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The Art of Darkness: The History of Goth
This is the first comprehensive history of Goth music and culture. Over 500 pages, John Robb explores the origins and legacy of this enduring scene, which has its roots in the post-punk era. Drawing on his own experience as a musician and journalist, Robb covers the style, the music and the clubs that spawned the culture, alongside political and social conditions. He also reaches back farther to key historic events and movements that frame the ideas of Goth, from the fall of Rome to Lord Byron and the Romantic poets, European folk tales, Gothic art and the occult. Finally, he considers the current mainstream Goth of Instagram influencers, film, literature and music. The Art of Darkness features interviews with The Banshees, The Cure, The Damned, Nick Cave, Southern Death Cult, Einstürzende Neubauten, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Throbbing Gristle, Trent Reznor, Johnny Marr and many more. It offers a first-hand account of being there at the legendary gigs and clubs that made the scene happen.
539 pages, Paperback
First published March 23, 2023
142 people are currently reading
1275 people want to read
About the author
John Robb
110 books105 followersAuthor/Music Scribe/TV Presenter/Environmental Activist and Bass Player for perennial post-punk survivors The Membranes, John Robb is a man who cannot sit still. When he’s not touring with his band (they recently toured in Europe with The Stranglers, The Chameleons and Fields Of The Nephilim), he’s presenting, moderating or writing for his popular UK music site Louder Than War. John has previously written the best-selling books “Punk Rock : An Oral History” and “The North Will Rise Again : Manchester Music City 1976-1996”. His latest opus is the 550-page “The Art Of Darkness : The History of Goth”, an in-depth account that he feels presents the first major and comprehensive overview of Goth music and culture and its lasting legacy.
Starting with a night out in a Goth club, it then takes us on a deep-dive into the wider culture, exploring the social conditions that created ‘Goth’ in the post-punk period. It examines the fall of Rome, Lord Byron and the romantic poets, European folk tales, Gothic architecture and painters, the occult to modern-day Instagram influencers.
The book is built mainly around the 80s post-punk Goth period featuring interviews with Andrew Eldritch, Killing Joke, Bauhaus, The Cult, The Banshees, The Damned, Einstürzende Neubauten, Johnny Marr, Trent Reznor, Adam Ant, Laibach, The Cure, Nick Cave and many others. …it looks at the music, style and the political and social conditions that spawned the culture and the great music, fashions and attitudes - clubs that defined it, and is also a first-hand account of being there at some of the legendary gigs and clubs that made the scene happen...
Starting with a night out in a Goth club, it then takes us on a deep-dive into the wider culture, exploring the social conditions that created ‘Goth’ in the post-punk period. It examines the fall of Rome, Lord Byron and the romantic poets, European folk tales, Gothic architecture and painters, the occult to modern-day Instagram influencers.
The book is built mainly around the 80s post-punk Goth period featuring interviews with Andrew Eldritch, Killing Joke, Bauhaus, The Cult, The Banshees, The Damned, Einstürzende Neubauten, Johnny Marr, Trent Reznor, Adam Ant, Laibach, The Cure, Nick Cave and many others. …it looks at the music, style and the political and social conditions that spawned the culture and the great music, fashions and attitudes - clubs that defined it, and is also a first-hand account of being there at some of the legendary gigs and clubs that made the scene happen...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
July 12, 2023
DNF at page 124.
Cw: transphobic language, bi erasure
This really wasn't what I was expecting when I'd read the blurb that promised it to be 'the first major overview of goth music and culture'. While impressive and ambitious that that the book begins so far away in the fall of Rome (410AD!), it makes it lose its detail. Slowly it becomes a little indulgent, with Robb clearly focusing in on personal favourites and rather than going into things like the critical reception at the time and cultural impact.
My first real 'ick' from The Art of Darkness was on page 24, when he mentions the Romantic poets and refers to their famous competition to write stories and how Mary Shelley wrote the 'bare bones' of what would later become Frankenstein. On the following page he remarks that its 'an early work of science fiction, but its science is vaguely glimpsed and unspecific' and 'not far removed from a supernatural novel like Dracula.' What an insult to the woman who is widely established to have founded the science fiction genre at the age of 18. So much more could have been done here. He could have gone on to explore the enduring legacy this novel had on the horror genre and the stylistic influences of its creatures (think bride of frankenstein hair etc). This would have linked the book back to its mission statement of being an overview of goth culture, at least.
