The Dark Reign of Gothic Rock: In The Reptile House with The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus and The Cure
The Dark Reign of Gothic Rock: In The Reptile House with The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus and The Cure
From Joy Division to Nine Inch Nails and from Siouxsie and the Banshees to Marilyn Manson, gothic rock has endured as the cult of choice for the disaffected and the alienated. The author traces the rise of ’80s and ’90s goth from influences such as Hammer House of Horror movies and schlock novels, through its post-punk origins into the full-blown drama of Bauhaus, The Cure and the hugely popular Sisters of Mercy axis of bands.
Customer Review: Excellent rock book
This is one of the very few books to deal specifically with the actual sub genre of rock known as gothic rock. Like punk, goth has become a blanket term used to describe any band that remotely approaches a certain aesthetic that was once (sort of) original.
Thompson’s book sets the record straighter by focusing mainly on the UK and the post punk scene that was the birthing ground for what would become ‘gothic’ rock. The author covers the separate ’scenes’ that grew up in various parts of the country (London, Leeds, etc) and how they differed and developed. When the initial thrill of punk receded, post punk rose up and developed along different lines, spinning off and inspiring genres like goth and even new wave. Much attention is given to The Cure, Southern Death Cult, The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, Siouxsie, etc. A lot of ground is covered, from Joy Division (described as having a ‘gothic’ sound) through the wranglings between Andrew Eldritch’s Sisterhood and the ex members of the Sisters, toward the Fields of the Nephilim, who tried to fill the gap left by the Sisters. Toward the end, the American scene is covered a bit, focusing on ‘Death’ rock with bands like Christian Death and .45 Grave, for instance.
The book is well researched, well written and not particularly biased. Thomson’s style is smooth and well organized. The chapters deal with specific months and years and move around from the status of one band to another. The author also touches on more recents developments since the 1980s, addressing the various artists and bands that have been characterized as ‘goth’. But again, the main focus is on progenitors of the genre rather than latter day pretenders to the throne.
There are also some decent pictures, but overall this is an excellent rock book, full of information for even casual fans of the genre or of the particular bands mentioned above. Well indexed, too. Highly recommended!
Customer Review: A “Goth Rock for dummies”?
No, it’s not that type of book and if you are searching something like that better go to some other place. It’s a serious exploration of the subject, and some chapters were written in language that reminds me a scientific review. I give it 5 stars for the amount of information it contains, but the style as well as the cover of the book could be a lot better. Also, not a word have been written about the Crow thing which for me is a real loss – for example one of the best Cure gothic tracks “Burn” was off the soundtrack for the first Crow movie. Anyway for one that wants a load of info it is a good place to dig.
