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| Link – A young Dave Vanian, lead singer of The Damned and my newest celebrity crush. |
Recently I was reading a series of articles on The History of Deathrock, which you can find here, here and here, plus some articles on Post-Punk which brought up a question. Did Trad-Goth music (in which I mean Post-Punk/Positive Punk and earlier Goth Rock) die in the late eighties to the rise of electronic bands? Personally I would say no, I listen to and love this style of music and am always trying to expand my knowledge of it but there are a lot of younger (which is strange because I’m only eighteen) alternative people that don’t even understand the term post-punk yet are trying to make video’s and the like on Goth Rock and other such genres.
This is becoming a bit of a rant so I’ll cut to the chase: Do you enjoy Trad-Goth/Post-Punk/Early Goth Bands?
- Yes.
- No.
- What is that?
Iif you believe there should be another option in the post post below why and if you have an opinion on whether Trad-Goth is dead I would love to hear your opinion.
The Walrus Room 
Yes I do 🙂
Trad Goth didn't die, there's just a lot less of it, and a lot of what Trad Goth there is still around a lot of it is Sister's of Mercy clones
There's some right gems out there if you keep an eye out though!
Also OMNOMNOM that's one of my favourite photos of Dave Vanian! 😀
YEESSS! ❤ Nom nom ❤
It's not dead, it's just not as popular as it once was. There's probably a lot less “new” traditional goth being created now. The problem is that there isn't enough “new + good” material being expressed in this genre, not enough talented musicians interested in expressing themselves using this aesthetic.
However, here is at least one modern band that I know of that nails the sound:
http://www.reverbnation.com/endingtheviciouscycle
YES! (though 'Trad Goth' music is a different genre than Post-Punk, Positive Punk, etc.)
These days there are still a few Trad Goth bands around (like Angels Of Liberty and Snakedance) … though I think the term has been somewhat misunderstood, and a lot of bands that call themselves Trad Goth are actually more Post Punk.
While most people would wonder why that matters, I'm a radio DJ, so need to fit the right song into the right genre – I can't play too much Post-Punk on a Goth radio show!! Saying that, I also love Post-Punk … which is why I do a separate radio show for that stuff 😉
Yep, I do ^^
Cool poll! I really enjoy trad goth stuff.
I've actually got a sort of related poll on my blog right now. It's asking whether people perfer Lucretia, My Reflection by The Sisters of Mercy, or the cover by Alkaline Trio.
I swear Sweeney's hair was copied off Vanian for the Depp movie.
I love '80s Goth music and Post-Punk, and French Coldwave… I was never so much into Deathrock; it grew parallel to Goth and was always closer to American Punk, and too “punk” sounding for me. Trad Goth is not dead, but too many of the few bands working in those styles today are sticking too close to either Bauhaus or Sisters. It will die if it gets too narrow, but it isn't dead yet. What it needs is to get a bit broader, to seek inspiration outside of the genre.
I found the three pages you linked to REALLY INTERESTING, as well, and actually quite educational, especially the second page/part – I thought I knew my history of that time quite well; turns out I don't!
I actually don't like goth music, I find it boring x'D
I like black metal.
Yes, I love trad goth! Although I LOVE pretty much all the many different subcategories and bands that recently have been embraced and produced by the Goth scene I still hold trad goth as number one in my heart. I feel it essentially expresses the aesthetic I'm drawn to which is dark, romantic, and elegant.
Sadly, Trad Goth is VERY much stagnant these days. It's not dead yet but is getting there REALLY quickly. Honestly, I wouldn't suggest Trad Goth to anyone that's looking for a musical genre that's thriving and always changing. It's pretty much hasn't changed in nearly 30 years. I think that's VERY sad indeed. I think this is because fans of Trad Goth spend too much time trying too keep it “pure” and “obscure” instead of thinking of how to keep building on what's already been done. Oh and I'm really sick of Sisters clones. Actually, most of the Goth scene in the 90's got sick of them too. Which is why I suspect goth-industrial got so popular and remains popular to this day.
The only bands recently I feel are building on the old would be Leper and Strap on Halo. They're very creative bands! I really really hope there's a trad goth revival soon. My dream is that a whole horde of new bands would form that are great musicians but aren't trying to be a boring rereading of the past. They would hold trad goth as their roots while bringing in a new and fresh perspective. Clubs would start catering to trad goth again And the Romantic Goth style and aesthetic would become popular once more! And then this is the part where I wake up. 😉
Oh gosh, your image of a Trad Goth revival sounds amazing. I hear all about the Death-rock Revival and such but I've never even thought of the possibility of a Trad-revival!
It's quite sad that the music scene is quite stagnant but there will always be those few bands that will keep it going. I hope one day there will be a revival that I can actually be a part of!