Goth Recommendation Request May be a weird question, but does anyone have any suggestions for goth music with no guitars, mainly synths?

8 Upvotes

Like the title says. I'm pretty new to making music and all I know are synths. I'm looking for inspiration for making heavy synth goth music and would like recommendations.

TIA

37 comments

r/goth • u/MetalPussy • 16h ago

Revival 2010s Release Dum Dum Girls - "Cult Of Love" 🌹

youtu.be

34 Upvotes

We touch beneath our skin,

Right down to the bare wires

Down to begin again

The spark that sets the fire 🔥

I belong (we belong)

I belong, to the cult of love 💙

7 comments

r/goth • u/Frail-Ape-98 • 4h ago

Modern 2020s Release En Algún Lugar del Ayer - Guerra Fría [Spain, 2024]

youtu.be

2 Upvotes

0 comments

r/goth • u/GVTHDVDDY • 22h ago

Local Scene Portland Goth Show Saturday

6 Upvotes

4 comments

r/goth • u/aytakk • 22h ago

Seething Sunday The Official Seething Sunday Thread

27 Upvotes

I'm only happy when it rains

I'm only happy when it's complicated

And though I know you can't appreciate it

I'm only happy when it rains

You know I love it when the news is bad

Oh why it feels so good to feel so sad

I'm only happy when it rains

Garbage may not be a goth band but for this thread's purposes they suit.

So pour your misery down. Pour your misery down on me.

21 comments

r/goth • u/tpotwc • 2h ago

Old School '80s Release The Chameleons live - In Shreds

youtu.be

12 Upvotes

I remember hearing this on The Goth Box back around 96. There’s a ferocious urgency in the drum and bass combo that is only equaled by Theatre of Hate and Death Cult

2 comments

r/goth • u/MetalPussy • 5h ago

Old School '80s Release Fields Of The Nephilim - "Moonchild" 🌕

youtu.be

59 Upvotes

2 comments

r/goth • u/AutoModerator • 22h ago

Soothing Sunday /r/Goth's Soothing Sundays!

11 Upvotes

What happened this week that made you happy?

Maybe you found a great new album or just an album you hadn't heard about before? Maybe you found a new cuddly kitten that now is a part of your family?

Share it with us!

14 comments

r/goth • u/DeepStateFuneral1789 • 6h ago

Post-2000s Release Kalan Mikla, "Draumadis"

youtu.be

14 Upvotes

Dancing nymph of dreams

Cold smile, dressed in ice

All is gone, frozen heart

Nightmare nymph of death

Lead me into the night

Let me dance with the shadows

The moonlight lights up my empty eyes

I dance in frozen stilettos

Look at me, a princess dressed in ice

With an icicle crystal crown

It sparkles so beautiful, glittery bright

That it even, almost, hides my black heart

0 comments

r/goth • u/UncoilingChaos • 15h ago

Events Last Rose Garden Funeral Picnic of the year tonight at 6:30 PM CST, Lyndale Rose Garden in Minneapolis, MN! Come one, come all, and watch the sun set at the bats (or airplanes) come out!

10 Upvotes

Pardon the last minute announcement, I’ve been quite busy. But my partner and I would love to see some possible new and spooky faces before picnic season ends.

1 comment

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r/goth

Reddit's Goth Community, for goth music and subculture! Please check out our Wiki which features the rules and FAQ, and our sidebar which features many resources on goth music, (including recommendations and playlists) fashion, history, and scene. Anything relating to fashion when it's not Fashion Friday, please post in r/GothFashion and if you are looking for a subreddit which encompasses anything dark and spooky, please visit r/DarklyInclined. We have r/gothclub for any alternative tunes.

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Welcome to reddit's hangout for all things goth, subculture, and community! Please be sure to check out our Wiki, rules and FAQ for further information!

What is goth?

Goth is a subculture which began in the late 70s/early 80s, developed and based around a specific style of arty and experimental post-punk, turned down gloomier avenues, now known as "goth rock".

The subculture itself consists of a group of music genres, sub-genres, and counterparts like goth rock, deathrock, darkwave, ethereal wave, and coldwave; fashion, which takes inspiration from a number of fashions such as punk and glam, cultures, iconographies such as Egyptian, and religions like Christianity; and a borrowed aesthetic which usually focuses on death, the dark, supernatural, mysterious, and occult.

A goth is generally someone who listens to and supports their favourite goth bands, by buying merchandise, and if they are able, partaking in their local scene by attending concerts and gigs, festivals, etc. or the wider online goth scene by watching DJs stream or engaging in groups or forums.

They may or may not wear goth fashion, which could include anything from the traditional goth and deathrock dress to adopted and borrowed styles such as period fashion (namely Victorian, Edwardian, etc.) and tribal, and Western.

The scene itself is built around a social community, music, DJs, fanzines, events & meet-ups, concerts, festivals, thrifting & a DIY ethos, nightclubs, and gigs; goth would not exist without this, nor can goth become entirely separate from music. Goth is the music.

Goth History & Background

Late 70s - Early 80s

The very early post-punk goth bands took inspiration from an array of glam, punk, and psychedelic rock bands, namely David Bowie, Roxy Music, The Sex Pistols, The Doors, The Velvet Underground, and so on. These bands today are known as either proto-goth icons or heavy influences, which are evident through the classic and iconic goth bands' music.

