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Gabhard
Nice atmospheric meanderings. Possibly how tubular bells would have gone if Oldfield had grown up listening to Raison D’Etre

Galas, Diamanda

Apparently Diamanda Galas is respected in proper opera circles and she can certainly wail with the best of them. Furthermore she is the first goth diva I have seen who gives a credit to their dress designer, stylist, hair dresser and make up artist.

In rather depressing concept album “Defixiones, Will and Testament,” Diamand appears to be responsible for most of the music, which as it consists of little more than a note every minute or two presumably did not take too long.

For reference she looks like  a cross between Morticia Adams and the scary one from Shakespeare’s Sister.

Gallery, the
Female fronted Goth metal. One of the more formulaic contributions to Ladies, Queens and Sluts.

Gallows

I don’t think Gallows started out as a Goth band but frankly there is absolutely no disputing, “Desolation Sounds,” from its title onwards is a Goth record. Musically think post punk meets American Gothic, stylistically it is monochrome, crucifixes, wedding dresses and mourning veils. Chains is little short of full on Gothic Metal with its female vocals and shouty bloke chorus.

Garden of Delight

Named after their two favourite things (Fry’s Turkish Delight and Gardeners Question Time) Garden of Delight originally consisting of Artaud, Th. O`Connell and Adrian Hates apparently set out to record seven albums of seven songs each presumably scared that when they reached fifty they would have to retire anyway and find somewhere to put the carriage clock. G.O.D. were one of the stand out band on the New Alternatives Two compilation that attempted to usher in the early to mid-90s and their output remained strong for the rest of the decade eventually casting off half century-phobia and continuing to record beyond the dreaded 49 not out albeit with a depleted batting side.

Gargoyles, the

Sound like the Proclaimers re-imagining the Monster Mash with a hint of the bluebells.

Released at least one single on Reasonable Records the b-side of which “Part Man Part Christmas Bauble,” could be the TVPs. Appear to hail from Hull which might explain a lot.

Gathering, the

Kind of like Derriere le Miroir. Half Sarah Goth, slightly shoegaze and generally lovely

Gears of Death

or G.O.D. as they rather modestly abbreviate their name to are rather like an American ASF with even less attempt to sing anything approaching verses or choruses (not that I am saying that that is a bad thing in itself.)

As far as I can tell from their artwork they have Pope John Paul II on bass

Geiman, Svetlana (Linda)

Dark brooding electronic rock with more than a hint of that annoying Mr Manson at times. Something of the Kazakh superstar I understand. Perhaps unsurprisingly there is more than a hint of Tatu in here as well

Gene Loves Jezebel

Two welsh brothers, some crimpers and some ribbons in their hair pretty much sum up GLJ.

An enchanting dynamic sound that slowly warped into the mid-Atlantic rock along with every other Goth act that ended up releasing records through Geffen in the US GLJ were the one of those bands that seemed to always be on the edge of greatness but never quite delivered when it mattered.

They produced a range of alternative disco floor fillers such as Gorgeous, Desire and Motion of Love, however the brothers subsequently fell out and by the late 90s there were two different acts touring under the GLJ banner. What became increasingly difficult however was knowing which one you were going to get. I remember ahead of a Rock City show around the turn of the millennium seeing flyers advertising the band were not the Gene Loves Jezebel who supported the Mission earlier in the year and whilst that performance was a blistering example of how big a sound three men with real instruments and no electronics to speak of can make the band headlining Whitby Gothic 5 years later were limp and uninspiring.

New releases under the GLJ banner appear periodically often on Cleopatra and tend to be either remixes of their heyday or new material not diverting from their traditional sound whilst not capturing the magic either.

Generated X-ed

heavy industrial in a very rave dance style. I suppose given the fact the Prodigy used to end up on some industrial comps at one point this isn’t too out of kilter. Seem to be very well packaged and produced but provide very little info. sticker on cover of elektrofacism seems to suggest it is a bit of a collective of people I should have but frankly haven’t heard of.

Genetic Terrorists, the
Wax Trax band doing perfectly adequate electronic industrial with samples as is their want. Apparently produced by Bobba Fett which I have to think is probably a good thing as I always thought he was a pretty mediocre bounty hunter but that was clearly because his true destiny was to be behind the mixing desk.

