90's Goths

I was definitely a 90s goth. I still have post goth relapse tendencies. I don't look as extreme as I used to, but I still wear majority black, listen to pretty much only new wave, post punk, shoegaze, and wax trax! industrial. I started going dancing again, the crowd is soooo young, lol. Too much future pop for my taste, but hey, not everything can be perfect. Strange Boutique brings me back to the late 90s/early 00s. Love them so much. Underrated.

I really like Skeleton Hands, as far as new bands go. And DIIV.

This obsessive fussiness about who is and who isn’t goth is exactly what I remember the most about being goth in the 90s.

I never 100% nailed it, in my black Gap tapered trousers and my black Timberland boots. I think most of the kids wore Doc Martens or military boots? Idk how people sourced all the same standard-issue gear, pre-Internet. Same goes for the music: How did kids from Chicago and DC already have the exact same esoteric musical tastes by the time they met as freshmen in college?

I went to college in NYC so there were a lot of entry points. I used to go dancing at the Bat Cave and the Bank on weekends. For like six months I even interned at TVT/Waxtrax Records, who had recently merged. TVT was NIN’s first record label and Waxtrax was…well, Waxtrax.

But even still, there were kids who insisted I wasn’t goth enough.

I was a goth but we were called ‘Cure Heads’. There was a bar in Dublin called Fibber McGees that was our stomping ground.

I still like the look.

I've been part of the goth scene since I was 15. I'm listening to all of the bands you listed along with a lot of others. I saw Twin Tribes a few months ago, and Vision Video is coming up in June. But this year I also saw Gary Newman and Front Line Assembly, The Mission, and I'll be seeing Lords of Acid in June as well, so I'm getting plenty of the classics in there as well.

Some newer bands I'm liking a lot are Deus Ex Lumina, Nuovo Testamento (they played with The Mission and the singer is the most adorable human I have ever seen), Dark, The Masqs, The Rope, Linea Aspera, Anders Manga, Vandal Moon, Haunt Me, and Male Tears. But I've also been listening to a ton of aggrotech and harsh EBM, and also a lot of darkwave and synthpop. And recently I've been getting into shoegaze? I don't know what that's about.

I was more of a rivethead, but your lists seem about right. Lots of post-punk and post-industrial, and then that mid 90's wave of gothy stuff like Rosetta Stone, Switchblade Symphony, etc. TBH, though, they used to play Filter/Stabbing Westward/Gravity Kills/Rob Zombie/etc sometimes in the clubs depending on who was DJ'ing, and there was that weird period around, I want to say 95, where Type O Negative stopped making thrash metal and became big with the kiddie goths. I kinda fell out of it when IDM started to get weird and experimental and post-industrial turned into trance music with distorted vocals, and while I still like classic post-punk/post-industrial I don't really care for much of it after around 94. In the early 00's most of the goth night DJ's I liked were playing more electroclash (yay) than contemporary goth music.

I like a lot of the music and aesthetic (plus goth girls were hot), but was always more visitor/guest than actual part of the scene.

If even the Sisters of Mercy resisted being labelled a goth band, then what chance does anyone have of truly agreeing who is and isn't truly goth?

There’s a difference in attitudes that’s a good definition of the millennial/xennial line.  

Emo was about feeling sad, responding emotionally to life’s shittiness.  Goth was more about being chill with the darkness.   

LMAO. I'm not gatekeeping, but I'm simply keeping track of which things are inside the gate and which are outside of it.

This post just unlocked an old memory of being like 15 and my dad waiting outside while I went into Vinyl Fetish on Melrose to buy Christian Death’s “Jesus Points the Bone at You?” CD. He wanted to see what I got and I flashed it at him so quick bc I thought he would confiscate it. Looking back, I was basically a poseur. I think I was drawn to the aesthetic and that men could wear makeup. It was a nice gateway to my future gayness lol.

I was a Goth chick in high school. Zim shirts, too much eye shadow, the works. I dyed my hair jet black, until my dad pointed out that a blonde goth stood out more. Now I realize he just tricked me into stopping coloring it, haha.

