anything to add e-mail librarian@gothapedia.org.uk
LAB
“Love Like Hell,” is real power pop stuff with an uplifting chorus, big tune, full sound and angel wings possibly from the little photo on the Dark Angels 1 sleeve.
Labaich
Strange lot Laibach. Formed in the early 80s soviet Yugoslavia they were nearly signed to a state run record label but for one reason or another ended up instead peddling their amusing electro wares through UK indy Mute.
A quirky cover of Euro disco smash “Life is Life,” as “Liebe is Liebe” was inspired but an increasing reliance on covers lead to the band stalling when it came to innovation.
Whole Beatles and Stones albums replicated along with a rendition of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar suggest a band crammed with energy desperate for release.
Grosse Kraft is pioneering scary industrial from1985 whilst their version of One Vision, by Queen displays the sonic pomposity of Sigue Sigue Sputnik headfucking Wagner.
Lab Animals
Bleepy experimental electro of a very good order, even a bit Therapy? In places.
Laboratory X
Sound exactly as you imagine they would. Not suggesting that is a bad thing more a statement of fact. Robots playing “Walk this way,” in a Japanese car plant!
La Calle Morgue
Quite an intriguing guitary sound with quite Chameleony vocals although with an Ecuadorian? Accent.
Lack, the
Quite dreamy electronica, almost Industrial shoegaze, perhaps NuRockGaze, it’s a while since I’ve contrived a new genre
Lacrimas Profundere
Vocals are very Type O but with a more traditional Goth metal guitar sound albeit in quite a bouncy poppy kind of way. Album credits thank Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation etc. which isn’t surprising and probably pitches them in about the right place
Possibly German. Sound very much like lots of European Gothic Metal but not to say that is a bad thing. A little bit of a Totenacht feel without the widdly bits.
Lacrimosa
not sure how these have slipped through the net until now other than because I presumed I must have already covered them. One of the two stand out nuclear blast gothic metal bands along with Therion. Think choirs, operatics metal guitars and brilliant production and arrangements. Seem to have a real nice visual thing going on on their sleeves as well. Recommended.
Lacuna Coil
The only Goth band I know that include a football scarf in their merchandise catalogue, purple and black of course.
Destined
to always be the bridesmaid I fear as they were doing what Evanescence
do just as well and for far longer without the commercial success.
Slightly nu metal, shouty rappy bloke swapping vocal duties with a
pretty girl. They have a string of consistently competent albums.
Lady Morphia
Atmospheric Goth that isn’t quite apocalyptic folk. Faith and the Muse spring to mind. To be fair trying to rhyme Paradoxical Duality is a challenge worth taking on. Late 90s English bunch.
Laether Strip
Full on Industrial but with quite striking and sweeping instrumentation
As an early 90s synth driven industrial band they sound very early 90s and synth driven in an industrial style.
Lahanya
A bit like Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson Lahanya seems to be both a person and a band. Sounds very much like noughties Goth which she is/they are
L’Ame Immortelle
Female
voxs are very similar to those of Dust of Basement with whom they share
a place on the Matrix Cube compilation. More full on electro pop
though than the aforementioned and a nice line in contrasting growly
bloke vocals. Another one of those bands that you suspect could make it
through Eurovision if they dressed down and were representing the right
country.
“Zwielicht,” is a real game of two halves. One minute you are convinced it’s a epic brooding neo-classical kind of affair and then is goes full on EBM on your ass. “Licht und Schatten” has even gone a bit dub. Not helped by the fact it is not in my native tongue and the graphic design leaves little foreground background contrast on the text but I have just twigged this might be a remix album and the tracks might be more representative of the remixers than the source material.
Some rather high quality darkwave with epic sounding song titles like “The Night is my shelter” and “Crimson skies.” I have their first album released in 1997 and the music certainly aligns with their contemporary’s
Lamia
Lamia
The only exclusive thing I have by Lamia is a bit of an
odd compilation with remixes, demos and different versions so it is a bit
difficult to know what their true sound is. Some tracks suggest epic and
slightly medieval others fairly straightforward electro Goth. Argentinian I
believe
Neoclassical with a disco bea nice
Landscape
If it had a decent beat you could imagine “Einsterin a go-go” being a Play it again Sam 12”. Without that if this is their high point I can see why I don’t remember them
Larva 108
Described as ambient Industrial which is quite a good way of saying creepy electronic. “99.09 Inside the Stones,” appears to be a collection of pieces the artist composed and recorded over a period of time and each has a bit of a biog included in the booklet.
