Gothic Metal Genre & Market Research

Gothic metal or goth metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music. The genre originated during the early 1990s in Europe originally as an outgrowth of doom/death, a fusion of death metal and doom metal. Lyrics are generally melodramatic and mournful with inspiration from gothic fiction as well as personal experiences.

Norwegian band Theatre of Tragedy developed the "beauty and the beast" aesthetic of combining aggressive male vocals with clean female vocals, a contrast that has since been adopted by many gothic metal groups. During the mid-1990s, Moonspell, Theatres des Vampires and Cradle of Filth brought the gothic approach to black metal. By the end of the decade, a symphonic metal variant of gothic metal had been developed by Tristania and Within Temptation.

In the 21st century, gothic metal has moved towards the mainstream in Europe, particularly in Finland where groups such as The 69 Eyes, Entwine, Lullacry, Poisonblack and Sentenced have released hit singles or chart-topping albums. In the US, however, only a few bands such as HIM, Lacuna Coil, Evanescence and Cradle of Filth have found commercial success.
Music

The music of gothic metal is generally characterised by its dark atmospheres. The adjective "dark" is commonly used to describe gothic music in general while other terms that are less frequently used include deep, depressing, romantic, passionate and intense. Gothic metal has also been described as "a combination of the darkness and melancholy of goth rock with heavy metal". Allmusic defines the genre as a fusion of "the bleak, icy atmospherics of goth rock with the loud guitars and aggression of heavy metal" and further notes that "true goth metal is always directly influenced by goth rock - ethereal synths and spooky textures are just as important as guitar riffs, if not moreso".
There is also a diverse range of vocal styles in gothic metal. Male singers in the genre range from the guttural growls and black metal shrieks of Dani Filth and Morten Veland to the clean counter-tenor vocals of Østen Bergøy and the bass range of Peter Steele. For the female singers, the different vocal styles includes the screams and growls of Cadaveria, the "poppy" vocals of Tanja Lainio from Lullacry and the operatic soprano style of Vibeke Stene from Tristania. There are more female singers in gothic metal than there are in any other heavy metal subgenres but female vocals are neither necessary nor synonymous with the genre. Liv Kristine of Theatre of Tragedy and Leaves' Eyes notes that the gothic tag is often misinterpreted and points out that "not every band with female vocals is a gothic band". The genre is also known to attract more female fans relative to other subgenres of heavy metal music.

The lyrics of gothic metal are known to be "epic and melodramatic". Gothic fiction, a literary genre that blends horror and romance, has been a source of inspiration for the lyrics of many gothic metal band. Lyrics based on personal experiences is another common feature of many gothic metal bands

Information was gathered from research on Wikipedia and other sights with focuses on Gothic Metal/Rock.



Market Research

I questioned 20 people from each of the age ranges below, and asked the question: Which of the following genres of music do you prefer?

The Options were:
- Rock
- Gothic/Metal
- Classical
- Independent

These are my results:



From this graph it is clear that the highest number of people who said Gothic/Metal was in the 16-20 age range. However the results also show that among the other ranges the Gothic/Metal genre still appeals to a select few, meaning the target audience is wider than expected. Predominantly teenagers however the adult more complex themes may appeal to an older audience.


The Focus Group

The Focus group was a chance to find out what an audience would expect and want to see in a music video of this genre. After finding out the majority aged, target audience (teenagers), I aimed to question members of this age group so I got three teenage girls to be my focus group. I sat them down in an empty class room and asked them to fill in a question sheet, while listening to a track of gothic music, to discover their views.



After they had listened to the song, we talked about their views, what they thought of the music, what images they would expect to see in a music video and what audience they thought the music was aimed for.



I noted down the sort of derelict images described, as well as the dark, morbid ideas which I intend to incorporate into my own music video. The audience was confirmed by the girls that teenagers would be the predominant target audience.

Gothic Music Video Analysis

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Evanescence is a classic example of Gothic Metal. In this music video of 'Going Under', from the album 'Fallen', the classic conventions and styles of the gothic genre are clearly displayed. From the very start of the video we see how the gothic look is very important to the genre. This usually focuses of dark colours, black hair, clothes and make-up. Piercings are also very common in the goth look.

As the video progresses we can see how the band displays one of the main conventions of the gothic genre, horror. Horror is important to this style of music, ass the music itself is dark, morbid and creepy. In the music video, this is the main theme of the piece as we see the inner, demon-like creatures seen by the band of backstage crew, members of the press and the fans. The style of music is also obviously conveyed through the intensity of the lyrics, using very gothic, morbid words like 'screaming, deceiving and bleeding for you', which also suggests the importance of the horror style in this genre of music.

