The European goth-metal band My Dying Bride formed in June 1990. The four-piece first recorded the demo tape Towards the Sinister, and after the release of a seven-inch single for the French Listenable label, the group sigend to Peaceville Records in 1991. My Dying Bride's first release was a 1991 EP, Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empyrium.... [+] Read More

The European goth-metal band My Dying Bride formed in June 1990. The four-piece first recorded the demo tape Towards the Sinister, and after the release of a seven-inch single for the French Listenable label, the group sigend to Peaceville Records in 1991. My Dying Bride's first release was a 1991 EP, Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empyrium. Debut album As the Flower Withers appeared the following year, and after touring Great Britain and Europe, the band released another EP, The Thrash of Naked Limbs. Third album Turn Loose the Swans coincided with another European tour, after which the band disappeared for a year.

In the meantime, Peaceville issued a box set titled The Stories as well as the three-EP compilation Trinity. My Dying Bride returned later in 1995 with The Angel and the Dark River, also available in a double-pack with a live EP. The band's fourth album, Like Gods of the Sun, appeared in late 1996; 34.7888% Complete followed two years later, and My Dying Bride was issued in early 2001. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide [-] Hide

While Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride got more attention from underground doom metal fans, Liverpool natives Anathema were just as important in creating a new strain of doom (sometimes referred to as doom/death) that drew heavily from atmospheric goth metal and, in the early days, featured gruff death-style vocals. Guitar-playing brothers... [+] Read More

While Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride got more attention from underground doom metal fans, Liverpool natives Anathema were just as important in creating a new strain of doom (sometimes referred to as doom/death) that drew heavily from atmospheric goth metal and, in the early days, featured gruff death-style vocals. Guitar-playing brothers Vincent and Danny Cavanagh formed Anathema in 1990 with vocalist Darren White, bassist Duncan Patterson, and drummer John Douglas, and originally called themselves Pagan Angel. As Anathema, the band recorded a Black Sabbath/Paradise Lost-inspired demo titled An Iliad of Woes; another demo, 1991's All Faith Is Lost, and a Swiss single called "They Die" landed the group a deal with Peaceville Records. Anathema's first official recording, an EP titled The Crestfallen, was released in 1992, and followed the next year by the full-length Serenades, the most traditional doom-styled album in their catalog. After a tour, the group re-entered the studio in 1994 to record Pentecost III, a five-song mini-album that nonetheless ended up long enough to have qualified as a full-length. Delays prevented its release until the following year, by which time the group was already working on its next album. However, after recording had begun, Darren White left the group to form the Blood Divine, taking with him their sound's main connection to death metal. Vincent Cavanagh assumed lead vocal duties, with a cleaner, more accessible style that fit the newly atmospheric direction of the finished album. The Silent Enigma was released in late 1995, and began to establish Anathema as a unique presence on the underground doom scene. That impression was confirmed by their next release, 1996's heavily gothic Eternity, which featured contributions from Cradle of Filth keyboardist Les Smith. Stretching its songs into sorrowful, orchestrated epics, Eternity's Pink Floyd-ish spaciness alienated some fans of Anathema's older sound at first, but quickly proved to be their most original work to date. Drummer Douglas left the group in late 1997, and ex-Solstice drummer Shaun Steels joined the following year. Alternative 4 was released in the summer of 1998, taking a simpler, subtler, and more polished approach than its predecessor; shortly afterward, bassist Patterson left and was replaced by Dave Pybus. In 1999, original drummer John Douglas rejoined, and the group switched to the Music for Nations label. The well-received Judgement album was issued later that year. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

New York goth metal quartet Type O Negative is led by vocalist/bassist/songwriter Peter Steele and features guitarist Ken Hickey, keyboardist Josh Silver, and drummer Johnny Kelly. Steele formed Type O Negative in 1990 out of the remnants of thrash band Carnivore, along with his friend Sal Abruscato (drums). Type O's music slowed down the tempos... [+] Read More