La Scaltra
Aesthetically these appear to be putting a lot of store in the Shakespeare’s Sister video to “Stay,” that and creepy dolls. Musically they are the more atmospheric end of Siouxsie
Last Cry, the
I know its not a Cure song but you kind of think this lot ought to be trying to sound like the Cure. Instead they are more like the Damned trying to be the Marionettes or perhaps the other way around with a bit of Creaming Jesus thrown in for good measure.
Last Dance
Far from a cure tribute band these sound awfully electronic for the instruments that appear in their videos and the seem to have hired the Neffilim’s flout roadie. European electro with big beats and choruses
Last Day Sect
A supergroup vehicle for a concept album on the Gothic
novel
Last July
I have to confess I bought “A True Story of a Lie,” pretty much entirely because I liked Last July’s name. Musically they are a kind of Ghost Dance with early 80s prog synths which seems rather odd for a band who released the album in 2012.
Laube
Kind of sounds like a noisy swimming pool
La Vogue
A little bit Pet Shop Boys a little bit Visage
LCD
Spinney
Kind of
like a creepy PWEI. Bit of a Prodigy vibe in places as well. “Funky Dog,” as
you might guess from its title gets a bit funkier and the “Hypnotic,” album
seems to pick up in its range and confidence as it progresses. Increasingly
resembles the more experimental and less formulaic Industrial of the late 80s
early 90s. For reasons I can’t quite communicate I keep expecting one of those
synchronised mass dance routines beloved of American comedies to kick off
during “check your wife,” perhaps it did in the studio and I just didn’t get to
see it.
Lead Into Gold
Another Ministry side project releasing records on Wax Trax, far more regimented and Teutonic with a bit of ASF thrown in. no obvious sign of the Ministry groove.
Leather Nun, the
Quite
atmospheric and synthy in a heavyish way at times aiming for a big
stadium rock sound and an almost Bowie like way. Have knocked out some
quality covers over the years such as Abba’s “Gimme Gimme Gimme,”
which would give Labaich a run for their money.
Leaves Eyes
Traditional female fronted Goth vocal like an updated All About Eve
There’s obviously money kicking around the
prog-Goth scene which means some very well produced pieces and the “Vinland
Saga,” is one such release. Very big and operatic, you really can’t fault it .
Quite a medieval feel although they have a distinctly Eurovision feel at times.
Leave in Silence
Industrial lite with a bit of a Germanic feel
Lebanon Hanover
Kind of Banshee’s meet the Cure- I think there’s a name for that.
Ledfoot
Ledfoot is often described as Gothic Blues, might even have an album of the title (but its not the one I’ve got) and I think that is probably a pretty true description. Wikipedia reckons he had to come up with the name as nothing was comparable to his style but it sounds quite a lot like Nick Cave and Crime and the City Solution to me- who to be fair could be called Gothic Blues and Wikipedia doesn’t even mention his latest album so what do they know. He sings a bit like Ian McCulloch of the Bunneymen as well.
Lee, Alan
Seems to be Australian. “Anne Sparkle Loves Latex,” almost sounds like it could be an actual song with words and a tune (something of an oasis in the desert of experimental noise the compilation it is sat on is proving to be.) Sadly no, it is the sound of someone balloon modelling (or at least I hope they are) whilst advocating safe sex.
Le Fay
An almost riot girl approach to the Dark Arts with an early 90s alt-pop feel a la Belly and the Breeders
Left Hand Solution
Mid slow paced female fronted Goth metal
Legendary Shack Shakers
American Gothic but very much at the country end of the spectrum and “The Southern Surreal,” comes complete with graphically grim monologue about killing an injured dog.
Legion
Mid
90s concepty dark electronics. Although the sleeve clearly suggests
multiple tracks the CD player finds just one albeit 70+ minutes long,
the first 10 minutes do sound pretty good though using the CD version
of fast forward and there do appear to be discreet pieces within the
one track. The first movement would be one for the Halloween mega mix
but later composition is a bit more ambient dance and might sit better
against Banco de Gaia
Lemon Kittens, the
Have
I really held off including these particular kittens until now! I
genuinely thought they had slipped in before now but apparently not.