I mentioned a lot of those bands you said were goth in r/goth (Siouxsie, Cure, etc.) last year and got downvoted, and a bunch of people sneering at me in the comments that those were not goth but New Wave. I made a comment on another post about how goth was one of the most gatekept subgenres out there, and got more downvotes and snide comments, and left that subreddit. Really it didn't do anything but prove the point I was trying to make - that goth was, and still is, one of the most gatekept subcultures, to its detriment.

Guess I got into the Goth scene around 15, but really when I moved to University was where I found my peers.

A lot of the stuff you list music wise is from the goths older than me, I listened to it during social events, but not on my own.
I personally leaned more industrial and stuff. But would say Manson was good for Portrait of an American Family and Antichrist Superstar, everything after that was too glittery. NIN was Pretty Hate Machine and Downward Spiral. With Fragile and onwards it turned into something else. I still enjoyed the album, but would not say it was industrial goth anymore. If I had to list some top bands that fueled my goth phase I would say Seigmen, Zeromancer, Gåte, Stabbing Westwards, Type O Negative, Inkubus Sukkubus, Theatre of Tragedy, Tristania, Lacuna Coil and a few more that I can only remember the album cover off, but not the name.

But I would also say that goth involved a bit more than music. The look is one part. An very open approach to LGBTQ+ group for being in the 90s (shockingly more progressive than the rest of the 90s) - A much more positive in-group dynamic than I got from the emo's who came after, and very forward leaning when it comes to technology.

What clubs did I go to? Dominion Club in Bergen, and Gotham Nights in Oslo.

I wasn't "goth", I really didn't fit into any one subculture, but drifted through several in the late 90's-early 00's in and around Nashville and Ann Arbor.

I hung out in goth clubs, loved the music and the women. The same for all of the different subcultures/genres. I never bothered with the fashion, I looked ridiculous in all black ( Silver and stainless though, that works for me). I just wanted good music, good drugs, and a general good time.

And I had a lot of good times

I never really associated "goth" with music. It was more style. But it also missed my class by a year or two.

In the late 90s and early 00s I had friends and girlfriends who where goth, metalheads, and also into the industrial scene. Some where gatekeepers, some where happy to introduce people into the scene. It was fun as a young person in the Pittsburgh area back then, we had a goth night in a joint called The Attic.

Some of the scene people would hate it if we rocked up not as goth-looking as them. But we just kicked back and enjoyed the music, our takes on the look, and my friends lived to bum cloves from people and start conversations.

Ah, memories.

Well this is the first time I've heard the Cocteau Twins be described as goth

I was a metal kid, but Switchblade Symphony’s Serpentine Gallery is one of my favorite albums of all time.

I never knew anything of bauhaus until a buddy of mine played “she’s in parties”. Love this song! He’s now passed, but I’ll play it from time to time and think of him

I mean the fact of the matter is that if she wore heavy eyeliner and dark lipstick and ruined my credit and self esteem and got me into heroin, they that's goth enough for me.

I love discussing this with someone else from my time. Fun side note, some of us 80s/90s goths are goth grandparents now. 😀🐦‍⬛

I try my best to honor the Elder/Corp Goth I am now to the best of my ability.

My music roots came from classic rock. I eventually delved into metal, punk, and grunge in the early 90s, but by ‘96 I was exploring Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, etc. I remember my friend playing me “Gutter Glitter” by Switchblade Symphony in ‘97, and by spring that year we were playing it for the school talent show.

Since then, I’ve been to multiple conventions and concerts, grew friendships and relationships in the community, and I’m even friends with some people in goth adjacent bands, such as Lycia, This Ascension, and The Machine in the Garden. Lately, doom metal and shoegaze are more in my rotation, but I will always be a goth.

Early 2000s, not 90s, but I had my little "mallgoth" phase early into highschool with my Tripp pants and black and red eyeliner designs and metal bands.
I think Cruxshadows, Depeche Mode,Type O, and a bunch of industrial are where I eventually morphed into a more "standard" goth. That was kind of my gateway drug to Siouxsie and Sisters and Bauhaus and shit.

