GOTHIC ROCK

It is named a Gothic rock to the set of musical styles that take jointly the taste as the dark and dramatic thing. There exist multiple styles that are in the habit of being named indistinctly a Gothic rock. In this sense we can affirm that there is a wide conception and a conception makes concrete of the term. In a wide sense, it includes all the musical currents that evolved from the post punk of ends of the decade of 70, including great variety of type of sounds, from the Punk to the electronics happening for the environmental music and the dark wave. In a strict sense, Gothic rock refers only to the sounds nearest to the rock staying out of the definition the music of electronic, industrial cut and pop.

BANDS

THE SISTERS OF MERCY

The Sisters of Mercy are an English gothic rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output as a strike against their record company. Currently, the band is a touring outfit only.

The group has released three original studio albums, of which the last was released in 1990. Each album was recorded by a different line-up; singer and songwriter Andrew Eldritch and the drum machines called Doktor Avalanche are the only points of continuity among the line-ups. Eldritch and Avalanche were also involved in The Sisterhood, a side-project connected with Eldritch's dispute with former members.

The group ceased recording activity in 1993, when they went on strike against their record company Time Warner, which they accused of withholding royalties and being incompetent. Although Time Warner eventually let the band go in 1997, they have not signed to another label, and have chosen not to use an independent label, despite showcasing numerous new songs in their live sets.

Since 1985, when the other original members left, The Sisters of Mercy has become the artistic vehicle of Andrew Eldritch. Former members of the group established the bands Ghost Danceand The Mission.

THE CURE

The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriterRobert Smith being the only constant member. The Cure first began releasing music in the late 1970s with their debut album Three Imaginary Boys (1979); this, along with several early singles, placed the band as part of the post-punk and New Wave movements that had sprung up in the wake of the punk rock revolution in the United Kingdom. During the early 1980s, the band's increasingly dark and tormented music helped form the gothic rock genre.

After the release of Pornography (1982), the band's future was uncertain and Smith was keen to move past the gloomy reputation his band had acquired. With the 1982 single "Let's Go to Bed" Smith began to inject more of a pop sensibility into the band's music. The Cure's popularity increased as the decade wore on, especially in the United States where the songs "Just Like Heaven", "Lovesong" and "Friday I'm in Love" entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart. By the start of the 1990s, The Cure were one of the most popular alternative rock bands in the world. The band is estimated to have sold 27 million albums as of 2004.The Cure have released thirteen studio albums and over thirty singles during the course of their career.

EPICA

Epica is a Dutch  symphonic metal band founded by guitarist and vocalist Mark Jansensubsequent to his departure from After Forever.

Style

Epica performs a blend of progressive metal, gothic metal and symphonic metal.Another component of Epica's style is power metal; their former guitarist Ad Sluijter having described the band as "a bridge between power metal and gothic metal." Vocalist Simone Simons has expressed a preference for the group to be described as symphonic metal though the founder of the group Mark Jansen notes that they do not mind being called gothic metal.

The music of Epica is aggressive, bombastic and excessive with some songs being "epic, grand and majestic" and others "more subdued and introspective." The band is also known to have progressive tendencies while a gothic atmosphere and sentimentality is also present in their music.

Epica uses a "trademark of many symphonic and gothic metal bands" in contrasting "two extremes, death grunts and brutality on one side, airy female melodiousness on the other." Eduardo Rivadavia ofAllmusic notes that the band's "attraction ultimately hinges on exploring the sonic contrasts of light and dark; the punishing intensity of those elephantine guitar riffs and hyperactive drumming cast against the soaring, layered sweetness of the orchestrated strings and keyboards." Simone Simons delivers operatic vocals in a mezzo-soprano range though she has also been known to sometimes sing "with a clear alto voice that has a flawless tone and a lot of emotion." Mark Jansen delivers death grunts "that are secondary to Simons' singing, but very important in terms of balance and variety."The group is also known to employ human choirs and orchestras with additional embellishments such as spoken word recitals and lyrics in Latin and Arabic.

LACRIMOSA

Lacrimosa is a duo formed in Germany, led by Tilo Wolff and Anne Nurmi (Finland). Mix musical styles such as elements of gothic metal, gothic rock, violins, trumpets and other classical instruments.His lyrics are written in German, although some of his albums have content in English, Spanish, Russian, Latin and Finnish. Their songs are about loneliness, the analogy of man with the PLC, sadness, darkness, despair, happiness, hope, despair, death and love.

NIGHTWISH

Nightwish is an award-winning symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland, formed in 1996 by songwriter/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalistTarja Turunen. Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon and the original bassist, Sami Vänskä, has been replaced by Marco Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist part; previously male vocal-parts were done by Tuomas or guest singers.

Although Nightwish has been prominent in their home country since the release of their firstsingle, “The Carpenter” (1997) and debut album Angels Fall First, they did not achieve worldwide fame until the release of the albums Oceanborn, Wishmaster and Century Child, which were released in 1998, 2000 and 2002 respectively. Their 2004 album, Once, which has sold more than 1 million copies, led to the broadcast of Nightwish video clips on MTV in theUnited States and inclusion of their music in US movie soundtracks. Their biggest US hit single, “Wish I Had an Angel” (2004), made it onto three US film soundtracks as a means to promote their North American tour. The band produced three more singles and two music videos for the album, as well as “Sleeping Sun”, from the 2005 “best of” compilation album,Highest Hopes, prior to vocalist Tarja Turunen’s dismissal.

In May 2007, former Alyson Avenue frontwoman, Anette Olzon, was revealed as Turunen’s replacement, and in the autumn, the band released a new album, Dark Passion Play, which has sold almost 2 million copies. The supporting tour started on October 6, 2007 and ended on September 19, 2009. A new E.P./live album, Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places), was released in March 2009 as a MCD/DVD, and a seventh studio album is in production, set for release in 2011.

Nightwish is Finland's most successful band with more than 7 million albums & singles sold worldwide, with 1 silver award, 23 gold awards, and 36 platinum awards.^[

APOCALYPTICA 

Apocalyptica is a Finnish cello metal band from Helsinki, Finland, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists and, since 2003, a drummer. Three of the cellists are graduates of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. Their music features elements from classical music and neo-classical metal, to symphonic metal and thrash metal. They have sold over three million albums to date.