Goth Black Metal
Overhaul Your Halloween Playlist
Goth music and black metal are distant cousins who, despite decades of growing apart, cannot mask their similar traits. Goth is a nebulous concept that alludes to numerous genres, including industrial, new wave, darksynth, shoegaze, death rock, and everything in-between. At the root of these genres sits post-punk, punk’s brooding older sibling. Black metal — goth’s unruly cousin, who always seemed to look up to post-punk — regularly lobs nods toward the goth scene, and occasionally, one returns. The resulting interplay has offered up some of the spookiest music ever delivered over an 8th Note Feel, so here are some selections for the coming holiday.
Emptiness — Not For Music
Entering from the world of blackened death, Belgium’s Emptiness harbors the unique chops necessary to take death rock to new extremes. Not For Music is so well-executed on all fronts that it actually sells its overbearingly edgy shtick.
Cursed Moon — Rite of Darkness
Cursed Moon has been steadily gaining popularity, and not for nothing. Rite of Darkness is such an anthemic album that its appeal stretches far beyond the boundaries of both black metal and goth. Sounding more like a compilation of 80’s slasher theme songs, it could act as a Halloween playlist all on its own.
Behrosth — День и Ночь
When a black metal act alludes to Depeche Mode in their sound, it’s more often the likes of Violater than Construction Time Again. Russia’s Behrosth is goofy enough to attempt the latter, sprinkling in a touch of Fields of the Nephilim to great effect.
Sunrise Patriot Motion — Black Fellflower Stream
Being heavily associated with Yellow Eyes, it’s no surprise that Sunrise Patriot Motion has so many post-black metal elements. Regardless, the decidedly rare project shares more in common with The Cure or My Bloody Valentine than anything from the NY post-black metal giants.
Svoid — Neptunian
Svoid is on the way to not being considered black metal, but they undeniably were at one point. As they were crossing through the borderlands of the genre, they offered up this rather unique entry. They’re touting to be inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees and U2 — both of which I concede to hearing in their sound — but fans of Christian Death or even the Killers will likewise enjoy what Svoid is bringing forth.
Gost — Rites of Love and Reverence
While we’re on the topic of acts that aren’t really black metal, it seems appropriate to mention Gost, given the frequent use of black metal elements in what would otherwise be a darksynth project. Gost is often brought up in the same conversations as French darksynth titans Perturbator and Carpenter Brut, but Rites of Love and Reverence is the first album where Gost is truly batting in the same league.
Furia — Księżyc Milczy Luty
Being a major player in Poland’s churning post-black metal scene, it’s not surprising that Furia eventually detoured into — at-times — frustrating levels of experimentalism. Księżyc Milczy Luty is probably the best album to emerge from that portion of their career, sporting a uniquely patient swagger that would feel very familiar to fans of Nick Cave.
Duszę Wypuścił — Przekrólewszczenie
It’s probably a bit lazy of me to include another Polish act that is so closely related to Furia (via their bassist), but Duszę Wypuścił is a unique enough project that it bears mention. Przekrólewszczenie has a rather bleak sound, leveraging lo-fi black metal to add a haunting edge to the goth riffing throughout. Plus, being Polish, the project exhibits the distinct dreariness characteristic of post-punk from the Balkans and beyond.
Urfaust — Der Freiwillige Bettler
Urfaust was always strange, even for a black metal band. In their two-decade career, the Dutch duo was known for sporting an aesthetic best dubbed as “drunken spiritualism”. While overt elements of goth music crop up regularly, the sound is ever-present in the form of a distinctly German brand of doom & gloom spread across their entire catalog.
VampyreSS & Billy Odal — Emascula / Death Machine
If you’re looking for an extra-evil guilty pleasure to enrapture the unsuspecting guest with, look no further. I’m not going to explain why; maybe read some of my other posts.
That seems a good place to call it. Happy Halloween!