Nevertheless, I persisted. I am known to be fiercely feminist and passionate about categorising things and wondered whether my ick was too harsh. But things got worse. This time by the author's apparent bisexual erasure. At the start of chapter 9, a footnote reads 'all evidence suggests Bowie's period of bisexual experimentalism had been in the 1960s, as a young man...but this was an artist who was hungry for his moment and knew what would grab attention.' Yikes. This bisexual stereotyping was my second strike.
Third, was his description of Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling and Jackie Curtis. He refers to them as 'trannies', a hugely outdated term and slur. Additionally, in a footnote on page 85 he deadnames Jayne County, describing her as 'reputedly the first transsexual rock star' and comments that she is 'believed to have kept her male equipment.' Now, social convention would dictate to me that speculating on other people's genitalia is wrong. Deadnaming is also harmful and wrong. This information has no importance to the history of goth whatsoever, and has no relevance. What a horrible and unnecessary thing to include.
Furthermore, he mentions the dead name of Rachel, a transgender woman involved with Lou Read and inspiring Coney Island Baby. Clumsily, he also writes in a footnote that she had 'suffered injuries to her face and male genitalia.' This again feels like an outdated description at best and transphobic language at worst. Page 95 again uses the t word slur.
Less importantly, the book also appears to have been edited clumsily, too. Page 94 has a footnote reading 'Reed often mused at this time about what it would like to stay up for a week.'
There was only so much of reading this I could take. This was published in 2023. Do better, John Robb.
Cw: transphobic language, bi erasure
This really wasn't what I was expecting when I'd read the blurb that promised it to be 'the first major overview of goth music and culture'. While impressive and ambitious that that the book begins so far away in the fall of Rome (410AD!), it makes it lose its detail. Slowly it becomes a little indulgent, with Robb clearly focusing in on personal favourites and rather than going into things like the critical reception at the time and cultural impact.
My first real 'ick' from The Art of Darkness was on page 24, when he mentions the Romantic poets and refers to their famous competition to write stories and how Mary Shelley wrote the 'bare bones' of what would later become Frankenstein. On the following page he remarks that its 'an early work of science fiction, but its science is vaguely glimpsed and unspecific' and 'not far removed from a supernatural novel like Dracula.' What an insult to the woman who is widely established to have founded the science fiction genre at the age of 18. So much more could have been done here. He could have gone on to explore the enduring legacy this novel had on the horror genre and the stylistic influences of its creatures (think bride of frankenstein hair etc). This would have linked the book back to its mission statement of being an overview of goth culture, at least.
Nevertheless, I persisted. I am known to be fiercely feminist and passionate about categorising things and wondered whether my ick was too harsh. But things got worse. This time by the author's apparent bisexual erasure. At the start of chapter 9, a footnote reads 'all evidence suggests Bowie's period of bisexual experimentalism had been in the 1960s, as a young man...but this was an artist who was hungry for his moment and knew what would grab attention.' Yikes. This bisexual stereotyping was my second strike.
Third, was his description of Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling and Jackie Curtis. He refers to them as 'trannies', a hugely outdated term and slur. Additionally, in a footnote on page 85 he deadnames Jayne County, describing her as 'reputedly the first transsexual rock star' and comments that she is 'believed to have kept her male equipment.' Now, social convention would dictate to me that speculating on other people's genitalia is wrong. Deadnaming is also harmful and wrong. This information has no importance to the history of goth whatsoever, and has no relevance. What a horrible and unnecessary thing to include.
Furthermore, he mentions the dead name of Rachel, a transgender woman involved with Lou Read and inspiring Coney Island Baby. Clumsily, he also writes in a footnote that she had 'suffered injuries to her face and male genitalia.' This again feels like an outdated description at best and transphobic language at worst. Page 95 again uses the t word slur.
Less importantly, the book also appears to have been edited clumsily, too. Page 94 has a footnote reading 'Reed often mused at this time about what it would like to stay up for a week.'
There was only so much of reading this I could take. This was published in 2023. Do better, John Robb.