Probably because I was always in awe of the fact that more than any
other Goth band I was trying to lay my hands on the Lemon Kittens were
elusive to the point of mysterious (even now mid-90s CD reissues change
hands for £70 a copy). When I finally laid my hands on a copy of
“Those who bite the hands that feeds them must sooner or later meet the
big dentist,” albeit a slightly warped second hand vinyl copy that had
managed to wobble into my price range I was surprised at how
avant garde/World Serpent it sounded. Not that that’s a bad thing I
might add.
Lemos, Paul and Papa, Joe
“Music for Stolen Icons Part 2” is actually pretty good. Clannad’s Robin Hood theme springs immediately to mind but the guitars all go a bit Dire Straits given half a chance and gets quite big and bombastic given half a chance. A bit Monastic.
Le’Rue Delashay
Neo
classical, ethereal, available for session work, weddings and bar
mitzvahs. Appears to be a single bloke available for session work
respected on the metal scene who has composed music for haunted house
rides, and our lad thinks he’s ace. Atmospheric Gothic according to
Spirit of Metal website.
Les Anges De La Nuit
Very trancey/dancey with slightly Wolfsheim vocals.
Les Fleurs De Mal
Initially “Stay Awake,” reminded me of an early Sisters B side but once it got going it was good old fashioned poppy Goth Rock albeit still with obvious Sisters undertones. What I presume is “nothing,” sounds a little more ENDG albeit with a more mainstream pop chorus
Les Secrets de Morphee
“Miniature,” seems to be one of a series of CD singles by artists on Prikosnovenie, that are nicely packaged in cardboard sleeves this one having quite nice nymph type art work. The small enclosed catalogue is split between female voices, lytch and strange rock (whatever the fuck lytch is.) A bit world serpent but with a lot more melody. These are one I will probably pursue further. Quite Clannady in feel. When they are not being neo-classical. You’ll know if you’ll like them
Let Me Dream
Come across as a sluggish
There is a real familiarity to this I can’t quite place although at times it definitely feels like All Living Fear.
Letzte Instanz
Very funky slightly medieval Gothic metal. Bit of a Cypress Hill bounce
Liar in Wait
Do you call it coldwave when it sounds a bit like Joy Division?
Liberte
Remind my
wife of the
Mixture
of guitar/piano with female vocals. Sounds like a lot of
European Orchus bands.
Released an album “Romantique” on the Dark Wishes label in 2005 and from the sleevenotes I think they might be German but languages were never my strong point so I might be wrong.
Libitina
I don’t think I’ve ever really done anything to hide the fact that I thought Libitina were shit and Shibboleth does nothing to change that view
Having ended up with a copy of LP “The Shadowline,” I
have had a chance to listen in a more objective environment and it ranges from a
mediocre Ultravox to uninspired cliché goth by numbers.
Lichtgestalt
German Gothic rock played by middle aged men with little hair brooding around a canon. It has been suggested from elsewhere in Gothapedia Towers that this is what Iron Maiden would sound like if they wrote the songs for the German edition of horrible histories
Lights of Euphoria
Sampled vocals around arpeggiators big drums and bleepyness.
Lilitu
“The
Delores Lesion,” is quite artily packaged albeit in a sleazy way.
Musically I can’t quite place them. They are very familiar on one level
probably a late 90s growley guitar way albeit with ridiculous metal
solo’s. Know how to rock that big contrasting female vocal that every
Goth band that make it onto a prognosis comp roll out. As the disk
progresses they do drift into formulaic Goth-prog.
Lillie’s of the Field
Very 80s in a Duran Duran kind of way
Lily’s Puff
Experimental noises that hint of
apocalyptic folk with slightly
Liquid
Faeries
The painting on the front of "Eggshells and Snake Leaves," which i
presume is the band looks like the pagan wing of the WI on a picnic.
Musically
they sound familiar in a way I can't quite place although pushing the
bass and
drums high in the mix is not dissimilar to Bauhaus.
The Eggshells album was released on Fundamental Recordings.