The music video does stick to most points of Goodwin's Theory, first of all the strong links between the lyrics and the visuals. The main title of the song and lyrics in the chorus, link to the ongoing visual images of the lead singer 'Amy Lee', singing under water in a long white dress, which contrasts colours with her black hair. She sings, 'Im going under, Im drowning in you', again keeping the dark language. The visuals stay true to the gothic rock genre, images of death, demonic apparitions and characters are very common ideas linked to this kind of music.



This video is from the band Xandria. Again with female vocals the bands Gothic/metal genre is contrasted with the soft melody of singer Kerstin Bischof. In this music video the contrast is made very clear through the visuals. We see the female lead in the centre of a nightmarish setting, a graveyard surrounded by dead trees, setting up the morbid and conventionally Gothic scene. Her appearance makes the contrast clear, through the pure and angelic white dress, and the jet black hair colour conforming to traditional Gothic style and fashion. We also see the other band members standing around her all in Black clothing which again presents to us the Gothic horror genre.

Although the very poetic and theatrical nature of the music and lyrics, the video itself is essentially a performance music video. Showing lots of images of the band and female lead, appealing to its set audience. With the exception of the unrelated visuals showing a female body/corpse being slowly covered by some sort of magical undergrowth. This links very strongly with the importance of nature and the beauty of the natural world in the Gothic genre.



A video for the extremely Gothic metal band 'Cradle of Filth', this video expresses the darker and more horrific side to the Gothic genre of music. The very stereotypical Gothic image of the band is made very clear in this video, we can see how the band wishes to appear to its audience and the effect and emotion they want to provoke. The conventional, dark makeup of the lead singer creates a frightening image which links to the horror sub-genre, as well as the black, leather clothing and metal piercing giving a very grotesque but traditional image of 'the Goth'.

Through the music and lyrics very different styles are being presented, from the male vocalist's hardcore, metal 'growling', to a very orchestral and anthemic female singing at the beginning of the chorus. The video itself focuses on the difference between the singers and styles, through the shots showing two very different settings; one being the conventionally Gothic, dark, nightmarish wood, and then the bright, colourful, naturalistic landscape. All though this is an obvious contrast between styles and genres, the interest in nature remains strong link to the Gothic genre.

Original song choice 'Snuff'

December 22, 2009 Slipknot's song "Snuff" is led by acoustic guitars and has been dubbed as Slipknot's attempt at a power ballad. The song maintains Slipknot's conventions of a dark, ominous and even morbid feeling. The lead singer Corey Taylor
states 'This is the slow one. It's another personal one...it's about someone who helped me through a lot and I thought she felt the same way that I did and then she really let me down...it was good that she did, because it was that final push to me figuring out myself'.

From the first verse the lyrics express how the band combine poetry with religious imagery and symbolism.

'Bury all your secrets in my skin
Come away with innocence and leave me with my sins
The air around me still feels like a cage
And love is just a camouflage for what resembles rage again'

From this we can identify major emotions already in play, the most prominent being Love and Hate, which will remain as two main themes throughout the song.
Although the popularity of this song was overwhelming, vocalist Corey Taylor said in an interview 'Im not sure about how our fans will react about Snuff, but Im hoping for the best'.
The song was released on September 28th 2009. It was recorded in February-June 2008 at Sound Farm in Jamaica, Iowa. Slipknot are assigned to Roadrunner recording label and Snuff was written by Frontman Corey Taylor and Percussionist Shawn Crahan.

This information was a result of research into fan-bases and different reviews of the Album and Singles.



Reasons for the Change

Although the song has a very strong sense of narrative and provides a lot of opportunity for a well made, emotional music video; I struggled in the planning stages of the project. Taking such a morbid and serious song, it was difficult to provide a suitable 'story' music video which was not based around death and horror.From the start it was my intentions that my music video would be a story based one with little or no performance footage. This being one of the criteria for my personal preference of music videos.

Through research of the bands fan-base and audience it was clear that from this music very morbid and disturbing images would be expected in a music video. Even though I consider the song to be a very moving and emotional piece of music, I did not want to make this kind of story. My intentions were to make a stunning and enjoyable video with a meaningful story, however with this song it provoked depressing and morbid emotions that I did not feel comfortable with portraying.

Heavy Metal

Heavy metal or metal is a genre of rock music that developed between 1968 and 1974 , largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness.
The first heavy metal bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple attracted large audiences, though they were often critically reviled, a status common throughout the history of the genre. In the mid-1970s Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence; Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. Bands in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal such as Iron Maiden followed in a similar vein. Before the end of the decade, heavy metal had attracted a worldwide following of fans known as "metalheads" or "headbangers".
In the 1980s, glam metal became a major commercial force with bands like Mötley Crüe and Ratt. Underground scenes produced an array of more extreme, aggressive styles: thrash metal broke into the mainstream with bands such as Metallica and Megadeth, while other styles like death metal and black metal remain subcultural phenomena. Since the mid-1990s, popular styles such as nu metal, which often incorporates elements of grunge and rapping; and metalcore, which blends extreme metal with hardcore, have further expanded the definition of the genre.