Genitorturers
Despite a very industrial name their sound is very female fronted American alt pop. Think Hole, Throwing Muses and Breeders
Very guitar driven Goth and roll, I was expecting more Front 242 but this is firmly in the Zodiac Mindwarp camp albeit moving back and forth along a spectrum from sleaze to slick produced pop


Gerrard, Lisa
Dark ambient from the Dead Can Dance chanteuse with a neo-classical slant

Geschlecht AKT
This lot certainly knew how to stick to the formula of monochrome cover, slow brooding bass etc.
Released the 3 track Foreplay EP on Criminal Damage in 1984? Slightly Fiendy, slightly Bauhausy

Gethsemane

I always thought these had a pretty ace name. Musically competent if fairly rudimentary for the early 90s the vocals sadly don’t quite hit the mark coming across a little weak for the music.

Getting the Fear
Rockier mid-80s Goth with a polished well produced sound that probably came with the major label status. I've only ever come across one release, last salute although this was a twelve and seven inch. The sound is not dissimilar to GLJ et al. which given the overlap in clientele is not surprising.

Ghost Dance

Something of a Goth super-group formed from members of most notably Skeletal Family and the Sisters of Mercy. A handful of excellent independently released 12”s on Karbon, a label they allegedly formed themselves have remained collectable to this day, containing a mixture of inspired covers and original compositions in their catchy pop Goth style highpoint of which was “Last Train,” brought them to the attention of the majors.

The majority were collected on the LP Gathering Dust although tracks from the excellent Word to the Wise EP were omitted.

Major label activity through a deal with Chrysalis was disappointing and sole album “Word to the wise,” failed to meet expectations although Cinder Road at least matched earlier efforts. Chrysalis dropped them before they had time to familiarise themselves with their new surroundings

They still have a website and I believe former members stop by, http://www.ghostdance.co.uk/

After something of a hiatus Ghost Dance returned with “The Silent Shout” a follow up to “Stop the World,” and very much continuing in that vein. Although Sister Marx is no longer part of the set up they did manage to include two of his previously unreleased GD tracks so I presume they have his blessing and it can’t have helped from a marketing perspective. It is fair to say the two Marx tracks sound more authentic than the ones Ann Marie has written with her new band although that is not to say the new material isn’t perfectly good just slightly different in feel. The new album proper appears to follow a toe in the water return to GD with an acoustic album of old tunes which was effectively a duo of Ann Marie and Stan Greenwood

Ghosting
someone once told me a story about ghosting and I think it had something to do with a piano but I don’t recall fully. “Die Baby Die” with its eponymous chorus is rather fun even if some of the vocals sound like they’ve been recorded in the bathroom; Slight DM feel.

 
Ghost of Lemora, the
I was a bit surprised at this. Far too chirpy for your usual Resurrection release. Perhaps they have modelled themselves entirely on the Cure when they tried to go cheery to prove a point to the Mary Whitehouse Experience.
There are touches of Bauhaus, ASF, the March Violets and even post electronic Carter USM all enveloped in a grimly fiendish veneer.


Ghost Riders

Another mid 80s band who put records out on Criminal Damage. Whilst able to do a good ASFesque drone equally capable of a sub-pistols punk does rock n roll.

Ghosts Wear Clothes

Nice dark ambient rock with the odd jazz sparkle.  I believe they like to consider themselves post rock but I bet they own the odd Bauhaus album.

Ghoul

Slightly Crazyhead sounding grebo rock with a Skeletal Family kind of vibe.

The Fox machine was released on a pretty groovy blue vinyl and preceded the album “First of May,” if it was ever released. The band appear to hail from Germany and notably covered the Zep’s Immigrant Song.

Girl Loves Dead Boys
Ace name, sub-Cure music

Girls under Glass

Along with Black Tape for a Blue Girl these are a band whose name I thought was ace long before I actually heard them. Must be the iteration coupled with the word Girl in the title. (Perhaps I should form a band called “Loose Girls Lament.”

I had expected something ethereal rather like BTFABG but GUG are a much more rockier offering. What they achieve on the Die Zeit EP though is present two versions of the title track (one remixed by Die Krupps) which really do have the feel of completely different tunes whilst both being really quite enthralling.

German intelligent industrial with catchy tunes not too far shy of Apoptygma.

Glaufx Garland

I suspect these would score pretty well in Scrfabble now you can use names although I still don’t think you can put in a space. Not so much dungeons a la Raison D’etre but perhaps evoking a scary cave not unlike the one I foolishly carried my daughter up to in a sling at Dovedale today. I seem to recall someone once suggesting caves were very Freudian (or it might have been a swamp- it sounded like not that Freud had particular issues with although knowing Freud he probably did.)