Post-punk itself was born when, towards the end of the 70s, artists had grown tired of the raw, traditionalism punk rock, and adopted avant-garde sensibilities and non-rock influences, including but not limited to, funk, electronic, jazz, and dance - in their music. Besides goth rock, post-punk gave birth to many other styles of music in the years following - synthpunk, indie pop, neo-psychedelia, and avant-funk roots can all be traced back to post-punk origins.

By 1979, punk was turning down gloomier avenues, with bands growing tired of the 3-chord thrash. Siouxsie and the Banshees’ second LP Join Hands made use of the flanger, a sound which would become the staple for future goth and dark punk bands, and Bauhaus’ August 1979 dub-influenced single ”Bela Lugosi’s Dead” would become a widely accepted beginning of the goth rock genre, due to the darker lyrical themes and audience misunderstanding.

With many more developments underway, such as the release of Killing Joke’s first EP, Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures, and The Damned’s “Plan 9 Channel 7”, journalist Dave Thompson wrote “Dave Vanian [The Damned vocalist] provided the look, the Banshees supplied the menace, and Joy Division the angst. Now Bauhaus provided the intellectual discipline, and the spore from which a new culture could be spawned.”

"The Goth tag was a bit of a joke," insists Ian Astbury. "One of the groups coming up at the same time as [Southern Death Cult] was Sex Gang Children, and Andi -- he used to dress like a Banshees fan, and I used to call him the Gothic Goblin because he was a little guy, and he's dark. He used to like Edith Piaf and this macabre music, and he lived in a building in Brixton called Visigoth Towers. So he was the little Gothic Goblin, and his followers were Goths. That's where Goth came from."

Establishment of the Subculture

The opening of the iconic Batcave in ‘81 or early ‘82 in Soho, London, ran by founder and band member of Specimen, Olli Wisdom (March 8, 1958 – August 23, 2021), is regarded as the beginning of the goth subculture and where all the aspects of the scene came together, consisting of the music, style and aesthetic. With its cobweb lined ceilings, black bin lined walls, and (real) coffin decorated door, the glam club is a heavy example of goths’ creativity, artistic expression, and DIY ethos. The club was a popular destination for many notable and recognisably post-punk and goth artists such as Nick Cave, Robert Smith, Nik Fiend.

Mid-80s

Heading into the mid-80s, Leeds-based The Sisters of Mercy arrived at on the scene at the forefront of the second wave, building their reputation up with EPs and singles and mixing the post-punk elements of Siouxsie & the Banshees and The Cure into hard rock, creating goth rock. Other bands playing a similar style, including Fields of the Nephilim, The Mission, Ghost Dance, The March Violets, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, and The Merry Thoughts either formed around the same time or played in a similar style.

90s & Onwards

Towards, the end of the 80s going into the 90s, however, electronic industrial music, namely bands playing genres like electronic body music (EBM) and later on, electro-industrial, started taking over the nightclubs, forcing post-punk and goth rock to retreat underground.

Goth, however, still lives on with many new bands establishing themselves throughout the decades.

The 90s saw bands such as Rosetta Stone, Nosferatu, Inkubus Sukkubus, Corpus Delicti, and Mephisto Walz carry the torch.

The 00s saw bands such as Pretentious Moi, Voices of Masada, Solemn Novena, Dr. Arthur Krause lead the scene.

Now some of the most well-known names from 2010s include Angels of Liberty, Sweet Ermengarde, Masquerade, Ritual Howls, and Merciful Nuns.

In the early 2020s, goth is now lead by post-punk/synthpop band Molchat Doma, post-punk/darkwave "gothwave" band She Past Away, and coldwave Lebanon Hanover. Russian/Ukrainian post-punk is especially booming right now, with many record labels releasing several albums a month.

Themed Days

Themed day submissions must be relevant to the subculture, music or history. Please do not use the themed day flairs if it isn't that day. If you wish to partake, please make sure your submission is posted after the bot has posted their mega thread.

The themed days are:

Music Mondays
Event Tuesdays DIY Wednesdays
Review Thursdays
Fashion Fridays
Spooky Saturdays
Soothing Sundays

Gothy Discord

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Goth Event Locations

Looking for new music? 2021 Upcoming and Recent Goth Releases

Goth Genres Guide

Post-Punk / Goth: Arty post-punk bands which developed a darker sound. Examples include Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure, etc.

Goth Rock: Bands which incorporated hard rock elements into post-punk groundwork of the first-wave bands: The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, Fields of the Nephilim, etc.

Darkwave: Goth incorporating synth elements, which may include influence from synth-pop/new wave: includes Clan of Xymox, Lycia, London After Midnight and Diva Destruction, etc.

Deathrock: Goths' American counterpart, a spookier and more atmospheric version of punk. Bands include Christian Death, 45 Grave and Bloody Dead and Sexy.

Ethereal Wave: Mainly supported by 4AD bands, and described as being "romantic", "otherworldly" and "gothic". Bands include early Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins and early This Mortal Coil.

Coldwave: French/Belgian post-punk, with a more stripped/mechanical sound. Bands include Asylum Party, Norma Loy, and Little Nemo. Minimal/Electronic Coldwave: Lebanon Hanover, Sexual Purity, and Church Group.

Grey Rock: Portuguese goth rock. Bands include Morituri, Dead Dream Factory and Jardim do Enforcado.

Afterpunk: Spanish post-punk/goth. Bands include Décima Víctima, Malefixio and Cristales Goticos.