Feature: Release the Bats! Ten Christian Gothic Metal Records to Fuel Your Fall
By Jason McLaren
For some of us, it’s always autumn. This list is for you.
The secular metal world has their iconic bands within the gothic style – everything from Moonspell and Tristania to Type O Negative, Cradle of Filth and My Dying Bride (no, not you Marilyn Manson). But over here on the Christian end, we also have our icons. And lest the tired trope of “Christians can’t be goths” be brought to the fore again, Catholic nun Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble’s viral response still stands as the best one.
Here, I’ve selected ten records for your listening pleasure that span the subgenre of gothic extreme metal. I’ve played a bit fast and loose with this list, and decided to incorporate bands from a bunch of different styles that have the gothic metal sound at heart – some doom, some black, some death, some just straight up gothic metal period.
Bid adieu to the world’s distractions – it’s time to light the candles and drown in the velvet darkness they fear.
Virgin Black – Elegant…and Dying
Few goth metal bands drip with as much blackened romanticism and utterly serious melancholy as Australia’s long-running band, Virgin Black. Nor are most bands this high gothic in their approach. Though most fans hold up Sombre Romantic, I can’t help but find myself enjoying their second album, Elegant…and Dying. Some goth bands are able to find a bit of humour in their music and approach from time to time, but I feel like Virgin Black are about as bleak and heavy as a Dostoevsky novel. To be sure, the band has never shied away from their difficult relationship with Christianity and religion in general, and some might find a few of the lyrics on here to be a bit uncomfortable, but I think it’s somewhat part of the whole package (not saying I agree with the band, just that I think I get what they’re trying to get at). It’s not an easy or accessible listen, and those unfamiliar with this kind of hyper-serious goth style might simply not get it, but it is a thought-provoking and emotional one that pulls on the heartstrings.
Necromance – White Gothic
Necromance, a German gothic metal act, saw a career that mimicked that of Royal Anguish, in that both began as death metal acts but later shifted entirely to a heavily-gothic metal sound. Combining the ubergoth romanticism of Virgin Black with the more traditional sounds of Saviour Machine. Female vocalist Sandra Bogdan’s ethereal voice drifts like a breeze at midnight, relying more on a subtle Trees of Eternity-style approach rather than any histrionic operatics. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy Necromance’s work here on their debut; what a lost gem.
Saviour Machine – Saviour Machine
Perhaps the original and most famous of the Christian metal scene’s goth metal acts, Saviour Machine took the approach of classic 80’s goth rock and added an injection of heavy metal thunder into the proceedings on their debut . Of course, the metal here is far more of the classic 80’s variety (there’s no growls or screams, and the guitars are more triumphant and soaring than grating or shredding), but there’s no denying the absolute importance of what Saviour Machine did here. Fans of anything from Sisters of Mercy and Fields of the Nephilim to the lighter sounds of bands like Tiamat and Therion will find something on here to love.
Aggelos – Silentium
Remember when the band Tristania was good? Sadly, the glory days of the sweeping, arch-gothic drama of albums like Widow’s Weeds and Beyond the Veil lie long behind us. Luckily, Colombian goth metal band Aggelos has us all covered with an amazing little record called Silentium. Tasteful amounts of keyboard synth and beauty-and-the-beast style music is led forward by the operatic vocals of lead singer Carolina Giraldo Sánchez, who really goes for a Vibeke Scene style approach here that totally works. There’s even echoes of “Spellbound” by Siouxsie and the Banshees on “Noche Oscura” – very good indeed.
Exortta – Enigmas
A staggering double album full of symphonic gothic/black metal, Exortta’s Enigmas proves yet once again that Brazil is an absolute spawning ground for quality extreme Christian metal. Exortta’s sound here blends lush orchestral instrumentation and ethereal atmospheric moments with the baroque-like grandiosity of Cerimonial Sacred’s approach to black metal, but anchoring it in the sounds of early Tristania and The Sins of Thy Beloved.
Ashen Mortality – Sleepless Remorse
One of many projects associated with doom metal figurehead Ian Arkley, Ashen Mortality lies somewhat sandwiched between his more famous work in Seventh Angel and My Silent Wake. It’s too bad, as Ashen Mortality is every bit as good as the others in its own right. The band’s debut album, Sleepless Remorse, leans in heavily to the gothic side of death/doom with a heavy emphasis on medieval-esque folk melodies and acoustic guitar work. Augmented with the understated and soft-spoken female vocals of Melanie Bolton (who would later star on black metal band Wintersoul’s Frozen Storm Apocalypse), Ashen Mortality’s work here will delight fans of early Theatre of Tragedy and My Silent Wake. Worth it just for the beautiful first minute or so of first track “Yesterday’s Gone” alone, which is about one of the closest things to a metal tearjerker I’ve heard in a long time.
Inflamed – Slain From the Birth of Flesh
I was young once – and I vividly remember in those days how very much I loved the sound of 90’s Cradle of Filth; that’s my ungoth confession, or rather, my unmetal confession for today. And though many think that Frost Like Ashes really went for a Cradle of Filth sound, I think that’s more due to the vocal similarities concerning both band’s penchant for chipmunk-like shrieks. But it’s Brazil’s Inflamed is the real counterpart to the vampiric musical theatre of bands like Cradle of Filth. Surely, it walks a fine line between homage and inspiration, but it’s hard to argue against the thunderous goth/black metal opuses on here. A weighty album that gives an alternate take on the Elizabeth Bathory mythos.
Exaudi – Sehnsucht
Another German act (we all know the goth culture is absolutely alive and thriving there, after all, so don’t be surprised), Exaudi’s main album release, Sehnsucht blends a classic symphonic black metal sound akin to Cerimonial Sacred, clean singing that echoes that heard on Ulver’s Kveldssanger, and the violin-heavy doominess of one of gothic metal’s most ludicrously underrated acts, The Sins of Thy Beloved.
From Ashes – As the Leaves Fall
Ukraine’s From Ashes took the classic sounds of the infamous “Peaceville Three” (British goth/death/doom legends My Dying Bride, Anathema and Paradise Lost) and injected into it a sense of black metal drum flow and speed. Similar to the classic sounds of My Dying Bride, they make use of a cello to augment the brooding atmosphere. A tragedy that they disbanded after this album.
Illuminandi – In Via
Dropping the stereotypical, ponderous and plodding sounds typical of many goth metal bands, Illuminandi go for an almost bouncy, invigorating and folk-inspired style that has all the energy of a power metal record with none of the cheese. Think of a combination of Midnattsol, Nightwish, Holy Blood and Tristania, and you’ll get a close approximation of what this fantastic band sounds like.
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