July 3, 2023
There's so much to love about this book. And so VERY much to criticize.
From what I've heard (and I don't know how accurate this is, but it makes sense), The Art of Darkness was intended to be an in-depth history of the British post-punk scene in the late 1970s and early 80s, with an overview of its roots in earlier work. In that regard, this book is fantastic. From what I hear, however, the publisher decided that such a book wouldn't sell. Author John Robb was tasked with (or chose to) expand the book into a history of modern Goth in general. In that regard, this book fails.
Let's start with the good stuff, because those good elements are VERY good:
The book kicks off with an overview of modern Gothic media, its origins, and the common impressions of what "goth" is. To anyone versed in the subculture, this section covers lots of familiar ground. The casual reader, though, will probably learn a lot.
To Robb's considerable credit, he gives props to the oft-forgotten influence of Black music (American and otherwise) on gothic culture. Jazz, the blues, soul, reggae, dancehall, dub, hip-hop and even disco receive the respect they deserve but all too seldom receive from the goffly inclined. Screamin' Jay Hawkins really warrants more than half a paragraph here, but that's more than most "gothic histories" include. Leila Taylor has an excellent book about that topic: Darkly: Black History and America's Gothic Soul. I recommend that book without reservations. It's a better treatment of its topic than The Art of Darkness proves to be.
The real meat of Robb's book occupies the majority of its 500+-page length: A granular personal history of the central artists from the British post-punk scene from which Gothic rock emerged. Because Robb knows many of the participants, these 300-and-someodd pages host scads of personal accounts and observations from the people who were there. Like Legs McNeil's flawed masterpiece Please Kill Me, this element of the book provides essential history for anyone interested in the scene. Though riddled with sloppy errors of text and layout (more about that subject shortly), the recollections and trivia make this Art of Darkness shine.
I've seen critics of the book criticize Robb's florid and hyperbolic prose. Personally, I've got no problem with that element. Goth is all about unapologetic emotionalism. Going "over the top" is literally what the word "Gothic" means. Yeah, Robb's gushing gets a little much sometimes. But if you're trying to capture the sound of, for example, Killing Joke in words, only hyperbole will do. Dry text could not do the subject justice.
The book's core is dedicated to in-depth explorations of Goth's signature artists: Siouxsie, Joy Division, the Cure, etc. While there are some surprising omissions (Dead Can Dance, for example, receives half a paragraph on page 44, Christian Death is an afterthought, and the various permutations of Dream 6/ Concrete Blonde aren't mentioned at all), and I'm not sure Throbbing Gristle and the (Southern) (Death) Cult warrant entire chapters; even so, it's nice to see artists like Killing Joke and the Cramps afforded the respect their legacies deserve.
I'm told there are sporadic factual errors: studio names, recording times, and so forth. Aside from a glaring reference to Alan Moore as a "famous comic book ARTIST," most those errors slid past me. In any case, the majority of this section draws from personal accounts, and so those errors may simply come from disparities between memory and records.
And now for the bad part:
This book is not, in fact, "The History of Goth."
It's a pretty decent overview of the roots of modern Gothic culture, followed by several hundred pages of fascinating histories of a handful of artists and clubs within a five-year period of the British scene (plus the Cramps and several early German industrialists), followed by less than a hundred pages wherein the author realizes he's forgotten LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE and so tries to cover the last 40 years with a firehose of stream-of-consciousness blather so sloppily written that the end of Chapter 36 becomes a word-salad that would cause a professional editor to gouge her eyes out from dismay.
I don't know who the owners of Louder Than War Books are. They need to invest in proofreaders and professional graphic designers, though, because this book is a MESS. Spelling, grammatical, typesetting, design and consistency errors are so pervasive that some pages feature multiple errors WITHIN THE SAME PARAGRAPH. In a book this long, with tiny type-font and footnotes so small I needed to hold the pages up to my face in order to read them, these mistakes become physically and mentally exhausting.
This textual Gormenghast starts out SO WELL. By the end, however, I wanted to throw it at Robb's head, the editor's head, and the head(s) of everyone who let it go to press in this condition. At this book's price point, this level of sloppiness is inexcusable.
