And now, let’s release the bats…īeggars Banquet 49.

Some of these you’ll know by heart, some might require a broader view, but they’d all make a great soundtrack for a night of hedonistic darkness. We debated over what was goth and what wasn’t, we kept a Google doc with comments and dissents, and we came to a consensus on a broad but specific list of the songs that represent the best of what this dark subculture has wrought across five decades and change. What it is, instead, is a chart of its roots and its influences, the best goth songs from its earliest days, the songs that showcase how far those influences have spread, and the progenitors that first made pulses and waves that began to ripple across the Atlantic. What this list is not: A definitive, comprehensive history of goth as a sound and a scene. Which is the intent we had in mind when we took it upon ourselves to compile a list of our favorite goth songs.

Goth-rock begat deathrock and darkwave, and eventually the spheres of industrial and EBM began to cross over-go to a goth club in 2020 (early 2020, I suppose- sigh), and you’ll likely hear all of these different distinct, yet related styles and subgenres. Gothic rock as a genre has its own signature sounds, but the goth aesthetic has spread far and wide since the early ’80s. With the opening of the Batcave in 1982, however, a black-clad, fishnetted subculture embraced the term, savoring dark fashion and aesthetics while dancing to bands whose music did likewise-often comprising a gloomy atmosphere, abrasive melodies and taut rhythms. But goth as we know it didn’t begin to take shape until the late ’70s across the Atlantic Ocean, with the rise of bands like Bauhaus, The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees, all of whom bristled at the term when applied by critics.

The first band to be described as “gothic rock,” was The Doors, in a 1967 review-a fact that’ll either cause a smug sense of satisfaction or groans of displeasure.

Unhinged spotify playlist names