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Bauhaus to Boy Harsher – The Waves of Goth
Goth is more than black clothes and sad songs. It is a tide that comes and goes. Each return brings new people. We stand at the edge and look into who we are. We are the watchers. We are the keepers. We do not turn away.
Each wave has a sound, a look, and a kind of person it brings in. The times shape the scene as much as the bands do. This is our story.
The First Watch – Late 70s to Mid 80s
The UK gave us Bauhaus, Joy Division, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Cocteau Twins. The music was dark, slow, and full of mood. In the US, we found these bands in record shops, small clubs, and on college radio. The first dark rooms appeared and we danced through clove smoke and shadows.
Playlist
Bauhaus – Bela Lugosi’s Dead (1979)
Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart (1980)
The Cure – A Forest (1980)
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Spellbound (1981)
Cocteau Twins – Lorelei (1984)
Christian Death – Romeo’s Distress (1982)
Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon (1984)
The Sound – Winning (1981)
Xmal Deutschland – Mondlicht (1982)
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry – Hollow Eyes (1984)
The Danse Society – Somewhere (1983)
The Bolshoi – Away (1986)
Virgin Prunes – Pagan Lovesong (1982)
The Industrial Shockwave – Late 80s to Early 90s
Machines and noise moved in. Skinny Puppy, Ministry, Front 242, and Nitzer Ebb fused goth mood with hard beats. Nine Inch Nails broke out on MTV and alt radio. Leather stood next to lace. Boots and fishnets shared the same strobe lights.
Playlist
Front 242 – Headhunter (1988)
Ministry – Stigmata (1988)
Nine Inch Nails – Head Like A Hole (1989)
My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult – A Daisy Chain 4 Satan (1990)
Nitzer Ebb – Join In The Chant (1987)
Die Krupps – Machineries of Joy (1989)
KMFDM – Godlike (1990)
Front Line Assembly – Digital Tension Dementia (1988)
Severed Heads – Dead Eyes Opened (1984, reissued 1994 for US clubs)
Meat Beat Manifesto – Strap Down (1987)
Pop Will Eat Itself – Def Con One (1988)
Clock DVA – Sound Mirror (1988)
Lords of Acid – I Sit On Acid (1988)
The Gen X Arrival – Early to Mid 90s
Generation X came in from metal, punk, grunge, and skate worlds. Clubs became safe places for anyone who did not fit in. Styles mixed — velvet and PVC, denim and leather. Peter Murphy’s solo work stood tall. The Cult, Concrete Blonde, and Type O Negative sat beside Sisters and Clan of Xymox.
Playlist
The Cure – Burn (1994)
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection (1987, still massive in early 90s US clubs)
Switchblade Symphony – Clown (1995)
Clan of Xymox – A Day (1985, reentered rotation with 90s resurgence)
Peter Murphy – Cuts You Up (1990)
The Cult – Fire Woman (1989, a bridge track into the 90s scene)
Concrete Blonde – Bloodletting (1990)
Type O Negative – Black No. 1 (1993)
The Mission UK – Deliverance (1990)
Fields of the Nephilim – For Her Light (1990)
The Church – Under The Milky Way (1988, goth crossover in 90s alt nights)
Love and Rockets – So Alive (1989, huge in 90s goth-pop crossover)
The Jesus and Mary Chain – Reverence (1992)
The Mallgoth & Nu Millennium Wave – Late 90s to Mid 2000s
Hot Topic pulled in a flood of young fans. TV and movies gave the look a home. Many built forums, traded burned CDs, and made their own style. Some called them mallgoths. Many stayed and grew into the culture.
Playlist
Marilyn Manson – The Beautiful People (1996)
Evanescence – Going Under (2003)
Linkin Park – Crawling (2000)
Orgy – Blue Monday (1998)
She Wants Revenge – Tear You Apart (2005)
London After Midnight – Kiss (1995, reissued 2000)
HIM – Join Me In Death (1999)
Lacuna Coil – Heaven’s A Lie (2002)
My Chemical Romance – Helena (2004)
The Birthday Massacre – Blue (2004)
Crüxshadows – Deception (2003)
Collide – Euphoria (1997)
Android Lust – Stained (2002)
The Festival Revival – Mid 2000s to Early 2010s
The first internet kids grew up. Festivals, cruises, and big events brought people together. Old bands toured again. Tribute nights packed dance floors. The sound opened up — synthpop, dark cabaret, industrial, and neofolk mixed in.
Playlist
VNV Nation – Chrome (2005)
Covenant – Call The Ships To Port (2002)
And One – Military Fashion Show (2006)
Rotersand – Exterminate Annihilate Destroy (2005)
Wolfsheim – Once In A Lifetime (1999, hit US goth fests mid-2000s)
Assemblage 23 – Let Me Be Your Armor (2002)
Apoptygma Berzerk – In This Together (2005)
Icon of Coil – Shelter (2004)
Melotron – Kindertraum (2007)
Combichrist – This Is My Rifle (2006)
Blutengel – Lucifer (2004)
Solitary Experiments – Crash and Burn (2003)
Project Pitchfork – Timekiller (2002)
The New Wave of Dark – 2015 to Present
The scene is global and online. New darkwave, post-punk, and synth acts carry the tide forward. Streams and clips move fast. We are a mix of old and new. We keep the values of the early days and use new tools. The watchtower is still there. We are still standing guard.
Playlist
Boy Harsher – Pain (2014)
Drab Majesty – Dot In The Sky (2017)
Twin Tribes – Shadows (2018)
She Past Away – Kasvetli Kutlama (2015)
Lebanon Hanover – Gallowdance (2013, resurged post-2015 in US scene)
Skeleton Hands – Unwanted (2013, revived 2019 in streaming)
Light Asylum – Dark Allies (2012, carried into new wave sets)
Mareux – The Perfect Girl (2015, exploded on TikTok 2021)
Urban Heat – Have You Ever (2022)
Vandal Moon – Hurt (2020)
ULTRA SUNN – Keep Your Eyes Peeled (2021)
Night Sins – Crystal Blue (2022)
Zanias – Follow The Body (2021)
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