There's a whole other book to be written about the American Goth scene that Robb dismisses with two chapters that are shorter, collectively, than the one chapter dedicated to the Cure. For reasons beyond understanding, Robb devotes more page-space to the Levellers - a great band, but not even Goth-adjacent - than to the entire 45-year history of Christian Death and its various offshoots.
And DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE INDEX.
The final chapter, myopically subtitled "Goth's End Days," shares the infuriating flaw of Legs McNeil's cliquish treatment of the punk scene: In title and substance, it backhands everybody who wasn't fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time by summarizing tons of scenes and artists and movements while proclaiming - despite all evidence - the scene dead. "Too bad, poseurs; it happened, and you missed it and it's gone now. Nevermind!" The fact that Robb toe-tags Gothic pop culture during the period of its most pervasive presence and fascinating diversity highlights what this book truly is: Not a history of a vibrant and evolving movement, but a snapshot of the period when the author felt part of it. Like Gary King in The World's End (a film he doesn't even mention), Robb fixates on his glory days. And though Robb (unlike both King and McNeil) doesn't snap the future's neck, his whirlwind overview of a culture he clearly doesn't understand (much less address with anything more than a string of names) shows how little he actually cares.
Although that final chapter includes a veritable blizzard of names, scenes, and media titles, it features no context whatsoever. Worse, many cornerstones of current Gothic culture are ignored. No Neil Gaiman. No V.C. Andrews or Anne Rice. No James O'Barr, Holly Black, Francesca Lia Block, no Twilight, Vampire Diaries, or the entire subgenre of modern goth teen lit. He doesn't even mention Hot Topic, for fuck's sake.
I realize I'm prejudiced here, but the entire World of Darkness - that "Gothic-Punk" setting that unleashed more baby bats than the entire catalog of the (Southern) (Death) Cult - is summed up by a single mention of Vampire: The Masquerade... a mention it shares with Skyrim and "Bloodlines." The fact that the latter is A SPIN-OFF OF VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE referred to as if it's a game of its own shows just how little John Robb knows or cares about anything except that brief period when he and his friends were cool.
Those last few chapters left me feeling angry. Not because White Wolf gets slighted so decisively (though, let's be real: Their/ our impact on Gothic culture deserves at least its own chapter), but because the final hundred pages are so slapdash that they become insulting. Insulting to the readers, insulting to the subject, and insulting to the entire idea of a "history of Goth."
Unlike McNeil, Robb admits that goff pop culture is pretty much everywhere. Trouble is, he keeps referring to it as "post-goth" (an ironic label given Goth's origins as"post-punk") while smooging it all into an indistinguishable mass. Everything from Tim Burton to visual kei to Gothic tribal bellydance to South Park and Buffy the Vampire Slayer goes by in a blur of barely connected names. Robb praises with faint damns the fact that "goth" has become an essential element of popular culture. WHY this is, or HOW this is, much less HOW IT BECAME THIS WAY or WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED is all left for the reader to guess. Robb spends more page-space on Ian Astbury's couch-surfing days than he does on the influence of Tim Burton. And that, given the topic at hand, is a crime.
So yes, there IS a lot to love about The Art of Darkness.
It's just not what it claims to be. At all.
From what I've heard (and I don't know how accurate this is, but it makes sense), The Art of Darkness was intended to be an in-depth history of the British post-punk scene in the late 1970s and early 80s, with an overview of its roots in earlier work. In that regard, this book is fantastic. From what I hear, however, the publisher decided that such a book wouldn't sell. Author John Robb was tasked with (or chose to) expand the book into a history of modern Goth in general. In that regard, this book fails.
Let's start with the good stuff, because those good elements are VERY good:
The book kicks off with an overview of modern Gothic media, its origins, and the common impressions of what "goth" is. To anyone versed in the subculture, this section covers lots of familiar ground. The casual reader, though, will probably learn a lot.
To Robb's considerable credit, he gives props to the oft-forgotten influence of Black music (American and otherwise) on gothic culture. Jazz, the blues, soul, reggae, dancehall, dub, hip-hop and even disco receive the respect they deserve but all too seldom receive from the goffly inclined. Screamin' Jay Hawkins really warrants more than half a paragraph here, but that's more than most "gothic histories" include. Leila Taylor has an excellent book about that topic: Darkly: Black History and America's Gothic Soul. I recommend that book without reservations. It's a better treatment of its topic than The Art of Darkness proves to be.