Liquid Sky
“Identity,” was released on the rather ace sounding, “Insomnia Media,” With a bass player that looks like Brian O’Halloran in Clerks and a lead singer called Hecate what’s not to like. Sound kind of like Nightwish and not a lot like Die Laughing whatever Mrs Librarian thinks all wrapped up in a very Evanescence coating. Lead guitars are verging on space-rock/prog leading all in all to a very listenable album
Lisa Wars
Slightly Bauhausy
Litmus Green
Not
sure how this ended up in the Nightrbreed catalogue as appears to be
run of the mill hardcore punk but at least it makes a change from
dozens of boring dark ambient LPs
Little
Match Girl
I’ve had
few opportunities to visit the home city of
Little
Match Girl are shouty guitar industrial that sadly remind
one more of Americans such as Ministry than their forefathers but at
least
someone is keeping the candle alive.
There was
a time when
“midnight”
as they were
affectionately known, but not to be confused with the other Midnight
(Configuration),
to those who wanted to know them affectionately were seen as the future
of Goth
along with bands like Faithful Dawn.
How a
subdued
Mekons
without the big choruses were ever going to be the future of Goth is
anyone's
guess. Presumably it was a slow Goth week.
Their
oddities album does feature a pretty good cover of the Nightmare
Before Christmas tune “Sally’s Song”
Long
March (the)
The reason this website actually exists is the lack of information on
the Long
March (or possibly Confuoco). All I know is that I
found a twelve
inch in a charity shop about eight years ago and apart from a copy
being up for
sale on e-bay a year or two ago i have never seen anything about the
band on
the internet for as long as i have been on-line. The EP is a four track
side one:
When Reason Sleeps
Drowning
Weakness
side two:
Infantry
copywrite 1989 possibly on a label called groovy sidewalk with a
marking
ESTT002 the first two tracks are particularly high quality and the
whole thing
punches above its weight for a relatively anonymous EP. The cover is
your
traditional white line drawing on black sleeve popular at the time.
I recently discovered that sadly this lot did not do anything other than the sole 12” I’m in possession of which is a crying shame but dear readers you’ll be relieved to hear I will carry on regardless (at least until there are 1000 bands on here.)
I kind of fucked up here when didn’t share the fact that a fair bit more information on this lot appeared via Bristol Archive Records. I belatedly funded Apple by buying the download album via Itunes and it is fair to say that they knew their best material when putting the original EP out but if they had managed to squeeze on a second track on side two I would vote for “My Six Miracles,” which is clearly the standout from the rest. All very listenable and punching above their peers but they had set the bar so high with what I had already heard.
Long Voyage Back
Quite
a soft voice for a male Goth vocalist but not out of place with the
atmospheric almost soundscapes it accompanies. More Slowdive than
Sisters in places. Settles on a more alt rock sound almost reminiscent
of the Church at times without the catchy choruses or perhaps even
Garden of Delight without the bombastic jazz style. Hail from Australia
it would appear which might explain the Church similarities.
Lords of the New Church
With something of a pedigree
in members of the Damned and Dead Boys LOTNC insisted on releasing the
same LP
albeit with different artwork over a period of years. Although “
Able to pull out a sleazy
Flesh for Lulu vibe before settling on their safe zone of a less
accessible
Psychedelic Furs, that have listened to too much Lloyd
Cole.
Lorien
Very guitar heavy but in quite an atmospheric way that reminds me of some of the more Germanic metal bands. Vocals are a cross between Moonchild and Siouxsie, Might be Polish. The name appears to be a truncated version of Lothlorien from Tolkein and we all know where that got Marillion.
Loss of Will
Very electro driven, reminiscent of recent Gary Numan
Lost Area
The female vocals are almost like a poppy Inkubus whilst the dual male female vocals remind me of Aqua. Musically they are not a million miles from everyone’s favourite Danish MTV stars either albeit slightly more electro dance.
Lost Signal
A very dancey beat. Vocals have quite a Chameleons feel to them
Lovecrave, the
Big and epic rock Goth like a less
metal Cult or Claytown Troupe
Love
Like Blood
Despite
being named after a Killing Joke song and covering it
very well
LLB
are not
a straight KJ soundalike instead producing a fuller less angular late
90s
sound.
Evokes
the spirit of the Nephilim and Moonchild (the band not
the song) at times.
Love Spirals Downward
Nice beautiful semi-neo-trad-folk meets Enya. New age vibes not unlike “Ordo.” Breakbeats meet Dubstar vox. ethereal to the point of Cocteaus not unlike Sunshot or Ultraviolet era AAE
Lovich, Lene
Another Siouxsie style female voice. Musically alright but no nights on fire. Teamed up with Nina Hagen for their animal rights single.