Heavy metal is traditionally characterized by loud distorted guitars, emphatic rhythms, dense bass-and-drum sound, and vigorous vocals. Metal subgenres variously emphasize, alter, or omit one or more of these attributes. New York Times critic Jon Pareles writes, "In the taxonomy of popular music, heavy metal is a major subspecies of hard-rock—the breed with less syncopation, less blues, more showmanship and more brute force." The typical band lineup includes a drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a singer, who may or may not be an instrumentalist. Keyboard instruments are sometimes used to enhance the fullness of the sound.

Heavy metal is typically characterized by a guitar-and-drum-dominated sound, strong rhythms and classical, bluesy or symphonic styles. However, heavy metal sub-genres have their own stylistic variations on the original form that often omit or alter many of these characteristics. There is a very wide variety of sounds and styles within the genre of Metal.

The most commonly used line-up for a metal band is a drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a singer (who may or may not be an instrumentalist). Keyboards were popular with early metal bands (especially the organ and occasionally the mellotron), but were gradually used less and less frequently. Today they are used by some styles (prog metal, later black metal) and shunned by others, though as different subgenres develop they have begun to become more popular. The guitar and the sonic power that it projects through amplification, however, is the key element in heavy metal music. Distortion of the guitar sound is used to create a more powerful, "heavy'" sound. Later, more intricate solos and riffs became a big part of heavy metal music. Guitarists use sweep-picking, tapping and other advanced techniques for rapid playing, and many sub-genres praise virtuosity over simplicity. Also, as technology has developed, new ways of altering the guitar's sound have been
adopted.

Metal vocals vary widely in style. Vocalists' abilities and styles range from the multi-octave theatrical vocals of Judas Priest's Rob Halford and Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, to the intentionally gruff vocals of Metallica's James Hetfield and Lemmy from Motörhead .

Information provided through internet research on Wikipedia

Music Video Origins and Goodwin's Theory

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a piece of music. Music videos are primarily used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. The origins of music videos date back much further, but it was in 1980's when MTV based their format around the medium. Before this music videos were known as 'illustrated song', 'filmed insert', 'promotional film/clip' or 'film clip'.
In China music videos were simply known as 'MTVs' because the network was responsible for the popularity of music videos in the country.
Music videos contain a range of different film-making techniques including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as absract film. Some videos combine all these different elements and blend styles such as animation or visual effects with live action.
It is also common for music videos not to interpret images from the song's lyrics, making it less literal than expected.


Goodwin's Theory

University Lecturer and theorist Andrew Goodwin identified a number of key features in music videos. They are:

- A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.
- A relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.
- Genre-related style and iconography present.
- Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist.
- Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females.
- Intertextual references to other media texts may be present.

He says that music videos are often constructed by the link between the visuals and the song as well as the artist. These common links create relationships with one another in music videos. The reason for close-ups of the artists gives them the representation and publicity they require, be it a 'bad boy' image like many rappers or an uncaring individualistic attitude given to independent artists. Voyeurism is used to increase the video’s attractiveness, and particularly catch the attention of males with female images reflecting sexual or seductive attitudes. A common use of Voyeurism is the use of the 'direct gaze'. He also stated that intertextuality is often employed in humorous videos, to reference other media texts and draw comparisons between them.

An example of a famous music video director would be:

Michel Gondry:
Born in France Gondry has gone on to direct videos for The Rolling Stones, Radiohead, Beck, The White Stripes, and many other cutting edge artists. His capability of adapting new technologies in editing, animation, motion graphics, and storytelling by continually creating new visual media that stimulates the eyes, ears, and brain has made him one of the world's most influential screenwriter, film, commercial, and music video director.

An example of Gondry's Work:



Music Video Analysis



"Zombie" is a protest by the Irish band The Cranberries.

This particular music video defies some aspects of Goodwin’s theory. The song features a much heavier style of music which is uncharacteristic of the band’s usual sound, more like the grunge/alternative metal sound that was popular at the time than their usual alternative rock style.

However there are some conventions such as the relationship between lyrics and visuals, as throughout the video we are met with images linking to the themes of war and terrorism. We see soldiers walking through bombed streets, linking to the lyrics “They are fighting, with their tanks and their bombs and their bombs and their guns”. Also the constant link to children within the video, as one of the main themes to the song laments the troubles in Northern Ireland and in particular the killing of two children in an IRA bombing in Warrington England.

The use of black and white images links to the dark nature and messages of the music. Being quite unique in its style, the mix of the singer’s Irish voice on a heavy metal song acts on the visuals within the video as we see unusual religious references of the golden singer standing with her back to a cross surrounded again by golden children, expressing the innocence of the children lost to terrorism.


This information was a result of researching through Wikipedia and Michel Gondry blogs