The real meat of Robb's book occupies the majority of its 500+-page length: A granular personal history of the central artists from the British post-punk scene from which Gothic rock emerged. Because Robb knows many of the participants, these 300-and-someodd pages host scads of personal accounts and observations from the people who were there. Like Legs McNeil's flawed masterpiece Please Kill Me, this element of the book provides essential history for anyone interested in the scene. Though riddled with sloppy errors of text and layout (more about that subject shortly), the recollections and trivia make this Art of Darkness shine.
I've seen critics of the book criticize Robb's florid and hyperbolic prose. Personally, I've got no problem with that element. Goth is all about unapologetic emotionalism. Going "over the top" is literally what the word "Gothic" means. Yeah, Robb's gushing gets a little much sometimes. But if you're trying to capture the sound of, for example, Killing Joke in words, only hyperbole will do. Dry text could not do the subject justice.
The book's core is dedicated to in-depth explorations of Goth's signature artists: Siouxsie, Joy Division, the Cure, etc. While there are some surprising omissions (Dead Can Dance, for example, receives half a paragraph on page 44, Christian Death is an afterthought, and the various permutations of Dream 6/ Concrete Blonde aren't mentioned at all), and I'm not sure Throbbing Gristle and the (Southern) (Death) Cult warrant entire chapters; even so, it's nice to see artists like Killing Joke and the Cramps afforded the respect their legacies deserve.
I'm told there are sporadic factual errors: studio names, recording times, and so forth. Aside from a glaring reference to Alan Moore as a "famous comic book ARTIST," most those errors slid past me. In any case, the majority of this section draws from personal accounts, and so those errors may simply come from disparities between memory and records.
And now for the bad part:
This book is not, in fact, "The History of Goth."
It's a pretty decent overview of the roots of modern Gothic culture, followed by several hundred pages of fascinating histories of a handful of artists and clubs within a five-year period of the British scene (plus the Cramps and several early German industrialists), followed by less than a hundred pages wherein the author realizes he's forgotten LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE and so tries to cover the last 40 years with a firehose of stream-of-consciousness blather so sloppily written that the end of Chapter 36 becomes a word-salad that would cause a professional editor to gouge her eyes out from dismay.
I don't know who the owners of Louder Than War Books are. They need to invest in proofreaders and professional graphic designers, though, because this book is a MESS. Spelling, grammatical, typesetting, design and consistency errors are so pervasive that some pages feature multiple errors WITHIN THE SAME PARAGRAPH. In a book this long, with tiny type-font and footnotes so small I needed to hold the pages up to my face in order to read them, these mistakes become physically and mentally exhausting.
This textual Gormenghast starts out SO WELL. By the end, however, I wanted to throw it at Robb's head, the editor's head, and the head(s) of everyone who let it go to press in this condition. At this book's price point, this level of sloppiness is inexcusable.
There's a whole other book to be written about the American Goth scene that Robb dismisses with two chapters that are shorter, collectively, than the one chapter dedicated to the Cure. For reasons beyond understanding, Robb devotes more page-space to the Levellers - a great band, but not even Goth-adjacent - than to the entire 45-year history of Christian Death and its various offshoots.
And DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE INDEX.
The final chapter, myopically subtitled "Goth's End Days," shares the infuriating flaw of Legs McNeil's cliquish treatment of the punk scene: In title and substance, it backhands everybody who wasn't fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time by summarizing tons of scenes and artists and movements while proclaiming - despite all evidence - the scene dead. "Too bad, poseurs; it happened, and you missed it and it's gone now. Nevermind!" The fact that Robb toe-tags Gothic pop culture during the period of its most pervasive presence and fascinating diversity highlights what this book truly is: Not a history of a vibrant and evolving movement, but a snapshot of the period when the author felt part of it. Like Gary King in The World's End (a film he doesn't even mention), Robb fixates on his glory days. And though Robb (unlike both King and McNeil) doesn't snap the future's neck, his whirlwind overview of a culture he clearly doesn't understand (much less address with anything more than a string of names) shows how little he actually cares.