New York goth metal quartet Type O Negative is led by vocalist/bassist/songwriter Peter Steele and features guitarist Ken Hickey, keyboardist Josh Silver, and drummer Johnny Kelly. Steele formed Type O Negative in 1990 out of the remnants of thrash band Carnivore, along with his friend Sal Abruscato (drums). Type O's music slowed down the tempos of thrash metal, alternately satirizing and wallowing in a glum mixture of misanthropy, misogyny, depression, and vampiric vocals, as well as loads of cheap-sounding guitar distortion. The band's debut album, Slow, Deep and Hard, was released in 1991, featuring long, mopey dirges with titles like "Unsuccessfully Coping With the Natural Beauty of Infidelity." Not everyone appreciated Steele's dark sense of humor, though, and he was roasted by some critics who charged him with being a homicidal misogynist and Nazi sympathizer. A fake live album, The Origin of the Feces, appeared the following year, its notorious cover depicting a pair of spread buttocks (the album was eventually reissued with less graphic artwork). 1993's Bloody Kisses added surprisingly skilled Beatlesque melodies, and Steele's often ironic treatments of his depressing subject matter and the emotional and musical excesses of goth (particularly Type O Negative's brand) were deadly accurate and often very funny. Abruscato departed following its release to join Life of Agony, at which point Kelly joined the band. Bloody Kisses slowly won the band a cult following, thanks in part to the video for "Black No. 1" and the band's constant touring, and the album cracked Billboard's Top 200 well over a year after its release. The more upbeat follow-up, October Rust, appeared in 1996, building on the more pop-oriented tracks of its predecessor; in the meantime, Steele achieved notoriety by appearing as a Playgirl magazine centerfold. World Coming Down finally appeared in 1999 after a three-year hiatus, a considerably darker affair than October Rust but proof that -- in spite of Steele's pronouncements to the contrary -- its predecessors were no fluke. In 2000, Roadrunner compiled The Least Worst of Type O Negative, which featured European single edits and alternate mixes of the band's most popular songs, plus several unreleased tracks. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

The founding fathers of American goth rock, Christian Death took a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized religion and conventional morality, with an appetite for provocation that made Marilyn Manson look like Stryper. Regardless of who was leading or performing in the group, Christian Death set themselves up to shock, both in... [+] Read More

The founding fathers of American goth rock, Christian Death took a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized religion and conventional morality, with an appetite for provocation that made Marilyn Manson look like Stryper. Regardless of who was leading or performing in the group, Christian Death set themselves up to shock, both in their cover art and their lyrics, which wallowed in blasphemy, morbidity, drug use, and sexual perversity. Their self-consciously controversial tactics set them apart from the British goth scene, having more to do with L.A. punk and heavy metal, and thus the band dubbed its sound "death rock" instead; however, their sensibility was ultimately similar enough that the "goth" designation stuck in the end. Their music also relied on slow, doomy, effects-laden guitar riffs and ambient horror-soundtrack synths, and their theatrical performances were strongly influenced by British glam rockers like David Bowie and Roxy Music, as well as industrial provocateurs Throbbing Gristle. The latter was especially true of the band's first incarnation, led by vocalist and founder Rozz Williams, who masterminded much of what many critics consider their best work. When Williams left in 1985, guitarist Valor Kand took over leadership and sent the group in a more intellectual, political, and metal-oriented direction. A subsequent dispute over ownership of the Christian Death name led to a bitter feud between the two, not to mention competing versions of the group, leading many of their fans to take sides. The unconverted tended to dismiss Christian Death no matter who was involved; critics often found their poetry florid and overwrought, their subject matter self-important, and their shock tactics ham-handed. Nevertheless, Christian Death had an enormous influence on the American goth scene, shaping the sensibility of countless goth, metal, and even industrial acts that followed. Sadly, the Kand-Williams dispute ended in tragedy in 1998, when a heroin-addicted Williams took his own life.

