The difference, by ear
Gothic metal takes this atmosphere onto the metal branch by way of doom - down-tuned, much heavier, and usually with a female lead voice.
Gothic metal is part sung, part screamed where gothic rock is sung cleanly, and a little slower: 70 to 110 bpm against 90 to 130. To hear the difference, play Bauhaus next to Paradise Lost. Gothic rock comes from the rock side of the tree and gothic metal from the metal side, and gothic rock came first, by twelve years. United Kingdom appears in the origins of both.
In figures
Gothic rock
Where it sits
Rock › Punk rock › Post-punk › Gothic rock
In short
Post-punk with reverb, chorused guitar and a baritone voice. Its aesthetic passes straight into gothic metal and doom.
How it sounds
- Guitar with chorus and flanger, thin and cold, drenched in reverb.
- Melodic bass up front; some bands use a drum machine instead of a drummer.
- Baritone vocals, often declaimed, with literary and funereal lyrics.
Key acts
- Bauhaus
- The Sisters of Mercy
- The Cure
- Fields of the Nephilim
Start here
The pickBauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead. Nine minutes that founded an entire subculture.
Full page →Gothic metal
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Doom metal › Gothic metal
In short
Death-doom that adds keyboards, romance and female vocals. It popularised the beauty-and-the-beast formula.
How it sounds
- Keyboards and strings over slow, heavy riffing.
- Vocal contrast: lyrical female voice alongside a male growl - 'beauty and the beast'.
- Broad production, romantic and funereal atmosphere.
Key acts
- Paradise Lost
- Type O Negative
- Theatre of Tragedy
- Lacuna Coil
Start here
The pickType O Negative - Bloody Kisses. Bleak and funny at once, which is rare.
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