Glod

You know when you see a record and you just kind of know. That was what I found when I picked up “Musica Maxima Magnetica,” I think they’re Italian and its very nice dark ambient. The sleevenotes endorse playing tracks 8-9 at low volume for “concentrated affect,” which makes a nice change to all the records I have with play loud on them!

Glove, the

Side project of the Cure’s Robert Smith and Siouxsie’s Steve Severin whilst Smith most firmly had a foot firmly in both camps.

An early indication of Mr Smiths ability to construct a more upbeat ditty whilst still being quite clearly the work of the Bobmeister at that time.

Gnosis, the

The Gnosis album which may or may not be eponymously titled is a bit of a game of two halves. Part one, predominantly consisting of the four tracks from their first two EPs are early 80s style Darkwave mixed with early Moonchild style vocals.

The second half allows a more proto-Cult sound come to the fore.

Apparently the album will have its true name revealed in 7 years or something- which feels like they are drifting into Garden of Delight mythology territory although musically that is one influence that I never picked up (although there are traces of the Durutti Column! and little flickers of U2.)

I have to say I am rather fond of this lot.

Godhead
OK so I admit it is quite some time since I did any Gothapedia but in that time I seem to have acquired about 3 Godhead CDs. Each time thinking they look a bit industrial (which I think it is fair to say they are, albeit in a quite soft pop-rocky kind of way) but having forgotten about the previous acquisition each time and only when I sorted a big pile of newish CDs knowing there was some “Goth” stuff in the pile did all three end up side by side. On “Evolver,” they probably look the part more than sound it but they thank the likes of Rammstein so they obviously move in the right circles. “2000 years f human error,” is very much in the late 90s Depeche Mode/Gary Numan vein with a completely unnecessary cover of “Eleanor Rigby.” (I don’t think these are the same as Godheads)

Godheads

Danish industrial that evoke a very heavy PWEI

God Loves Overdose (GLOD)

Dungeons? Horror Soundtrack? But with a decent vocal something often missing in very atmospheric works. Obvious Bauhaus influences.

God Module
good name and good solid electro sound. Taken from “Matrix Cube: Electro Club Hits Vol. 1” Not sure where this kind of stuff ends up a club hit but I would like to move there!

 God’s Bow

Very ethereal and Cocteau’s

Golden Dawn

Fact- Nightbreed sold a lot of rubbish

My wife quite liked Ataraxia and their neo-medieval wailings. One of her friends went into the aforementioned shop to buy here a birthday present and Trev jumped to life with his if you like that you’ll like this speech. This was always thinly veiled code for “the unshifted stock I’ve got that sound most like what you’ve just asked for is…”

Golden Gate Fils De Pute, the
Breakbeats and what sound like train whistles although I was listening to a video edit on a CD? Once they are not constrained by the length of their VHS they seem to throw in a few bizarre wails as well.

Good Courage

 Industrial with an almost 80s electro pop edge ala DM et al.  

Googoomops

Consumer advice columns always say if something seems too good to be true it probably is and the sight of a CD EP within the Nightbreed catalogue at a price that would seem normal in any other outlet should have set alarm bells ringing.

An Australian Mary Chain lite with a hint of Catherine Wheel is probably the most literal description one could imagine. To give them credit though they do a nice bit of looped sampling with real guitars.

Apparently Nightbreed ended up with these as part of a distribution deal so this day presumably Trev sits looking at a box of these whilst some poor sod in Australia builds an extension out of unsold. Copies of the Kissing Skull and an Endless Nightmare of Stations, whilst both presume they got ripped off on the deal.

With a drummer called Mophead what do you expect. 

Goteki
I remember this lot knocking about on bills and compilations around the time we stopped going out as much, so I’d guess that was either when we got proper jobs (the late 90s) or extended the family (mid noughties) Mrs G was not impressed when I first put on “Sante Muerte” but I have to say as a rather mixed bag of electro pop it’s not that bad. They don’t look that Goth and sound poppier rather than electro on the evidence of this but perfectly listenable and a bit reminiscent of Schmoof (but not as funny). “Silent War,” is a particular stand out track, I think the album perhaps takes a while to get going so is liable to being dismissed too soon. Some of it makes me feel a little bit Copey as well.

Gothic Archies

Occasional side project of Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt. After a couple of releases in the 90s GA became Lemony Snickets House Band for the audio recordings of the Series of Unfortunate books. Snicket even appears on accordion.

Musically a mixture of child friendly apocalyptic folk with a light electro touch.

MC Strong describes Merritt (within the context of the fields) as a “lo-fi Leonard Cohen on electro-pop pills,” the other comparison I would make is with the arch drude himself.

