In its crude initial formation in 1976, Siouxsie & the Banshees consisted of members of the "Bromley contingent," a group of notorious Sex Pistols groupies. In various permutations, the band survived for almost 20 years. Featuring core members Siouxs…

Ultimately, Bauhaus became known as the godfathers of the goth scene, but their brief, prolific career (1979-1983) showed far more stylistic variation than their progeny might suggest. They mixed Bowie/Eno-influenced postpunk with dub, electronics, a…

Led by depressive pop prince Robert Smith, the Cure have taken their legions of fans on a journey from post-punk to gothic to new wave to art rock, stopping only for refills of hairspray along the way. An amazing band both live and in the studio, the…

Depeche Mode (French for "hurried fashion") was one of the first and best of the British synth-pop bands, combining breathless, melodic pop with perky electronics. With main songwriter Vince Clarke's departure for Yaz, Martin Gore took the reigns, an…

Though Chicago's Ministry is known as the archetypal industrial rock band, they actually started out as a dour synth-funk outfit before founder Alain Jourgensen really ratcheted up the noise and the gloom on 1988's THE LAND OF RAPE & HONEY. In so doi…

Joy Division virtually defined the term "post-punk." They combined punk's rawness and iconoclasm with an artier sensibility that encompassed poetic lyrics, existentialism, and a dark moody mix of guitars and keyboards that was a major influence on go…

b. 11 July 1957, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. The former Bauhaus vocalist set out on his solo career after a brief period as half of Dali's Car, with former Japan member Mick Karn (one album: The Waking Hour). Murphy was already famous in …

Many a sad goth mourned the loss of Bauhaus in the early 1980s, but guitarist Daniel Ash and the Haskins brothers carried on without Peter Murphy, first in the short-lived Tones on Tail, and then, in 1985, with Love and Rockets. More pop-leaning than…

Born in the early 1980s out of the ashes of U.K. post-punk pioneers Joy Division, New Order became one of the first electro-pop bands to find mainstream success in the US. Their single "Blue Monday" was a landmark in dance music, and subsequent recor…

Before Nine Inch Nails, electronic-based rock was often considered devoid of feeling and danger. Leader Trent Reznor merged synths with tortured vocals/lyrics, distorted guitar, and repetitive, slamming rhythms into an unpredictable amalgam, helping …

Along with Teardrop Explodes and Wah! Heat, Echo & the Bunnymen were part of the early-1980s Liverpool scene that was somewhat misleadingly dubbed "neo-psychedelic." While the Bunnymen bore elements of the Doors' dark, mysterious sound and decidedly …

This UK rock band evolved from the Sisters Of Mercy, when Wayne Hussey (b. Jerry Wayne Hussey, 26 May 1958, Bristol, England) and Craig Adams split from Andrew Eldritch. They quickly recruited drummer Mick Brown (ex-Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry) and guita…

The Cult began life as a British post-punk/goth outfit in the early '80s called the Southern Death Cult. In due course, Ian Astbury trimmed down not only the band's name but its sound, embracing '70s-style riff-driven hard rock with the help of forme…

Vancouver's Skinny Puppy took the somewhat scattershot rage of industrial pioneers like Throbbing Gristle and gave it focus--exploring the endless catalogue of evils of which mankind is capable, all in lyrically graphic detail. Though not as commerci…

This art-funk outfit originally evolved around a three-man nucleus of ex-Gang Of Four member Dave Allen (bass), Carl Marsh (guitar/vocals; ex-Out On Blue Six), plus Barry Andrews (b. 12 September 1956, West Norwood, London, England; keyboards/vocals)…

Born out of the fires of England's first wave of post-punk, proto-industrial Killing Joke was always somehow apart from their contemporaries. Their music was harsher, their lyrics were angrier, and they had a penchant for heavy metal's guitar thunder…

Despite the band's name, the Love Generation touches that brought the Psychedelic Furs great acclaim came only after they'd established their initial style. Theirs was a dark, swirling sound that mixed Bowie-ish art-rock and post-punk guitars with Ri…

Scotland's Cocteau Twins were one of the most distinctive bands to emerge within the splintering rock world of the 1980s. Led by producer, guitarist, and knob-twiddler Robin Guthrie and vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, the Twins explored a landscape of fuz…

This electronic-based UK band was formed by Douglas McCarthy (b. 1 September 1967, Chelmsford, Essex, England; vocals, guitar) and Bon Harris (b. Vaughan David Harris, 12 August 1965, Chelmsford, Essex, England; percussion, vocals, guitar). Frustrate…

San Franciscos Switchblade Symphony formed in 1989 when vocalist Tina Root and composer Susan Wallace were introduced by mutual friends in the local goth music scene Frustrated with the musical projects they were currently involved in the duo began c…