Getting into goth bands can be daunting—after all, there’s over forty years’ worth of goth music out there. The good news is, you’ll never run out of dark music to discover. Fortunately, we’re here to get you started on your musical odyssey, and there’s no better place to start than the shadowy genesis of goth itself. It’s time to get morose with these vintage goth bands.
The Most Popular 80s Goth Bands
Bauhaus
This is the band that started it all. Their 1979 single “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” gave goth music an instantly iconic aesthetic and a set of macabre themes to explore, i.e. vampire imagery, death, and gloom. There’s much more to this band than black capes and bats in the belltower, though—check out the frantic dance rock of “Dark Entries” and the icy post punk cool of “Terror Couple Kill Colonel” to get a sense of their range.
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie Sioux’s pioneering goth band weaves dark fairytales with irresistible rhythms on hit tracks like “Spellbound.” Souxsie’s powerful pipes are some of the most iconic in all of goth music, and she set the template for what a female goth singer could do. From the anxious post punk of debut album The Scream to the lush, inviting sonic tapestries of A Kiss in the Dreamhouse, the Banshees’ brand of dark delight always fills up the dancefloor.
The Cure
The Cure is the most successful goth band of all time in terms of mainstream airplay thanks to dreamy pop albums like 1987’s Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, but don’t let their bubbly side fool you: there’s plenty of darkness in their back catalog. Earlier albums like Seventeen Seconds are drenched in gloomy atmosphere on tracks like “A Forest” and “One Hundred Years.” 1989’s Disintegration is a gothic masterpiece, combining opulent soundscapes with singer Robert Smith’s melancholy tenor. When it comes to the Cure, there’s an era for every taste—you really can’t go wrong.
Depeche Mode
This darkwave band is beloved by goths everywhere for odes to dark romance like “Enjoy the Silence” and “Master and Servant,” as well as the massive hit “Personal Jesus.” Embracing a synth-driven sound and dancefloor-ready drum machine beats, the band uses highly textured electronic elements alongside Dave Gahan and Martin Gore’s plaintive vocals to stunning effect. Depeche Mode still records new music and tours prolifically, meaning you might even get to see them live in a city near you.
The Sisters of Mercy
It’s a longtime running joke among goths that frontman Andrew Eldritch refuses to admit he’s in a goth band, but there’s no denying the Sisters’ irresistible music gets all the spooky people out on the floor. Gothic anthems like “Lucretia My Reflection” and “This Corrosion” feel like 80s arena rock echoing off the stones of an ancient cathedral, while the more streamlined “Adrenochrome” is an overcaffeinated drive down a desolate nighttime highway. With music full of driving beats and monster riffs, the Sisters of Mercy will make you feel “the roar of a big machine.”
Dead Can Dance
Taking inspiration from the ancient world on their most recent album, 2018’s Dionysus, Australian darkwave/neoclassical band Dead Can Dance are known for their primal, hypnotic beats. Their early work is full of driving, frenetic dance rock like “The Trial,” while later albums shiver with rhythmic experimentation. Influences like Middle Eastern music, African polyrhythms, and Gaelic folk give their music its unique sweeping grandeur.
More 80s Goth and Darkwave Bands
Specimen
This foundational 80s goth band was just as famous for their theatrical look as their hook-laden sound. As the founders of the famous London goth club night the Batcave, Specimen rattled the walls with bangers like “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” and “Beauty of Poisin” and helped create the goth subculture as we know it. Anyone with a taste for the gothic can see themselves in vocalist Olli Wisdom’s question: “Do you feel dark?”
Cocteau Twins
Known for Elizabeth Fraser’s breathy, shivering soprano (and unintelligible lyrics), this Scottish band’s delicate sound is nonetheless dark and enveloping. From wistful and dreamy (“Heaven or Las Vegas”) to dark and menacing ("Wax and Wane"), Cocteau Twins have a song for every mood. They would be a huge influence on the indie shoegaze musicians of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
Fields of the Nephilim
Frontman Carl McCoy’s growling vocals prefigured much of what later became gothic metal (and its many subgenres). Hits like “Moonchild” and “Preacher Man” bring plenty of driving momentum, and the band’s dark, dusty cowboy aesthetic gave goths a whole new look to adopt. With occult-inspired lyrics and infectious guitar hooks, Fields of the Nephilim expanded goth music’s sonic palette.
Clan of Xymox
This prolific Dutch darkwave band has been creating shadowy soundscapes since they formed in 1981, with songs like “Medusa” and “Obsession” bringing plenty of ethereal atmosphere. (Their cover of “A Forest” by The Cure is well worth checking out as well.) If you love dark electronic music, this band is a gift that keeps on giving.
The Sound
This London post punk band never achieved the same level of fame as contemporaries like Echo and the Bunnymen and The Chameleons, which is a shame. From the Lion’s Mouth (1981) is a landmark album, with songs like “Skeletons” and “New Dark Age” seething with gothic atmosphere and dark themes. Their earlier album Jeopardy (1980) has a cold clarity that makes you want to return to it again and again.
This guide to 80s goth bands should help you explore this flourishing era of goth music and find some new faves. Whether you want to brood in solitude or dance the night away, these legendary gothic music groups will help set the mood.