Although that final chapter includes a veritable blizzard of names, scenes, and media titles, it features no context whatsoever. Worse, many cornerstones of current Gothic culture are ignored. No Neil Gaiman. No V.C. Andrews or Anne Rice. No James O'Barr, Holly Black, Francesca Lia Block, no Twilight, Vampire Diaries, or the entire subgenre of modern goth teen lit. He doesn't even mention Hot Topic, for fuck's sake.
I realize I'm prejudiced here, but the entire World of Darkness - that "Gothic-Punk" setting that unleashed more baby bats than the entire catalog of the (Southern) (Death) Cult - is summed up by a single mention of Vampire: The Masquerade... a mention it shares with Skyrim and "Bloodlines." The fact that the latter is A SPIN-OFF OF VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE referred to as if it's a game of its own shows just how little John Robb knows or cares about anything except that brief period when he and his friends were cool.
Those last few chapters left me feeling angry. Not because White Wolf gets slighted so decisively (though, let's be real: Their/ our impact on Gothic culture deserves at least its own chapter), but because the final hundred pages are so slapdash that they become insulting. Insulting to the readers, insulting to the subject, and insulting to the entire idea of a "history of Goth."
Unlike McNeil, Robb admits that goff pop culture is pretty much everywhere. Trouble is, he keeps referring to it as "post-goth" (an ironic label given Goth's origins as"post-punk") while smooging it all into an indistinguishable mass. Everything from Tim Burton to visual kei to Gothic tribal bellydance to South Park and Buffy the Vampire Slayer goes by in a blur of barely connected names. Robb praises with faint damns the fact that "goth" has become an essential element of popular culture. WHY this is, or HOW this is, much less HOW IT BECAME THIS WAY or WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED is all left for the reader to guess. Robb spends more page-space on Ian Astbury's couch-surfing days than he does on the influence of Tim Burton. And that, given the topic at hand, is a crime.
So yes, there IS a lot to love about The Art of Darkness.
It's just not what it claims to be. At all.
February 13, 2024
I am so bummed out by this book. It’s majorly transphobic and contains a lot of problematic bi erasure. I don’t even know how any of this got past an editor. The goths deserve better.
March 25, 2024
if you're gonna be a sexist and queerphobic dick please fuck right out of the goth scene thx we dont want you
this is easily the worst non-fiction book ive ever read and ive probably spent hours being angry about how bad it is so im DNFing it ¾ of the way through simply because seeing it on my profile for months is pissing me off and i want to forget all about this trainwreck of a book
this is easily the worst non-fiction book ive ever read and ive probably spent hours being angry about how bad it is so im DNFing it ¾ of the way through simply because seeing it on my profile for months is pissing me off and i want to forget all about this trainwreck of a book
May 29, 2023
I had been very much looking forwards to reading this book. A goth myself but born in 1982, I sadly missed out on being part of the scene as it emerged and was looking forwards to reading the direct experiences of those present as the scene unfolded. Therefore, I could've just skipped the first hundred or so pages that deal with all manner of subjects that might be termed 'gothic' but are not directly related to goth music. We're also told, during a section on literature, that 'no self-respecting goth' would be without at least some knowledge of (insert name of random poet). Not being interested in poetry myself, I guess Mr Robb thinks I should exit the scene then eh?
The author's style of writing might be suited to short articles but the word saladry and purple prose that persists for nearly 500 pages is exhausting. It's also repetitive, non-sensical in many places and ends up bordering on laughable. Robb also clearly has his scene 'favourites' whilst goth gods such as FOTN get a grudging chapter close to the end of the book. I hadn't expected artists such as Bowie, Iggy Pop and The Doors to get soooooo many mentions. Clearly they were inspiration to many goth icons but there's only so many times we need to be told. Also, the editing of the book is shocking. There are errors everywhere. This is not a self published book so I don't know what the excuse for this is, or why all the ads for the book pre-publication promised 650+ pages and lots of pictures, when there are barely over 500 pages and about 5 pages of black and white pictures. The index is not in a standard format either. It's all very amateur. There's some really interesting information in this book but I'm not sure I trust it all. Disappointing.