Rozz Williams (born Roger Alan Painter, November 6, 1963) founded Christian Death in Los Angeles in 1979, having grown up in the eastern suburb of Pomona in a Christian family. Originally, the 16-year-old Williams called his group the Upsetters, which also included guitarist Jay, bassist James McGearty, and drummer George Belanger. The band didn't really take off until it changed its name to Christian Death (reportedly inspired by a goof on designer Christian Dior's name) and added onetime Adolescents guitarist Rikk Agnew. In 1981, they made their recorded debut with several tracks on the L.A. scene compilation Hell Comes to Your House, which also featured the more tongue-in-cheek death rock compatriots .45 Grave. Hooking up with Frontier Records, Christian Death issued their debut album, the goth landmark Only Theatre of Pain, in 1982. Featuring genre touchstones like "Romeo's Distress" and "Spiritual Cramp," the record also included guest vocals from Superheroines leader Eva O. (born Eva Oritz), who would become Williams' wife and semiregular collaborator in 1987.

Having already booked a European tour, the original lineup of Christian Death splintered amid infighting and drug abuse. Williams quickly assembled a new version of the band in 1983 by merging with their scheduled opening act, another L.A. death rock band called Pompeii 99, and eventually settled on retaining the more evocative Christian Death name. Australian-born guitarist Valor Kand, keyboardist/vocalist Gitane Demone, and drummer David Glass joined with Williams to create the best-known Christian Death lineup (bassist Constance Smith was also onboard, but was soon replaced on the tour by the Sex Gang Children's Dave Roberts). While overseas, the group recorded the second Christian Death album, Catastrophe Ballet, another much-revered goth rock record that appeared on the French label L'Invitation au Suicide in 1984. Returning to the U.S., the band formed its own label, Nostradamus, and the Valor/Rozz lineup issued its second album together, Ashes, in 1985, once again to an enthusiastic reception from goth fans. A live album, The Decomposition of Violets, was culled from the supporting tour (with second guitarist Barry Galvin now in tow) and released by ROIR.

By this time, Christian Death were drawing predictable fire from religious groups in the U.S. over their lyrics, artwork, and concert performances, and were finding it easier to mount tours for their growing European fan base. In mid-1985, Rozz Williams left the band he'd founded, partly due to his increasing interest in experimental music and surrealist performance art. Valor Kand took over leadership of Christian Death, now serving as lead vocalist and songwriter. Reportedly, Kand and Williams had agreed to rename the existing band Sin and Sacrifice; however, on the ensuing tour of Italy, fans assumed they were still watching Christian Death. Defrauded and left penniless by the tour promoter, the band recorded a quick EP for the Italian label Supporti Fonografici called The Wind Kissed Pictures, which was credited to The Sin and Sacrifice of Christian Death in order for fans to know whom they were buying. The band raised enough money to return to England, which they made their permanent base; meanwhile, The Wind Kissed Pictures was issued in the English-speaking world under the Christian Death name, as once again few people comprehended the change. Williams, meanwhile, all but dropped out of sight for several years, eventually resurfacing in side ventures like Premature Ejaculation, Heltir, and Shadow Project (the latter with his wife Eva O.).

Now settled in England, Christian Death added bassist Johann Schumann and returned to the Welsh studio where they'd cut Catastrophe Ballet. Their first post-Williams effort was 1986's Atrocities, a concept album about the aftereffects of World War II on the European psyche. Their next project was Jesus Christ Proudly Presents Christian Death, a box set of concert EPs from 1986 and early 1987. The proper follow-up to Atrocities was even more conceptually ambitious; 1987's The Scriptures was Kand's musical treatise on comparative religion, and surrounded him with a revamped lineup of Demone, Glass, guitarist James Beam, and bassist Kota. The Scriptures marked the beginning of Christian Death's evolution into a mouthpiece for Kand's one-man crusade against political corruption and organized religion (the Catholic Church in particular). His liner notes explained his elaborate intellectual concepts in painstaking detail, and he increasingly used interviews as a platform to launch vitriolic attacks on his favorite targets.

