Babylonian Tiles

Psych-noir with a healthy dose of Prog most notably in their Locomotive Breath era Jethro Tull arrangements in fact my initial reaction was that BTs were the gothic Jethro Tull.

However they are quite able to fly off on a magic carpet ride to more eastern influences within a space rock template.

Having managed to listen to rather more of their output I think I would have to say that they are obviously the Gothic Jefferson Airplane what with the Gothic Jethro Tull being the Goth band that actually features Ian Anderson!

Babylon Will Fall

Very reminiscent of Tottenacht. A kind of Germanic guitar lead Goth but with a much softer sound than the more traditional heavy doom metal leanings of many.

Their “greetings” go to a diverse range of acts such as NiN, Dead Can Dance and the Sisters on an “Exhibition of Depression,” and musically they do show a range of styles including rather worryingly a drift into Mission ballad territory. Linked to the rather good “Alice in…” label responsible for mid 90s comp Sound of New Hope on which “Souls,” appears.

Babylon Whores

Type-O type Gothic Metal

Backworld

Absolutely everything that you could possible want when it comes to apocalyptic folk can be found within Backworld's limited output. Follows on from some experimental bands of the 70s but remains the yardstick of what World Serpent bands strive for.

Holy Fire is for dark folk what Floodland is for the rest of the genre.

Bak XIII

Very electro slightly reminiscent of some of the early noughties Nightbreed bands. Clearly 80s influences not least on their cover of “Are friends electric?” That is not to undermine their electro industrial credentials.

Balaam and the Angel

What started out as relatively interesting pseudo-psychedelia rapidly turned into pretty much run of the mill rock Goth that made the not entirely dissimilar Rose of Avalanche appear innovative.

Bamboo Crisis
Pretty standard industrial fare

Band of Pain, the

Atmospheric and sampley, could soundtrack an 80s horror movie like American Werewolf

Baptism

One of those bands I am never sure whether or not have been invented by Dressed to Kill simply to pad about a compilation but a nice big thick dark industrial rock nonetheless. Am almost heavy space rock in fact

Barnaby Rudge

Proto Sex-Gang circa 1968. One can draw a direct line between these, Sensational Alex Harvey Band and SGC. If I ever get around to launching sister site psychapedia.org.uk expect more!

Bartok
Earliest Jungle record I’m aware of released on “ON Record,” c/o Jungle or something.
12” “Insanity/I am the bomb.” Appears to be something of a super group effort with Jah Wobble and Rat Scabies taking part taking part in a slightly dubby quite Bauhaus sounding project.

Bates Motel

BM have an old school 80s guitar English Goth kind of sound about them although “Tales of Ordinary Madness,” actually hails from Canada in the latter half of the 1990s

Batfish Boys

I bought an album by this lot once and that pretty much equals the number of times I listened to it.

They were fed to me through the hit and miss pot pourri that was the Selectadisc Goth Vinyl section due to their pedigree featuring former members of the March Violets and Skeletal Family. Whilst I thoroughly recommend you listen to their former bands I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

Battery Cage

“Product” is perfectly OK electronics. Reading the sleeve notes this appears to be a belated release of what was intended as a first album but never fully released. Its perfectly good if not likely to set the world alight and  it sounds like it was quite a challenge to record but probably better that it got to fulfil its destiny and see the light of day.

Battlelore

Imagine and troll and elven princess duetting during a literal battle of the bands between a trad metal band and madrigal ensemble. The Gothic metal band for AD&D fans. Best use of flute since Jethro Tull.

Batz Without Flesh
I have to say the name puts me off. Quite industrial Americans from what I can surmise. “This Liquid,” looks self produced but they might just squeeze themselves into the Play it Again Sam production plant on a light day. I probably wouldn’t turn it off other than the fact I am trying to clear a big box under the kitchen table. Can get a bit shouty but very much electro industrial.

Batzz in the Belfry

Batzz in the Belfry are proper Goth not just with a capital G but with an O, T and h to boot. They are also pretty much the only Goth CD I have ever been sucked into anything even approaching a bidding war on ebay for. There are distinct Bowie overtones in places but on the whole this is proper moody 80s synth music that seems to be almost entirely the exploits of a bloke called Nelson.

Bauhaus

Formed in Northampton in 1978 the 12” on Small Wonder records of Bela Lugosi’s Dead is often given the accolade of first ever Goth record.

Throughout their five year career Bauhaus were at the forefront of the Goth scene although early promise failed to live up to sufficient commercial success.