Lucie Cries
Very European Goth Rock reminiscent of Totenacht
Lucyfire
Very mid-90s sounding Goth with the whole bloke sings a bit bird sings a bit thing going on.
Lucy Show, the
I’ve
had a record or two by this lot for quite a while now and to be fair I
never thought the big G which is why they were put back on the shelf
and given little further consideration but I’ve now been reliably
informed that they are contenders for the site so here goes.
Quite
alt. 80s “See it goes,” came out in 1984 and you could imagine them
nestling happily on a John Hughes Soundtrack. I would say they had as
much in common as the Psych Furs and Simple Minds as the crossover
Goths like Flesh for Lulu who did end up on his soundtracks
Lullaby
Perfectly adequate Gothic Metal with very familiar sounding female vocals that I can’t quite placed. Less electronic than much of the work I have that was distributed through SPV. The actual label is Poison Ivy, with which I don’t think I am familiar but which sound pretty cool you must agree
Luna Obscura
Quality gothic metal with very strong female vocals with that operatic quality you expect from Scandinavian bands. Most tracks on “Feltia,” seem to start with a “Number of the beast,” style talky bit.
Lunascape
Slightly dreampop and a bit Dubstar in a Go
th way,
Lunch,
Acquired influence despite producing appalling sub-Siouxsie pseudo-Goth Jazz and don’t even get me onto her spoken word stuff. Hung out with the Birthday Party.
Lundvall,
Tor
Another
World Serpent distributed artist, Tor creates moody
minimalist soundscapes.
At times
almost feels like Bristol Trip Hop having lost its hop.
Trip stop?
Lupine
Lupine are a band who released an album on Nightbreed in 2002. I’m not sure I really need to say much more than that although if you are keen to check them out “Egyptian Paradise,” on “For the people who suffer,” is as near to the peak of their game as anything and they have a song called “robotic vampires,” which is not as good as it sounds.
Lust, the
“My
dear emptiness,” is a pretty good poppy Goth metal affair reminding me
of Evanescence albeit less well polished. You wouldn’t knock them
though.
Optic Rain
Pretty poor industrialesque metal. Possibly trying to be Ministry but missing by a yard and a half.
Lustmord
I
don’t have a problem with music that sounds like dungeons, in fact I
quite like it. What I find a bit more difficult is paying £12 a pop for
an album when every Halloween our supermarkets and pound shops have
pretty much the same creepy sound CDs for between £1 and £2. In fact
the canny shopper can wait until Guy Fawkes and pick one up for 50p.
Briefly it sounds like the Tardis is appearing but sadly the Doctor does not appear to put us out of our misery.
Despite the above I have to admit it is a perfectly good example of its genre.
Lux Interna
Kind of a less dark apocalyptic folk. Tracks veer between acoustic Sisters ballads and much more minimalist Backworld fare. One of a number of bands that seem part of a new wave of Projekt signings with a much more ambient feel. Vocals move into Nick Cave territory on a number of occasions.
Luxt
Kind of like Evanescence which is perhaps a bit harsh as “American Beat,” which I am currently listening to was released the same year as Evenescence’s debut mega hit Fallen but was Luxt’s fifth. Interestingly the band appear to have imploded after its release as friction arose between integrity and commerciality so it would not be an unreasonable guess to assume this is their most mainstream offering. Some of the tracks lean toward a more Faith No More kind of sound than Gothic Rock and I have seen them described as industrial.
Luxury Stranger
Something
of a first for the pedia, a review written live from a gig with
spelling mistakes and everything smoothed out for you edification. At
there more epic moments strive for Killers or Duran Duran. Sound like
Chameleons et al and look like the Cure. I enjoyed them enough to buy a
t-shirt and some demo CDs but first impressions were perfectly fare.
Lvrs
Some kind of duo spin off I believe of someone more
well known. This is a spoken word project that reminds me very much of Lydia
Lunch. Twisted macabre poetry with atmospheric sound accompaniment. Lots of
rallying against celebrity, media and the music biz.
Nice atmospherics with a bit of breathy female vocals
Lyriel
A real folk feel to this lot in
their delivery and song structure even if the instrumentation is more contemporary.
Imagine a Goth Cara Dillon