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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. Goth metal has proven somewhat difficult to categorize. Some fans and musicians have a firm concept of genre and subgenre, but others reject such categorization as limiting or useless. There is often signifigant crossover from one category to another, and often the influence of non-metal music.Originally, Gothic metal evolved from doom metal, where bands like Celtic Frost (Switzerland) and some years later 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. Though Paradise Lost's Gothic is widely considered to be the first Gothic metal song ever created, due to the duet of female vocals and death grunts, Celtic Frost had already combined operatic female vocals and death grunts in 1987 on their third album Into The Pandemonium. This album was a main influence for Paradise Lost, The Gathering and many more.
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 is known as "Scandinavian Gothic Metal" and often resembles symphonic Black metal\ Death metal (bands such as TherionTherion is a Swedish symphonic/ death metal band. Its name originates from Greek , where therion means beast the name refers to the beast of the Christian Book of Revelation. Therion was founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1989. Beginning as death metal ban).
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 GatheringThe Gathering is a Dutch goth metal band which came to fame in the second half of 1990s with its unique blend of atmospheric, almost ambient sound and the compelling vocal of the passionate Anneke van Giersbergen. While their first two albums Always ( 199 (Neth.), Within TemptationWithin Temptation is a goth metal band from the Netherlands, founded by guitarist Robert Westerholt in 1996. Biography They signed a contract with DSFA Records less than two months after being founded, and in April the following year, they released their (Neth.), Lacuna CoilLacuna Coil is an Italian goth heavy metal band formed in Milan, Italy, in 1996. They were originally known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal''. Biography Their music is inspired by gothic imagery, using melodic guitar lines, alternating heavy and light voca (It.) and Lacrimosa (Germ.). 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.
The Gothic metal scene is currently very developed in Northern Europe, especially Norway.
1 List of Gothic metal bands