A string of quality albums was not sufficient to stop the fragmentation into solo projects and splinter groups such as Dali’s Car, Tones on Tail and Love and Rockets..

Mainman Pete Murphy briefly flirted with advertisements as the chiselled cheekbones of Maxell tapes and after the bands demise cropped up on “Riverside,” performing a dance routine to “Hollow Hills.”

A reformation in the late 90s eventually lead to new material with the competent but unchallenging “Go away white.”

Their sound was very much based around pushing the percussion to the fore (drum and bass, anyone?) The history of the band (part one anyway) is well captured in the book Dark Entries.

Amongst their original material they also famously covered Ziggy Stardust by Bowie and Telegram Sam by Mark Bolan. Also appeared as house band in Bowie film vehicle the Hunger.

"Burning from the Inside," is the sound of the band at their best in my view.

Beastmilk

Imagine a modern take on Spear of Destiny with Goatspeed on Guitars and a bit of Death Cult thrown in. just the slightest coating of Type-O sprinkled over the top

Beati Mortui

Hard Goth trance by numbers really with rasping female vocals

Beat Milk Jugs

Fuck knows, quite listenable though in a bleepy beaty slightly sinister kind of way. Latvian apparently. To be fair they didn’t sound English but the only identifier on “10 Years of Hangovers” was the address of the label which was in London.

Beautiful Authentic Zoo Gods, the
This lot look like Mission fans at a Phish concert, had some pretty impressive song titles and put out at least one mini album on Cleopatra in the early 90s. However musically they seem to have just captured the sound of their contemporaries on the college rock circuit even though I am desperate to say I can hear a bit of Balaam and the Angel or Rose of Avalanche which until listening you would expect to be their influences although if a stretch it there’s late period Cult trying to peek through.

Beautiful Pea Green Boat

The below was based on my opinion from a twelve inch or two that I cannot currently access due to furniture being in the way

Have to confess these completely fell off my radar but do a very interesting early nineties (I would guess) Goth industrial thing with nice female vocals.
Quite a big atmospheric sound
Appear to be distributed by Play It Again Sam but their sound is not as industrial as you would expect for that badge. You can almost imagine it as an AAE CNN fusion.
On Slaughterback and Third Mind Records neither of which I have heard of.
Not going to suggest they will set the worlds alight but they seem perfectly listenable.
A bite electro tribal in the way the music builds up atmosphere.

I then acquired a CD "Maremma & Other Stories," which appears to be a compilation of much of their somewhat repetitive output and firstly I misjudged their productive period running through the 80s and an early 80s synthpop feel is far more prevalent. Think Duran Duran or Ultravox with a female vocalist.

I think Resurrection Records must have been something of the champion for getting these classed as Goth as the G word does not crop up around them much.

Beauty of Gemima, the

Rather unusual story behind how I discovered this lot. Someone was handing out a 3 track EP which I think contained tracks off one or two full length releases at a gig just not one they were playing at.

They sound like a more reverby poppy Chameleons even down to the vocal style on “Rumours,” whilst showing far more of a Bowie tone on “Suicide Landscape,” albeit it with big fat electro synths perhaps most reminiscent of the “Spaceboy,” phase. “This Time,” is another slab of electro Bowie but all in all a very strong sounding introduction to an act I have not come across before..

Beborn Beton

Quite Apoptygma but in a computer game kind of way. 

Almost feels like Carter meets Vendemian at times.

Becoming, the
It’s certainly Hello Goodbye meet someone I just haven’t decided who yet.
Looks wise the haircuts scream Chameleons meet Fallout Boy, musically its perhaps a little more Him
Volume One is a nice foldout CD booklet which leaves that same frustrated feeling you get with a map when you can’t work out how to fold it back up properly.
There’s a lot of EMO going on perhaps more than Goth even but my wife has just asked whether we are listening to HIM so obviously more  doomy than I had realised.
Their starting melody appears to be “wouldn’t it be good,” by Nick Kershaw which with hindsight might explain some of the hair.
There’s possibly a hint of Type-O going on and they would probably deserve to be taken a bit more seriously if it wasn’t for the hair and the fact they are named after a Buffy episode which I suspect is deliberate.

Belborn

Reminds me of Avalist (who also appear in the World of Gothic compilation.) A kind of harpsichord lead film interlude.