Never got involved in a club scene or anything because no such things existed in my little hick sticks nowhere redneck location. I also never cared if the people close to me were into the same things I was, so I never sought out other goths, which were extremely few and far between.

I still dye my hair in unnatural colors, and wear my fishnets with my big chunky boots, and put on my cat eyeliner and black lipstick when I can be bothered.
I don't give a shit.

This brings back so many memories of the “you’re not a real fan unless…” or “if you were authentic you wouldn’t like…” bullshit people spouted in high school.

Thanks for this, as the net is seemingly drenched in a lot of weird mis/disinfo about goth at the moment. I think it was the summer of '96 that I Went Dark. Still wear 99% black. Just recently fully embraced it and have some MASSIVE playlists on spotify. Though I do yacht rock as much as goth.

For anyone talking about gates, IMHO, words have agreed upon meanings and you have to set some definitions because you have folks out there saying Metallica or Portishead is goth. I've seen this in the wild. Or a guy that just absolutely refused to believe the Cure had made goth music when Pornography absolutely shits bats. I understand, there's some SUPER weird goth spaces here on reddit where they get militant about what they say goth is, and, as the kids say, they can miss me with that.

I'll take my dark romantic love of the macabre while listening to Bauhaus and mosey off into the night, now

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Oh man this is like 20 years ago...

Not goth enough for the goths, not metal enough to be a metal head....I'm glad there is a standard definition for goth now.

I recognized 2 bands that you listed. So I was at least peripherally aware but I listened to the music my friends listened to and didn't really go much deeper than that.

I vaguely remember the Atomic Cafe.UT student?

My hair is naturally black and I'm pale so no matter what I wore as a teen people would assume I was goth. We had uniforms at school so we all had the same clothes on and I was always the goth. It irritated the shit out of me back then. (I was a high strung teen). Not that I dislike goths, it just wasn't how I identified myself. I guess I just have that vibe.

That said, I'm metal, so sort of goth adjacent. They weren't far off I suppose.

I still go to Numbers lol. Big difference is I bring my daughter with me now. Atomic Cafe was cool, made many trips to Austin for shows there.

I got really into goth in my early 20s. Atlanta had a decent goth scene. I cant remember the club names. This would have been the early aughts. The last goth dance party I went to was in Vegas around 2019. The DJ played a Switchblade Symphony song and I almost lost my mind.

Oh wait. I did go our for new years eve 2023 here in Philly and I was the only one wearing a corset. They played music like The Smiths and I was like oh no. The music was overall not what I expected and neither was the fits. The scene is different now as all things must be. Covid did a number on our clubs. They might have played one of the bands you mentioned but the only one on your list that I know of is Boy Harsher.

Edit don't forget VNV nation. Do they count on your list ? Covenant? I loved those industrial bands.

I wasn't a goth. However, I did listen to a lot of goth music (Bauhaus, Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Rosetta Stone, etc). I also listened to lots of industrial, punk, metal, and other genres. I dressed more punk than any other subculture for a while but honestly most of the time I was just in kind of boring non-subculture-related clothing like jeans and a random shirt or flannel (from Maine, so it's a thing... although I listened to grunge music, too).

I made a lot of electronic music, mostly dark ambient and noise, in the late nineties and early 2000s, and was big into that scene also.

But, while I enjoyed goth music I never considered myself a goth. I did have friends who classified themselves as goth, or as rivetheads.

I was a spooky poop then, and now I'm an old dusty bat. As for new goth music, I have to say I like Nox Novacula a LOT.

My wife and I strongly identify with this, but you’d never know it based on appearance. Getting ready to see Clan of Xymox in June! Growing up, I saw plenty of imagery on shirts and bumper stickers, but I have to credit a friend who lended Sisters’ A Slight Case of Overbombing to me in… 1994, where my learning and appreciation just took off.

This was Central FL, so I also came to hang out at The Castle in Ybor now and then. The best music.

The Bank and Downtime hosting Albion/Batcave in NYC. The absolute best. Miss those days!

Any Philly Goths? Shampoo.

