Frequently misunderstood in its aesthetics(哲學)
and misapplied as a term,goth rock is an offshoot(旁支) of
post-punk(後龐克) that existedprimarily(最初) during the early to
mid-'80s.
Its reputation(評語) as the darkest and gloomiest form of underground rock is largely deserved, though today that reputation stems
more from(發源自) the visual theatricality of its bands
and black-clad(黑衣) followers.
Sonically, goth rock took the cold synthesizers(合成器)
and processed(加工過的) guitars of post-punk and used them to construct foreboding(預言), sorrowful, often epic(史詩)soundscapes.
Early on, its lyrics were usually introspective(內省的)
and intensely(強烈的) personal, but its poetic sensibilities
soon led toa taste for literary(文學上的) romanticism, morbidity(病態),
religious symbolism(宗教上象徵), and/or supernatural mysticism
(超自然神秘主義.)
Goth rock was generally not a critically(嚴苛地)
acclaimed(被贊成) style,given its penchant(嗜好) for florid(華麗的) poetry,relentlessly(不屈不饒) mournful(殘酷) dirges(葬禮),
and melodramatic(戲劇性的) excess(暴行).
However, it spawned(起源) a devoted(奉獻), still-thriving(茂盛) subculture that kept its aesthetics alive long after the music's initial heyday(全盛期) had passed.
The godfathers of goth-rock were British post-punkers Joy Division,
whose bleak(陰沉), remote(偏僻), obsessively(使人著迷) introspective musicand lyrics laid the initial foundation for goth.
But for all intents and purposes, the true birth of goth rock was
"Bela Lugosi's Dead," the 1979 debut(初露頭角) single by Bauhaus.
Already chilly post-punk outfits like the Cure and
Siouxsie & the Banshees became full-on goth bands around the same time, and their heavy,menacing makeup and dark clothes became an important part of their fans' expression.
As goth rock's popularity spread among a certain segment of sensitive,
alienated youth (first in the U.K., where most of its bands came from,
then in the U.S.),
its fashion sense grew more and more outlandish(異國的),
and the original sound evolved(進化) somewhat.
The Cure, Siouxsie & the Banshees,and the Mission UK incorporated(納入) more pop and alternative elements in their music,
while the Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim,
and the American band Christian Death took a heavier,
sometimes metal-influenced approach.
By the end of the '80s, the original goth-rock movement had ceased to exist,
but the music mutated(變化) into new forms and continued to influence
many of rock's darker subgenres.
During the '90s, the goth sound began to cross-pollinate(交互授粉)
with industrial music,producing hybrids that appealed to both sides,
as well as the darkwave subgenre
(which also incorporated '80s synth-pop and dream-pop).
The latter half of the '90s also saw goth rock's influence
cropping up all over heavy metal;
a new breed(混血) of progressive black metal(前衛黑金) bands drew heavily from goth's sound and style, while some alternative metal bands also borrowed from goth rock's visual imagery
(including Marilyn Manson,who — despite countless news reports to the contrary —is not a goth-rock artist)
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