Beme Seeds
Dark guitar band treading that fine line between shoe gaze and Goth. Recorded in Brooklyn in 1990. I’d passed them over on first listen and had pretty much given “Lights Unfold,” to a friend so he had something to listen to on the record player he had just been given by my sister. He then commented “they’re pretty Gothy aren’t they,” and so I asked for it back (very politely of course)
The female vocals are really familiar but I can’t quite place them (possibly that awful Athamy woman actually but this is much more listenable.) There’s a bit of Siouxsie in here as well

Berlin Black
A bit Bauhaus, a bit Bolshoi, a bit Chameleons, very mediocre. Apparently “Burn it Down,” should be played at maximum volume but to be honest I think it does better as inoffensive wallpaper.

Bestial Mouths

A bit 80s Lene Lovich kind of shouty, a bit Athamay not quite songs even hints of Siouxsie.

Beyond Dawn
You’ve got to love a band with dawn in their name and a topless bird on their album cover albeit one artfully covering her breasts. For creatures of the night Goth bands seem obsessed with dawn when presumably they should be fucking off home. Nice 90s guitarness with those rolling drums patterns that give an almost tribal feel. All atmospheric waily vocals that almost evoke Garden of Delight. You feel these should have gone far, if only they’d shown a bit of nipple! I even get hints of teardrop explodes.
 

Beyond Soul

Quality 90s sounding Italian guitar Goth

B*F*G

I’ve never quite managed to make my mind up about BFG. “the Higher EP,” on Attica Records distributed by Red Rhino is as far as I can tell their sole release.

They get added in and out of my Goth pile periodically but Lloyd Cole singing the Chameleons I think deserves inclusion.

Lead track “Higher than Heaven,” is auditioning for a part in a John Hughes film whilst “No two things,” is a bit more of a Mission ballad (or Marillion/the Bolshoi)

Firefly is a very minimalistic atmospheric number reminiscent of early “In the Nursery,” without the drums building into a Cure’y gloom fest.

“Back to Front,” is back to Lloyd Cole/John Hughes territory and one can’t help but wait for the sax solo.

Big Electric Cat

There was a chap I knew at university who thought Big Electric Cat were the best band on the Alternatives 2 compilation which given it contained Merry Thoughts, Garden of Delight and Moonchild was high praise indeed. To this day I think the only track of theirs I have heard is their contribution "Bed of Nails," which had a distinctly early 80s feel with hints of Gene Loves Jezebel and even a smattering of U2 but the band that they seem to most closely compare is Into a Circle.

Bigod 20

Imagine a creepy bleepy soundtrack to a futuristic spy film.

Biopsy

Real overdriven crunchy bleepy Industrial.

Birmingham Six

“the kill,” is marginally better than the toss my wife was convinced to buy but I still think there are lots of people that do this kind industrial better

Birthday Massacre, the

Much poppier than I expected. I think I had a kind of fanboy Marilyn Manson in mind but they are very accessible poppy electro Goth. I have never been quite sure what linked Dubstar and Goth but there is clearly something. They are archetype dreampop in my view and that is certainly a genre that seems to have been both embraced and incorporated by the Goth set in America especially, Projekt records being a case in point. Then of course there is the brilliant cover of “Stars” by Lacuna Coil. Anyway that was a long winded way of saying the Birthday Massacre do a mighty fine job of channelling their inner Dubstar apart from when they are channelling their inner Tiffany on their cover of “I think we’re alone now,” which frankly apart from the heavy guitars could pretty much be the original but that is only testament to how good that is!

Birthday Party

“release the bats,” wooaaah!!!

Nick Cave’s original vehicle this Australian lot decamped to London to join the bourgeoning Goth scene.

Truly horrendously unlistenable at times that probably means they deserved their split EP with equally horrendous Lydia Lunch.

Cave went on to bigger and better things whilst Rowland S Howard formed Crime and the City Solution.

Bjargo, Peter  

Lush dark atmospherics. None more dark ambient

Black Atmosphere

There was a bloke when we went to university with who it is fair to say was prone to exaggeration, he co-wrote hammer horror films released before he was born, was a black magician and he used to play guitar with US Goth rockers black atmosphere, that sort of thing.

Unfortunately for him when he stuck a pin in the Nightbreed catalogue expecting to hit an obscure backwater band no-one had heard of or ever expected to he picked BA just before they embarked on a small UK club tour which took in our fair university city.