Longtime drummer David Glass left the group following the release of The Scriptures, and returned to California, where he eventually worked with several of Rozz Williams' side projects. That whittled Christian Death down to a quartet for the 1988 single "Church of No Return," one of their more accessible efforts. Despite the group's more intellectual bent, they weren't above resorting to the calculated offensiveness of old; the cover of their 1988 LP Sex and Drugs and Jesus Christ depicted Jesus shooting heroin. The ensuing furor helped make the album the group's biggest seller; it also saw them evolving into a more basic, straightforward goth metal band. In 1989, with new second guitarist Nick the Bastard onboard, the group issued the concert document The Heretics Alive. Gitane Demone subsequently left the band, not to mention her longtime lover Valor Kand, citing dissatisfaction with his new direction; she relocated to Amsterdam and pursued a jazz singing career.

With Demone's departure, the always-unstable Christian Death lineup splintered completely, leaving Kand essentially a solo auteur despite continued instrumental assistance from Nick the Bastard. In 1989, Kand completed another far-reaching concept opus, All the Love All the Hate, which was released in two separate full-length LP installments that covered "love" and "hate" themes respectively. The latter featured one of the band's more notorious latter-day cuts in "I Hate You," a profane tirade by Valor and Demone's five-year-old son Sevan Kand; its artwork also utilized Nazi imagery to a somewhat ill-defined end. Nick the Bastard subsequently departed, and bereft of any backup, Kand turned his attention to archival material; 1990 saw the release of the demos/outtakes compilation Insanus, Ultio, Proditio, Misericordiaque, and 1992 brought the Valor Kand-era singles retrospective Jesus Points the Bone at You?.

Meanwhile, a penniless Rozz Williams had resurrected his own version of Christian Death during the late '80s, with his wife Eva O. contributing guitar as well as the band's signature female vocals. Billing themselves as the original Christian Death, they were rejoined by first-album guitarist Rikk Agnew for a 1989 tour of Canada. Despite the dubious legality of Williams' use of the Christian Death name, his efforts attracted the interest of the goth-oriented Cleopatra Records label. In 1992, with Valor's version of the band in recording hibernation, Williams issued The Iron Mask as Christian Death, its title a pointed reference to the Alexandre Dumas novel about a usurper who imprisons the rightful heir to the throne. He and Eva O. were joined by bassist Listo and drummer David Melford, and most of the repertoire dated from Williams' first three albums with the original band. The similarly conceived Skeleton Kiss EP appeared on its heels. An all-new studio effort, The Path of Sorrows, followed in 1993, with a new lineup behind Williams and O.: keyboardist Paris, multi-instrumentalist William Faith, and drummer Stevyn Grey. In June that year, Williams re-formed most of the early Christian Death lineup -- bringing back Rikk Agnew (once again) and George Belanger, with support from guitarist Frank Agnew and bassist Casey Chaos -- for a one-off show in Los Angeles. The result was released in 1994 by Triple X as the live album Iconologia.

Williams' reclamation of the Christian Death name sparked a fierce court battle with Valor Kand, who eventually won trademark rights and forced Williams to bill his version of the band as "Christian Death Featuring Rozz Williams." In part to keep his rival from stealing his thunder, Kand assembled a new Christian Death of his own, centered around himself and new wife Maitri on bass and vocals. He returned with 1994's Sexy Death God, which many longtime fans greeted as his best and tightest effort in quite some time. Confusingly, Williams' Christian Death also issued a new album that year, The Rage of Angels, which found its leader dabbling in spoken word at times. A steady stream of archival reissues -- live material, outtakes, remixes, etc. -- from throughout the band's history also began to appear on Cleopatra.

Adding guitarist Flick and drummer Steve Wright, Valor's Christian Death picked up their recording pace, offering the double live set Amen in 1995, and returning to the ambitious concept works of old with 1996's Nostradamus-themed Prophecies. As it turned out, Williams' version would not release another full album of original material. He pursued several other projects, including a duo album with Gitane Demone (1995's Dream Home Heartache) and a spoken word examination of his heroin addiction (1996's The Whorse's Mouth). That addiction would help claim his life on April 1, 1998, when the 34-year-old Williams hanged himself in his West Hollywood apartment. He was mourned by a still-devoted cult of fans, and even Valor Kand put aside his previous animosity to dedicate that year's Pornographic Messiah album to Williams, going so far as to draw from some of Williams' more experimental influences.