KEXP is celebrating world goth day on May 22 - stream it through their website to hear the broadcast

Numbers! I saw Clan of Xymox at Numbers many years ago, but that was the only time I had been there. It was such a good show. We had The Church, in Dallas. It became more and more cyber/rave-ish over the years, which is not my thing, but they used to have a dj in the side room that would play the classics. It's been ages since I've been, so I have no idea what it is like anymore.

As for the goth music at the time? Yeah, it was Bauhaus, Christian Death, Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie, and so many others and goth adjacent bands from labels like Projekt, Cleopatra, Metropolis, Zoth Ammog, and Wax Trax.

'90s and 2000s goth. GAF, as we said back then. I had a goth.code in my email signature. I was active on alt.gothic and went to Convergence. Was forever explaining the difference between Real Goths and Mansonites. I won Halloween contests each year just dressed as I normally would to go out clubbing. I smoked cloves. I regularly wore an ankh with a little dagger in it like in The Hunger. I did photo shoots in forests and cemeteries. And it was very much all about the music. I still have all those CDs.

I stopped being so overly dramatic in my dress and makeup stylings in the 2010s and shifted more to generic rocker. But I still wear all black, still paint my nails black, still have weird hair, still have a lot of the same music on rotation. Those were special times.

Oh for fucks sake.

This is the epitome of gatekeeping. What club did I go to? I grew up in a small desert town, we didn't have any fucking clubs and I certainly couldn't have went to them if I did considering I was a teenager in the 90s🙄

Those bands you listed? I hate most of them. I'd rather listen to cats mating than the Bauhaus. Guess what? Still goth. My clothes came from JC Penney and Walmart and Miller's Outpost because shockingly, small towns didn't have a lot of clothing stores. STILL GOTH.

You're this old and still acting like a literal child over what "qualifications" a person can have for their own identity based on what is apparently a narrow definition only achievable by listening to specific bands and your choice in nightlife AS A TEENAGER? Really?

The rest of us grew up and discarded the notion that music and clothes define a person. That sounds way more "goth" than anything you listed here. Is your next post going to be how much you dislike the "preps" you have to sit next to in homeroom cause they're boring normies?

I was goth in the 90s and frankly hated gatekeeping pricks like you. Still do.

Gatekeep much?

One of my best friends met this girl on IRC and she wanted us to come meet her at some park in another suburb. It turned out they were doing some vampire roleplaying shit and there were like 15 other older dudes lined up and she was going to take her pick of the litter. She was absolutely super hot in real life but it was a hilarious situation all around. She really wanted a vampire guy and my friend was a tiny blonde BBS nerd.

1st wave goth bands are some of my all-time favorites. But, some of those bands I consider post-punk. The relentless categorization of scenes is what followed us out of the 90’s and into hipsterhood. We were all so damn specific about everything, especially music.

Also, add A Certain Ratio to you list.

Man. I kind of agree but my crowd wasn’t picky at all (this is more toward commenters than OP). My crowd was the most accepting group of people I’d ever met. First time I went out to the club and found them, no one cared what music I listened to or otherwise defined how I should be. That was the realm of the Greek Life snobs.

I was listening to Joy Division in the 80's and they were never considered goth back in the day. They only started being called 'goth' once the internet came along. They were a very important post-punk band that influenced some goth bands, but they also inspired bands like U2. Bono and the boys were huge fans. When Ian offed himself right before their first American tour Bono actually offered to sing live in his place if they weren't able to cancel the dates. True story, and you can hear their influence in U2's early post-punk albums.

I started getting into both goth and punk music in 1986 and I think it is sad as hell that it is considered more of a 'look' these days rather than a music based subculture. We didn't even dress in all black all of the time in the 80's and 90's, we would actually wear some colours. Plus, that whole 'white-face' look? I can count on one hand the amount of people I saw wearing it back then. It was considered very over the top and wasn't meant to be a daily look. We wanted to look pale, not like mimes.

I know I sound grumpy but it is just so fuckin' tiring having to explain what really happened back then over and over again. I still listen to the music and I dress how the hell I want to dress. I give no fucks when it comes to what people think of my appearance. I'm 53 and Gen X, but I saw this post and had to give my two cents.

Reads like someone who got mad that goth got popular back in the 90s/00s.