Unsurprisingly the band seemed rather indifferent to the fact their guest guitarist was in their midst and so unfortunately the emotional on stage re-union did not take place and history was not witnessed. Sadly being so underwhelmed by the whole affair I remember nothing about their show although recall I have read elsewhere that they are fairly tuneless and droney presumably in a (blackly) atmospheric way.

Letting by gones be by gones I finally bought a CD recently to see whar I was missing out on.. Their name is pretty descriptive of their music. A little Moonchild with less theatrics and at times I’m minded of a bit of a rubbish circus

Blackhouse

Dark and atmospheric from a duo of it appears Ivo Cutler and Sterling Cross. Never going to make it onto radio 1 but seem to be pretty prolific with their brand of scary 0s style industrial. If they were playing in my local I probably wouldn’t leave if I had to pay to go in I’d go somewhere else I suspect. Fucking noisy. Sheep on Drugs meet Carter meet Ministry. “Sex Sex Sex,” some kind of concept piece is perfectly average and not as noisy as they can be but no better

Black March

A good bit of tribal drumming and primal screaming never goes a miss and early 80s guitars cut through but rather more of a tune would be appreciated

 Black Mare

“Drone Folk,” is a new one on me although I can think of bands it applies to and this probably isn’t it. Dark and atmospheric so Dark Ambient, minimalist darkwave might apply. The cover of “Field of the Host” is basically mist, clouds and obscured trees being pretty good pictoral representation of the music really

Blackouts

Produced my Al (Ministry) Jourgensen, giving it some kind of gravitas, musically sounding like mediocre Bauhaus. Not sure there is too much more to say.

Black Rose

Hail from Italy and from the track I’ve heard could make a career for themselves orchestrating those music boxes you get inside jewelry boxes with the plastic rotating ballerina but that might be misrepresentative as they appear on an ambient darkwave compilation. Quite choral in a neo-classical kind of way

Blacksun
Court of the Star Chamber once recorded a track called Blacksun named after a bottle of flavoured vodka. I don’t know whether this lot are named after the same drink but they do a pretty good sinister electro albeit with a hint of Athamay (but thankfully not in a bad way)

Black tape for a blue girl

BTFABG have fascinated me for years because I thought their name was so ace but I hadn’t consciously come across their music so for the benefit of all of you I decided to rectify that settling on “mesmerized by the sirens,” as the pool into which I dipped my toe.

The recording I think is pretty early in their fairly prolific career. Very atmospheric veering between Clannad and the more musical of the World Serpeant/Apocalyptic Folk acts.

Its certainly fair to say I’m glad I dipped my toe.

“Inch Worm,” sounds very Dresden Dolls

Blade

Blade Fetish

Sound like very early Sisters meet the Chameleons.

Blazing Eternity

Although not immediately obvious from their sound BE remind me of Bowie’s darker moments more for their feel. Big epic sounds Rise and Fall but gripping nonetheless

Bleak Angel

Strong undercurrent of the Cantebury folk scene. Not sure they’d have even be badged as Goth if it wasn’t for the name and the fact they release through Casket. There are some similarities with Shadow Project musically though.

Bleeding Like Mine

Able to create a similar groove to Peter Gabriel’s the Passion but without the Eastern vibe. Vocally can be reminiscent of Moonchild. Rather like Patty Smith covering Because the Night

Bleib Modern

Semi shoegaze noise with a Goth edge. Feels as much like a 4AD alt guitar band as anything you might have stumbled across in the Batcave. Elements of recent Nick Cave and Crime and the City Solution.

Blind Before Dawn

Big bouncy euro electronic which I would age at early noughties if I had to. Given “Distance,” seems to be a DiY affair (mine is 34 of 500 and signed by someone) some of the detail one might sometimes expect (such as copyright date) are missing. I think this came via a closed down shop in Leeds so I will guess at the fact these might have been local boys.

Blind Passengers

another “atmospheric” electro band somewhat over reliant on a mutant cow bell. Appear almost trip-hoppy

Blok 57
When I first spied the album title “Animals on Speed,” I was minded of “hilarious,” frat pranks in american films resulting in dogs getting stoned etc and with song titles including “Smiling Teddybears,” I thought we might be in for the fun end of the scene  but generally they seem to do downbeat electro industrial. Released on Zoth Ommog which I always think sounds cool their Special Thanks on the sleevenotes stretches to such a diverse range of bands I’m not quite sure what point they are trying to make but I’m pretty certain its not the usual list of bands they’ve supported as it includes the Stones and the Floyd! Having said that they do mention both Carter USM and Jean Michelle Jarre which if they’re simply name checking bands they like or inspired them they have better and more varied taste than their recording are testament to. They do also mention NIN, Front 242 and Ministry who are probably a better indicator of their sound.