Kand's Christian Death soldiered on, issuing the two-disc singles/outtakes compilation The Bible in 1999. In 2000, they added drummer Will "Was" Sarginson (ex-Cradle of Filth and Blood Divine) and toured Europe alongside Britain's Cradle of Filth, one of the more popular black metal bands of their time. The two groups got along well enough for several Cradle members to guest on Christian Death's 2001 album Born Again Anti Christian, helping it become one of the most metallic records in their catalog. The following year, bassist Maitri issued the black metal-influenced solo album Lover of Sin (confusingly labeled on the cover as "Christian Death Presents..."). In 2003, Cradle of Filth guitarist Gian Pyres officially joined Christian Death for their European tour. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Nick Holmes - Vocals
Greg Mackintosh - Lead Guitar
Aaron Aedy - Rhythm Guitar
Steve Edmondson - Bass
Jeff Singer - Drums
Band Biography
Gothic metal pioneers and arguably one of the best and most influential rock bands Britain has ever produced, 2007 marks Yorkshire's kings of gloom Paradise Lost's nineteenth year,... [+] Read More

Nick Holmes - Vocals
Greg Mackintosh - Lead Guitar
Aaron Aedy - Rhythm Guitar
Steve Edmondson - Bass
Jeff Singer - Drums
Band Biography
Gothic metal pioneers and arguably one of the best and most influential rock bands Britain has ever produced, 2007 marks Yorkshire's kings of gloom Paradise Lost's nineteenth year, and heralds the coming of their eleventh album, 'In Requiem', on May 21st.
Over their two decade long career, Paradise Lost have not only created and defined genres and styles, but almost immediately transcended them. From the crawling, harrowing doom of their 1990 debut 'Lost Paradise', to the electronic flourishes prevalent in 1997's 'One Second', 1999's 'Host' and 2005's stunning self-titled album, their sound has continued to evolve vastly, but haunting melody and dark rock power has remained at the very core of their identity.
In 1991 the band released 'Gothic', not so much an album title as the definition for an entire genre, while the influence 1995's huge-selling masterpiece 'Draconian Times' – the missing link between Metallica and the Sisters of Mercy - echoes loudly in today's scene, with the likes of Cradle of Filth, Nightwish and HIM owing a huge debt to their knack for injecting heavy rock with their trademark dark sheen.
Recorded at both Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire with producer Rhys Fulber, and also in Canada and was mixed by Mike Fraser (Metallica, AC/DC, Van Halen), 'In Requiem' sees the band taking a slight step away from the moodier leanings of their last few records into more stripped down territory, and continuing to push the envelope of what can be done with the dark side of heavy metal, while remaining as anthemic and recognisable as ever in their shadowy art.
"We wanted to make a heavier, darker Paradise Lost album," says singer Nick Holmes. “But it was also important to write songs that encompass the melody that has become very much an integral part of our music over the last 10 years."
"More raw, organic, less polished," is how guitarist Gregor Mackintosh puts it. “Musically, it is about finding the balance between brutality and empathy, between horror and beauty. Neither a celebration nor a lamentation, simply the emotions that arise, being surrounded by life and death."
'In Requiem' is preceeded by the awesome single 'The Enemy' on April 13th, accompanied by a stunning video filmed on the Crimean peninsula in Yalta with acclaimed Ukrainian director Edward 209, famed for his bizarre take on making videos.
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With 1986's Atrocities, Christian Death guitarist Valor asserted himself as the band's primary musical and conceptual force. His was a more political direction, overtly attacking organized religion rather than simply subverting it. While there's a self-important tone to some of the lyrics, it's musically still near the top of the Christian Death...

