Gothic rock is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Bauhaus, and the Cure.
Death rock is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk genres. Notable death rock acts include Christian Death, Kommunity FK, 45 Grave, and Super Heroines.
Mortiis is an electronic band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. The name is a misspelling of the word "mortis", which is the pronunciation used by the band. Mortiis started as the solo project of Ellefsen as a means to convey a story. This aspect was lost over time and Mortiis slowly formed into a band. Ellefsen previously played bass in the black metal band Emperor (1991–1992), prior to forming this project in 1993. The time he spent in his previous band laid the groundworks for mixing black metal elements with various electronic genres, with these being touched upon across each "era" of the band.
Closer is the second and final studio album by English rock band Joy Division, released on 18 July 1980 by Factory Records. Produced by Martin Hannett, it was released two months after the suicide of the band's lead singer and lyricist Ian Curtis. The album reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart and peaked at No. 3 in New Zealand in September 1981. Closer was also named NME Album of the Year. It was remastered and re-released in 2007.
Clan of Xymox, also known as simply Xymox, are a Dutch rock band from Nijmegen formed in 1981 best known as pioneers of darkwave music. Clan of Xymox featured a trio of singers and songwriters – Ronny Moorings, Anka Wolbert, and Pieter Nooten – and gained success in the 1980s, releasing their first two albums on 4AD, before releasing their third and fourth albums on Wing Records and scoring a hit single in the United States. Their 1980s releases included synthpop/electronic dance music. The band is still active, continuing to tour and release records with Moorings as the sole remaining original songwriter and singer.
Dark wave is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as being dark, romantic and bleak, with an undertone of sorrow. The genre embraces a range of styles including cold wave, ethereal wave, gothic rock, neoclassical dark wave and neofolk.
John Fryer is an English record producer. Best known for his production work, he has also performed as a musician, as one of the two constant members of This Mortal Coil, providing keyboards, strings and synthesizer sequencing for the band, and its offshoot, The Hope Blister.
Girls Under Glass (GUG) is a musical group from Hamburg, Germany, founded in 1986 by Thomas Lücke, Hauke Harms, and Volker "Zaphor" Zacharias. Described as "an indispensable part of the German wave and gothic scene", GUG began as a gothic rock band, but quickly crossed genre boundaries, incorporating metal and electronic music of various kinds. They have generally been classified as a darkwave act, but have ranged across the goth–industrial "dark music" spectrum, including into industro-metal, and their work has integrated elements of pop, techno, and trip hop. Grenzwellen-News wrote of the band: "Even after 20 years, it is almost impossible to define and pin-down Girls Under Glass stylistically." A review in 2001 concluded that "even in its most experimental phases, the band has never lost its identity".
Clan of Xymox is the debut studio album by Dutch dark wave band Clan of Xymox, released 1 July 1985 by 4AD.
Pleasure Victim is the second studio album by American new wave band Berlin. It was originally recorded in 1982 and released in October of that year by M.A.O. Records and Enigma Records. After the second single, "Sex ", received considerable attention, the album was re-released on January 26, 1983, by Geffen Records in the United States and by Mercury Records internationally. The album marked the return of lead singer Terri Nunn to the group. To date, it is Berlin's best-selling album and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 9, 1993, becoming the band's only album to be certified platinum.
The Frozen Autumn is an Italian darkwave band, formed in May 1993, characterized by a blend of melancholic vocals, atmospheric gothic-wave and 1980s-style electropop.
Whispers in the Shadow is a gothic rock band from Austria, formed in 1996. The band's name is inspired by the story The Whisperer in Darkness by H. P. Lovecraft. The lyrics deal mainly with occult and mystic concepts.
Futurepop is an electronic music genre that has been characterized as a blend of synthpop, EBM and dance beats, based on trance and techno.
Anka Wolbert is a Dutch musician, singer, songwriter and web developer, best known for her work with Clan of Xymox.
Twist of Shadows is Xymox's third full-length album, released in 1989 on Wing Records (PolyGram) and produced by Peter Walsh.
Neue Deutsche Todeskunst is a musical genre that developed in Germany in the late 1980s. It is credited with establishing the German language in the dark wave movement, although there were already such German bands as Xmal Deutschland, Geisterfahrer, and Malaria!.
Frank Weyzig is a Dutch producer, composer and band member known for his contribution to the original Clan of Xymox and his work for the indie new wave band, Born for Bliss. More recently, Weyzig has been involved with Vaselyne, White Rose Transmission and Stargazing Project. In January 2011, he founded Turmoil Music, a new music platform for independent artists.
Ronny Moorings is a Dutch musician best known for his work with darkwave band Clan of Xymox. Moorings has been the band's principal singer/songwriter since the early 1990s.
Ash Code is an Italian dark wave band formed in 2014 in Napoli by the singer Alessandro Belluccio, the keyboardist Claudia Nottebella and the bass player Adriano Belluccio. Ash Code music covers a wide range of genres including dark wave, post-punk, synth-pop and EBM.
Tom Ashton is a musician, producer and film composer. He is also an original founder member and guitarist of early 1980s British gothic rock/post-punk band The March Violets. Based in Leeds, England, the band released many tracks which went on to be rated as classics of their genre. He also guested in bands The Sisters of Mercy, The Danse Society and toured and recorded with Clan of Xymox. As a side project to The Violets, he also co-wrote and recorded the first album from The Batfish Boys, The Gods Hate Kansas.
