Telling the difference

Can someone please make me understand once and for all exactly what is the difference between Psychobilly, Gothabilly, Deathrock, Gothic Rock, Horror Punk, Batcave and Deathabilly? I sometimes get mixed up

I know that Psychobilly is very different than Deathrock, for example, but anyway all these genres make me dizzy

rubber33 said:
Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy doesn't like the 'goth' label at all. In an article Peter Murphy interview with Steve Stav , Murphy puts it all to rest:

"Nobody's gothic, who's gothic? I mean, what is gothic?

First, I want to tell you, gothic is not Anne Rice, it's not Marilyn Manson, it's not Nine Inch Nails. Gothic was an architectural movement [hence, "Bauhaus" -- SS], it was a post-Renaissance, European, cultural aesthetic; it was Jean Cocteau, the Surrealists... if you're talking about the American, Tupperware sort of gothic rock, well, what is that? "

Well, I would have to firmly disagree with Mr Murphy there! Gothic is Anne Rice, it is Marilyn Manson, it is Nine Inch Nails. It is Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Siouxsie. It is Tristania, Sirenia and Theatre of Tragedy. It is Dargaard, Dark Sanctuary and Artesia. It is Dracula, Underworld, Laurell K Hamilton. It is the Castle of Otranto, Melmoth the Wanderer and Northanger Abbey. It is all of these - but not restricted to these - and nor are these restricted to Gothicism.

'Gothic' has become a very wide-reaching term. It can refer to books, music and architecture. So what is the common denominator? Basically anything which is darkly extravagent is Gothic. It is not a confining word - it reaches out to everything which is dark, lush and emotional.

I remember talking to Anja from Closterkeller years ago about exactly this point. I asked her the same question - what is Gothic? Her words - which pretty much sum it up - were:

"People who feel the Gothic Atmosphere are Goths. There is nothing to explain. You can either feel it or not. It’s the same like, for example, with the Metal climate/atmosphere, or punk too. Maybe hip-hop. Why not? Each man has his soul and if you feel the Gothic atmosphere, you are lucky. Because Goths are an elite."

Listen to bands that are typically classed under each of the above genres and then make your own judgments as to how to label each. It's all very subjective.

Deathrock, Batcave and Gothic tend to be variations on the same, some rockier, some "sleazier", some "sexier", but all dark and to a point having a degree androgeny, whether it is through cross dressing and make up, or the exact opposite, removing gender clues and sexuality to create a sexless image.

Gothabilly, Psychobilly, and Horror Punk have their roots in good old fashioned rockabilly/rock'n'roll with upright bass and simple rhythms. Add in some punk and goth influences to add colour and diversity, with some B movie horror movie imagery and you get good time fun dancie music that isn't cheesy and cliched.

There was a time that Psychobillies, Punks and Goths were so different they hated each other, but as the Horror Punk and Gothabilly scene has emerged things have really improved as scenes have merged, blurred and crossed over.

Well, the best way to describe the differences in genre are to give examples.

Horror punk would be bands like The Misfits or Samhain.

Deathrock would be bands like Christian Death or Children on Stun.

Gothic rock would be bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees or The Cure

Batcave is basically just gothic rock, but typically people will call Alien Sex Fiend, Specimen, or the Bolshoi batcave as they actually played the club named The Batcave in London.

Just my 2 cents.

GeekMasterFlash is right

Lysander : my speakers are black, gothic? I burnt my toasts, gothic toasts ?

come on, stop trying to plug everything to goth. and words have a lot of meanings. The gothic word for music is probably coming from a joke around a guy in Sex Gang Children who looked like a gargoyle :) For sure it comes from "after some beers" ideas from guys at the Batcave, or something around this.

Deathrock comes from Christian Death, it's half-way horror punk, half way gothic rock. rockabilly is another thing, I would say half punk half cabaret.

When we are speaking of current Gothic Culture I completely Disagree with Lysander. Metal bands like Marilyn Manson do not hit a chord with current goth.
Goth in my opinion is a emotion, a darkness, and an atmosphere and ofcourse fashion ( not that it is based on that). Goth is a mix between Punk and Glam Rock and from there took a new form with dark ideas. Good Examples are The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, Alien Sex Fiend, and 45 Grave.
Defining the above Genres
Deathrock- is a punky version of Gothic Rock. Tribal Beats are prodominant along with a strong Bass Line. Theatrical ideas take place in lyrical work most of the time. Repatition is the name of the game or so to say. Some alternate names for Deathrock are Batcave (which describes the 80s British movement of the genre), Gothic Punk and Death Punk. Some artist that may isolate this sound for you would be Christian Death, Cinema Strange, The Last Days of Jesus, and the Sex Gang Children.
Psychobilly is simply Horror Punk Mixed with Punkobilly which is the mix of Punk and Rockobilly. Some bands that may define that sound for you is Batmobile, The Cramps, and Tiger Army (for a more modern look on it)
Gothobilly is just the mix of either Punkobilly Psychobilly or Rockobilly with Gothic Rock. The only example I can really think of is Cult of The Psychic Fetus.
Horror Punk is the mix of Horror themed lyrics with Punk and 50s Rock. Normally either very similar to Punk or Deathrock depending on the interpretation of the band.
Gothic Rock is a very introspective offshoot of Glam Rock. I dont really know how to describe it off of that but some bands that could help you develope an understanding of the genre are Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhuas, Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy
Dont stress yourself over the genre labels they overlap ALOT!!!!

Well this topic got a lil' side-tracked didn't it. Listen to the bands that are associated with each genre. If you have a functioning brain you will notice stylistic differences between all of them. The only theme here is the performers have a dark look.

well put NekroReaper.


am I the only one that gets offended when people consider Nine Inch Nails and Evanescence goth???? just wondering

ha ha ha you're spelling isn't that bad

burn, burn, burn, burn down hot topic! don't let it take your soul