With 1986's Atrocities, Christian Death guitarist Valor asserted himself as the band's primary musical and conceptual force. His was a more political direction, overtly attacking organized religion rather than simply subverting it. While there's a self-important tone to some of the lyrics, it's musically still near the top of the Christian Death oeuvre. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Sometimes heavier, and generally more traditionally structured, Lake of Tears' third Black Mark release A Crimson Cosmos, turned out to be the band's breakout recording. In Europe (where the Lake of Tears brand of dour but traditional metal never fell completely out of favor), critics and fans finally began giving some respect to the group and... [+] Read More

Sometimes heavier, and generally more traditionally structured, Lake of Tears' third Black Mark release A Crimson Cosmos, turned out to be the band's breakout recording. In Europe (where the Lake of Tears brand of dour but traditional metal never fell completely out of favor), critics and fans finally began giving some respect to the group and their rapidly improving sound. Songs like "Raistlin and the Rose" and "Cosmic Weed" are some of the most musically satisfying efforts from the band. But strange numbers like the curious and hokey "Lady Rosenred" and other singalongs, like "Devil's Diner," almost go too far. After starting out with a debut marked by its aimlessness, the turnaround of Crimson Cosmos -- released just four years later -- is profound for sure, but not always comfortable. A continued improvement on the Lake of Tears sound, this 1997 release signified the beginning of a new musical chapter for the band that while imperfect, represented real improvement as well. ~ Vincent Jeffries, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Three full years after their last album, Type O Negative finally returned with World Coming Down, a record that might alienate some fans brought on board with October Rust but which actually stands with the best of their work. Many of the songs most closely resemble the dirgier parts of Bloody Kisses -- still melodic, but not as immediately... [+] Read More

Three full years after their last album, Type O Negative finally returned with World Coming Down, a record that might alienate some fans brought on board with October Rust but which actually stands with the best of their work. Many of the songs most closely resemble the dirgier parts of Bloody Kisses -- still melodic, but not as immediately accessible, and taken at crawling tempos that would give Black Sabbath on downers a run for their money. So even if the songs do catch on after a couple of listens, they aren't as bright (relatively speaking, of course) as a great deal of October Rust, in terms of both music and subject matter. That's fine, because World Coming Down seems like more natural territory; even in spite of its many fine moments, October Rust felt like a move toward accessibility that worked in fits but didn't quite achieve everything it wanted to. World Coming Down features most of the Type O Negative staples: sly goth sendups in "Creepy Green Light" and "All Hallows Eve," which happily wallow in their vampire-movie imagery; another catchy, darkly erotic goth-girl fantasy, "Pyretta Blaze," about the blurry lines between sexual submission and self-obliterating obsession; and, of course, a continuation of the odd-cover-choice gimmick with what's actually a pretty appropriate Beatles medley ("Day Tripper," "If I Needed Someone," and "I Want You [She's So Heavy]"). But there are some real surprises on the record, songs when Steele drops his usual knowing wink and expresses real pain and suffering -- still veiled in sarcasm and melodrama, to be sure, but it's obvious that "Everyone I Love Is Dead," "World Coming Down," and "Everything Dies" were written with firsthand knowledge of their subjects, not as ironic goofs. Sincere or not, Steele's work has always addressed grief, depression, and loneliness beneath his habitual ironic posturing, glum apathy, and general misanthropy; this feels like his most genuine attempt yet to cope with it all, a realization that he can drop the mask if necessary and inject a little more real-life experience into the conventions he simultaneously embraces and mocks. That's what ultimately makes World Coming Down a more affecting record than October Rust, and further proof that there's more going on beneath Type O Negative's surface than most give them credit for. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Velvet Darkness They Fear certainly has a distinctive sound, with Theatre of Tragedy's plodding goth-metal backing the almost death-metal rasp of Raymond Rohonyi and the feather-light Liv Kristine Espenas. However, the long songs tend to ramble a bit, and truth be told, neither vocalist seems especially powerful. All this is not to say that... [+] Read More

Velvet Darkness They Fear certainly has a distinctive sound, with Theatre of Tragedy's plodding goth-metal backing the almost death-metal rasp of Raymond Rohonyi and the feather-light Liv Kristine Espenas. However, the long songs tend to ramble a bit, and truth be told, neither vocalist seems especially powerful. All this is not to say that Theatre of Tragedy has no potential; they just haven't quite fulfilled it yet. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

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