Blood Red Dogs
Shit metal that would never be on here if it wasn’t for the absolutely shocking morals of Dressed to Kill

Blood Valley

If this didn’t hail from 2004 and come on a CD then you could easily imagine that this was a self produced LP bought out the boot of a Vauxhall Vectra after a gig in the sort of pub you wouldn’t choose to drink in. Song titles like “Dead Doll,” and “Here Comes the Horror,” a two tone still from a horror film for the cover and full on fanzine style graphic design the music is slightly more Damned than Blood and Roses.

Blue Birds Refuse to Fly
This is possible the best band name I have come across during gothapedia and musically they don’t disappoint. The first track I heard on a compilation had promise an now I have managed to find an album proper I have to say they are great even if the house of sex song is a bit unnecessarily creepy. Seems to be a sort of side project for the Illusion Fades.
Quite a Teutonic feel to what they are trying to achieve
The original track on the compilation reminded me of Moonchild singing a Mike Oldfield cover for a Disney horror film.

Blue Hour, the

Blue seems to be the second most popular colour in Goth band names after black and some such as Black Tape For a Blue Girl manage to squeeze in both. I would have gone for purple if I was a betting man. Anyway these are a neo-medieval Hildegard Von Bingen inspired lot. My copy of ”Evensong,” appears to be Polish so may mean they are Eastern European.

Blue October

Blue October play emotionally fuelled synth electro pop according to their blurb. That’s probably fairly true although I think the suggestion their style is unique is pushing it a bite. You could imagine this lot squaring up to people like Colony 5 though.

Bolshoi, the

NME once produced a rather amusing bluffers guide to Goth which the librarian here pretty much clung onto as an essential listening list for a number of years before getting to grips with the scene. Of the Bolshoi they pointed out that Goth bands could be judged by their girls names songs, Severina, Marianne etc. and the best these could manage was Lindy’s Parties.

Musically they veer from the sublime soft rock of the Church to piss poor electro pop. Aforementioned Lindy’s will be remembered by many as their high point. Reintroduced to the consciousness when Complicity covered them in the late 90s

Bomb Party

Slightly Churchlike in places producing a fairly straightforward rock sound albeit with a swampy production. Chums of the Gaye Bykers on Acid and signed to Abstract.

Bomby x
Good deep techno found on French electro comp. Their obsession with the reproductive patterns of the Octopus makes the world a better place by far

traditional mid 80s sound. Saxophone, shrieky vocals and punky guitars. To quote Mick Mercer in the sleeeve notes to Songs for a black planet "Bone Orchard shove ugliness in your face."

Borderline

Kind of Colony 5 meet Apoptygma. I can’t decide whether they are doing some clever stuff with breakbeats or whether my CD player is just sticking

Born of Scars

Gothic metal or like a heavier Ghost Dance you decide.  

Bourke, Joshua

Very bleepy

Boytronic

Very 80s sounding. Like a European Ultravox or OMD.

Brain Leisure

French Goth, Electro, Industrial act

This Belgian lot remind me of Kate Bush over average guitar Goth. For a more informed opinion try here.

Brickbats, the

“The Creature” is up there with the Horatti’s “Island of the Zombie Women” the best pub-Goth horror inspired novelty number ever!

Bronx Casket Company, the

A bit of a Gothic metal supergroup from the Type O kind of sphere.  

Brother Orchid

One of the better bands to release material on Nightbreed. The first mini LP featured Trev although on later releases he was absent. Debut set was atmospheric music with almost operatic vocals in places. Grey Lady Mourn a particular stand out.
2^nd release the babysitter murders is a more traditional electro industrial affair losing the almost ethereal elements of their early work.

Shifted from refreshingly innovative to sadly formulaic

Bubble Gum

Sort of a harder edged Spanish Ladytron  

Budapest

Probably not named after one of my favourite post 70s Jethro Tull tunes. Quite minimal but in proper band territory. A bit whispery. Not completely out of place with some of the Church's output.

Buddy Curtess

Jungle records release power soul power ballad shocker! Quite unlike anything I’ve heard under the Goth umbrella – I don’t even have a sub-genre for this one.

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anything to add e-mail librarian@gothapedia.org.uk