Gothic Sex

Not as bad as the name suggests. If they were they would be Athamay but fairly uninspired nearly doom metal guitars and growly vocals

Gothika

“Army March Drawn Sword Police,” sounds like it starts with someone trying out all the sounds on their keyboard and you are just waiting for telephone and duck quack. One the music proper kicks in it sounds like someone playing the cinema organ in hell before a poor cabaret act takes over.

Gothminster

I can’t help thinking these sound like they ought to be a brand of heavy wearing black carpets.  Use a keytar live which is nice whilst the the lead singer got his mum to make him a costume out of old inner tubes and black PVC and looks a bit of a cock frankly. Musically they are a bit like a heavier Garden of Delight

Gotterdammerung

Their first 3 track EP “Rearm” released on Dion Fortune records has a fairly late 80s alt-punk-Goth feel and owes a debt to those who came before including Bauhaus and the March Violets.

Dutch apparently and I have not heard any later material but by al accounts at least the next two offerings did not provide a significant u-turn in style.

Looking at their photo’s they clearly discovered the same Microsoft photo editor effects the rest of us did and I might even post mine and Mrs Gothapedia’s up here one day.

Track 3 of the aforementioned EP begins worryingly like a zx spectrum booting up before turning into the most listenable of the three tracks – some similarities with the Young Knives.

Grand Viniolles

Gloomy Dungeon Chamber Goth morphing into mid-90s European Gothic rock.

Gravity Kills

I always think you have to be a bit wary of remix albums as you might be getting a completely misrepresentative view of a band. Having said that sometimes the artists doing the remixing are a bit of an indication of what they were going to sound like in the first place anyway. On the whole nice listenable chilled beats..Given they have both Al Jourgensen and PM Dawn on remix duty meant it could go either way. Everything is pretty poppy but I think the remixers are bringing their own sound to “Manipulated” so not entirely sure what they would be like “naked.” The acts do what you would kind of expect with the source material although I suspect Al is just playing silly buggers with the samples for his contribution. I’m sure they are perfectly acceptable electro-industrial but would need to hear something untainted before I could proffer an honest opinion.

Greater than One
Immediately thinking the industrial version of the JAMMS 1987 album “What the Fuck is Going On.”
Very DIY sounding loops and samples and the artwork is very cut and paste.
Musically perfectly good at where they are pitching, and they interweave a whole host of influences. Almost soundtrack material at times
Another Wax Trax release

Greenhaus

Human Nature starts rather nicely, all ethereal breathy vocals, some fairly classical sounding pianos and a bit of a trip hop beat. You almost think for a minute it might be Secret Shine before it starts sounding like High by New Model Army which given it has to predate that album by some years leaves you worrying about Justin.

The particularly surprising thing is it is quite nice and yet when I saw them at Whitby about seven years ago they were decidedly ropey.

Grey Gallows

No doubt this lot are Goth but in quite an early 80s synthpop kind of way. Think Ultravox meets late 80s Cure with some Sioxsie style vocals thrown  in  for good measure

Grey Wolves

Good name. Average dark atmospherics

Griffins Fall

Bit of a gothic supergroup this one including members of my favourite French goth band Derriere Le Miroir.

Very organic sounding at times with bits of Type O Negative, bits of All Living Fear and a sprinkle of Lou Reed in the vocals.

There are a variety of styles and influences which is not surprising when you get a bunch of artists no longer shackled by their usual constraints.

Worryingly seems to verge into Mighty Boosh crimps at times

Grigori 3

A heavier synthier Evanescence with a hint of Disney thrown in. Released on the ace sounding Dark Star Records not dissimilar in places to the Evanescence “demo” album “Origin.”

Grim, the

Big bombastic Gothic metal  

Grimace

Labirinto Confuso,” kicked off sounding like it was going to be “Spaceman,” by Babylon Zoo but soon got back in its box as a possibly Italian Eurovision entry with a bit of a metal chorus. That’s not to say I don’t like it mind and the chorus is quite a grower.

Grooving with Lucy

signed to Karbon the same label that released the best of Ghost Dance's output. GWL however are hawking an over reverbed 80s rock bands formula

Guillotine Dream
“Something Shining, Something Bright,” is a 5 track EP that starts off all Damned infused Horror Punk before settling on a very Nefilim inspired guitar Goth sound.


Guinea Pig

Imagine tubular bells played in a dungeon by Ministry with  a very scary lullaby sung over the top turning into full on high energy industrial

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