What makes music "goth"?

Goth music consists of Gothic Rock and its derived genres, including Deathrock, Darkwave, Ethereal Wave, and Coldwave.

Many artists are often mistaken for goth due to dark imagery, fashion, or themes, but true goth music has specific musical characteristics and historical context, being derived from the music of The Cure, Bauhaus, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Cocteau Twins, The Sisters of Mercy and other pioneers.

How our classification works

Our database categorizes artists based on their actual musical output, historical context, and influence within the goth scene. We distinguish between:

• Goth bands - Those playing authentic goth music, having released at least one predominantly goth album (even in cases when most of their discography might be outside the realms of goth).
• Non-goth with influences - Artists with some goth elements, goth songs or even being an influence on goth music itself.
• Non-goth sharing members with goth bands - Relevance to the scene while not playing goth music themselves.
• Commonly misclassified - Artists often confused with goth or mistakenly claiming to be goth.