a high level on all posts and although lead vocalist/guitarist Johan Edlund maybe isn´t the most skilled or distinct sounding vocalist, he still manages to deliver some both effective and memorable vocal parts and melodies. He is the classic example of getting much out of little. "Amanethes" features a well sounding production job too, and it´s a good quality release on all parameters and even manages to stand out a little from the last couple of releases because of the return of the exteme metal elements (however few and far between they are). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

3 days ago
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UNTO OTHERS Strength

Album · 2021 · Gothic Metal

UMUR

"Strength" is the second full-length studio album by US heavy/gothic metal act Unto Others. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in September 2021. It´s the successor to "Mana" from February 2021. "Mana" was however first released under the Idle Hands monicker in May 2019, but as Idle Hands opted to change their name to Unto Others in 2020, they also chose to re-release their debut full-length studio album under the Unto Others monicker. It´s exactly the same album released under two different monickers though. Since the first album bassist Brandon Hill has been added to the lineup making Unto Others a quartet on this release.

Stylistically the material on "Strength" is a continuation of the heavy/gothic metal style of "Mana". Lead vocalist/guitarist/keyboard player Gabriel Franco has a voice and and vocal style right out of the 80s UK pop/rock/gothic music scene (spiced up with the occasionally more raw heavy metal vocals) and artists like The Mission, Sisters of Mercy, and Fields of the Nephilim are all valid references (The Cure should be mentioned too). Unto Others combine the gothic rock style with some energetic and melodic traditional heavy metal though, and that combination gives "Strength" (and "Mana" before it) a relatively unique sound.

"Strength" features some effective and memorable vers/chorus based songwriting, but Unto Others are clever composers who understand that songs typically need a little more than that and therefore most songs feature at least one section with harmony guitars, a guitar solo, or another detail to spice things up (double pedal drumming is another unconventional feature in music like this). The band are a well playing unit and Franco´s voice and personal delivery are the unique elements which elevate the band´s music to a higher state. "Strength" features a well sounding and professional sound production too, so upon conclusion it´s a high quality sophomore studio album from Unto Others and a continuation of the promises made on "Mana". A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

36 days ago
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UNTO OTHERS Never, Neverland

Album · 2024 · Gothic Metal

UMUR

"Never, Neverland" is the third full-length studio album by US heavy/gothic metal act Unto Others. The album was released through Century Media Records in September 2024. It´s the successor to "Strength" from september 2021.

Stylistically not much has happened since "Strength". Unto Others are still a guarantee for high quality heavy/gothic metal. The songs are 2-3 minutes long vers/chorus stuctured and relatively easily accesssible. If something a bit different should be mentioned it would be the inclusion of the relatively hard edged and riff heavy "Momma Likes the Door Closed", but other than that song plus a few other heavier moments (the semi-thrashy "Flatline" is another), "Never, Neverland" is generally a pretty melodic and instantly sing-a-long type release often leaning closer to 80s influenced gothic rock like The Mission than towards any form of heavy metal.

"Never, Neverland" is a well produced release, although it´s lacking some of the heaviness and power of the two preceding releases. This is generally a more rock music oriented release and the production values naturally follow suit. The band (who´s lineup has remained unchanged since "Strength") is as well playing as ever and lead vocalist/guitarist Gabriel Franco still sounds like a more angry and potent Robert Smith (The Cure). Upon conclusion "Never, Neverland" is a good quality release from Unto Others, but to my ears not quite as great as the two albums before it. A 3 - 3.5 (65% star) rating is warranted.

36 days ago
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UNTO OTHERS Mana

Album · 2021 · Gothic Metal

UMUR

"Mana" is the debut full-length studio album by US heavy/gothic metal act Unto Others. The album was released through Eisenwald Records in February 2021. But while "Mana" is considered the debut full-length studio album by Unto Others, the album was actually previously released in May 2019 under the Idle Hands monicker. After the band opted to change their name to Unto Others in 2020, they also chose to reissue "Mana" and make it part of Unto Others' discography.

Stylistically the material on "Mana" is a melodic type of heavy rock/metal with nods toward gothic rock. Although the music features a lot of 80s UK pop/rock influences (ranging from catchy pop melodies in the vein of Tears for Fears and the hard rock of The Cult) Unto Others manage to put a fresh take on tried and true musical elements, to create a pretty original and personal sound. It bodes well for the future of Unto Others that they already have a relatively unique sound on their debut album.

The 11 tracks on the 40:09 minutes long album are all around 3-4 minutes long vers/chorus structured songs and in that respect "Mana" is not the most adventurous or structurally varied release. It´s an immediate and extremely catchy album though, and you are able to sing along to any track on the album already during the first listen. Lead vocalist/guitarist Gabriel Franco (who also handles the bass on the album) has a powerful voice and a commanding delivery (again highly influenced by British 80s pop/rock/goth singers), and the tracks feature great driving beats and basslines, and loads of melodic guitar work (both clean electric and distorted electric chords, leads and harmonies). Sometimes it´s hard edged enough to land in the metal camp (there are even a couple of sections on the album featuring double bass drumming), but just as often it would be more correct labelling the music heavy/gothic rock.

"Mana" features a detailed and clear sounding production, which suits the material perfectly and upon conclusion it´s quite the impressive debut album. This is beyond promising and a highly recommendable release to those enjoy instantly catchy 80s influenced melodic heavy rock/metal with touches of gothic rock. It´s not often you come across debut releases with such an original sound. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.

36 days ago
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Report #884112

gothic metal movie reviews

PARADISE LOST Draconian Times MMXI

Movie · 2011 · Gothic Metal

Warthur

Released to celebrate the 16th anniversary of the classic gothic doom metal album, Paradise Lost's Draconian Times MMXI simply has them play through the entire album in order, then add on some encores from their wider discography at the end. It's a decent capture of the Paradise Lost live experience, though ultimately they stick close enough to the studio rendition to make this a little redundant in the end. If you're very keen on this specific period of the band's career - after their early pioneering death-doom work, before they steered away from metal entirely to explore other gothic realms prior to their 2000s return to metal - then it's probably worth it, but even then you might find you just prefer to spin the studio album again.