page_title: Gothic metal
section_title: Gothic rock
hierarchical_section_title: Gothic metal / History / Precursors / Gothic rock
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Die Death-Rock-Band Christian Death auf dem Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2014. Polski: Deathrockowy zespół Christian Death na Wave-Gotik-Treffen w 2014 r. English: Christian Death at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2014.
context_page_description: Gothic metal is a fusion genre combining the heaviness of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music. The genre originated during the early 1990s in the United Kingdom originally as an outgrowth of death-doom, a fusion of death metal and doom metal. Lyrics are generally dark and introspective with inspiration from gothic fiction as well as personal experiences.
  Pioneers of gothic metal include Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema, all from the north of England. Other pioneers from the first half of the 1990s include Type O Negative from the United States, Tiamat and Katatonia 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 had been adopted by groups before them, but not as a regular trademark; several bands have employed the technique since. During the mid-1990s, Moonspell, Theatres des Vampires, Rotting Christ and Cradle of Filth brought the gothic approach to black metal.
context_section_description: Gothic rock had emerged as an offshoot of post-punk in the 1980s but by the end of that decade, the genre had splintered into different directions with bands such as The Cure, The Mission and Siouxsie and the Banshees incorporating "more pop and alternative elements" while The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim and Christian Death took on a "heavier, sometimes metal-influenced approach". The Sisters of Mercy was one of the leading goth bands of the 1980s, playing "a slow, gloomy, ponderous hybrid of metal and psychedelia, often incorporating dance beats". The band only released three full-length albums with the debut First and Last and Always released in 1985. Their last album Vision Thing arrived in 1990 as one of the earliest attempts to mix gothic music with heavy metal. Fields of the Nephilim had also released only three studio albums before their initial dissolution in 1991. They have since reformed, released more albums and been recognized for their influence on the "glut of metal bands" in the early 21st century "that incorporated obvious elements of goth into their sound — especially detected in their appreciation of symphonic and keyboard sounds (as well as their fashion sense)".
  According to AllMusic, "goth metal first emerged during the early to mid-'80s, centered around Los Angeles' so-called 'death-rock' scene headed by Christian Death". Acclaimed as the "founding fathers of American goth rock", Christian Death went through a major personnel change in 1985 with the departure of the band's leader and founder Rozz Williams. Guitarist Valor Kand took over the reins and, under his leadership, Christian Death subsequently pursued a more metal-oriented direction. In particular, their 1988 album Sex and Drugs and Jesus Christ has been described by critic Steve Huey as "heavy goth-rock bordering on metal".
caption: Gothic rock band Christian Death performing live at Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig, Germany, in 2014
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