The author's style of writing might be suited to short articles but the word saladry and purple prose that persists for nearly 500 pages is exhausting. It's also repetitive, non-sensical in many places and ends up bordering on laughable. Robb also clearly has his scene 'favourites' whilst goth gods such as FOTN get a grudging chapter close to the end of the book. I hadn't expected artists such as Bowie, Iggy Pop and The Doors to get soooooo many mentions. Clearly they were inspiration to many goth icons but there's only so many times we need to be told. Also, the editing of the book is shocking. There are errors everywhere. This is not a self published book so I don't know what the excuse for this is, or why all the ads for the book pre-publication promised 650+ pages and lots of pictures, when there are barely over 500 pages and about 5 pages of black and white pictures. The index is not in a standard format either. It's all very amateur. There's some really interesting information in this book but I'm not sure I trust it all. Disappointing.
May 12, 2023
A real slog reading this, not very well-edited at all, lots of good info and history but not really collected into a readable whole. A real shame as there is a great book hidden in here. Lots of sloppy errors as well, ie Conny Plank didn't record at Hansa studios, Play Dead (who get one measly paragraph) are listed as producing 4 albums....... there's no mention of Cranes or Every New Dead Ghost (latter weren't that well known but probably more so than some that are included) little info on
March Violets, Danse Society etc which given the size of the book is staggering. Way too much on bands like the Doors, Velvet underground who everyone must know about by now..... it's a bit of a wasted opportunity.
March Violets, Danse Society etc which given the size of the book is staggering. Way too much on bands like the Doors, Velvet underground who everyone must know about by now..... it's a bit of a wasted opportunity.
April 28, 2024
I don't even know where to start with this. I feel bad for being so critical because it's obviously somebody's passion project, but it was just so....bad. 'The History of Goth' is less so the history of goth and more so the author's shower thoughts on his favourite bands.
First off, we are briefly introduced to the Germanic Goths of pre-medieval Europe, and a little bit about gothic architecture, poetry, and literature. Yet, it is completely obvious Robb has absolutely no idea what he is writing about here. It's almost as if he has just put Wikipedia pages into his own words. Seeing as though he does NOT use any references (which is practically a crime when it comes to non-fiction, and completely invalidates anything you are writing that is not completely sourced from your own thoughts), I would guess this is actually probably the true case. He also decides to forcefully link together almost every famous figure in the arts who has ever played with darker themes, which is like, everyone.... It is so far fetched and amateurish and he can't help but insert his own personal opinions while neglecting to expand on them with any sort of personal analysis. What further confuses me about Robb's inclusion of all these people and movements, is that he fails to mention or barely mentions so many themes and figures that are intrinsic to gothic history, such as southern gothic (Faulkner, Lee, etc... just really basic stuff that seems completely lazy to have left out) and models like Bettie Page. How is she nowhere to be seen? Also, there was only one paragraph on German Expressionism at the end of the book. If you want to write a book on late 20th century goth music, that's fine, just don't try to create some pseudo-intellectual and half-arsed attempt at gothic history. You're setting yourself up to fail when you obviously don't have that knowledge, and most people would not, because it's an insanely wide field which would require years upon years of research.
Furthermore, it often seems like it's written by a 15 year old. Slightly concerning when this guy is in his 60s. Sometimes he decides to try his hand at creative writing which was honestly just embarrassing. I'm all for writing a more playful history book with a more informal tone to reflect the D.I.Y nature of the original goth scene, but some of the stuff in this book is just downright ridiculous in its unprofessionalism. As mentioned before, there's no references (except for direct quotes) or bibliography. So he could literally just be making stuff up and passing it off as fact. It also means he probably isn't cross-referencing or fact checking his sources. Secondly, he uses terms which are either long outdated or just plain derogatory, such as 'trannies' and 'Aspergers'. He seems to have some obsession with making everything to do with sex, especially when women are involved. He claims that women in goth music have been rare until now. Um....since when? Something else I found incredibly funny was how he gets mad that apparently Rhianna wore black lipstick one time. Good Lord. Call me a woke triggered liberal if you want but attitudes like these have no place in non-fiction. If you want to call people slurs and push dramatically androcentric sentiment in perhaps your memoirs or personal life then go ahead, you have freedom of speech. I couldn't really care less. Just leave it out of your factual writing... it's sloppy and immature. Also, as other people have said, it could greatly benefit from editing (random typos, repetitive language, straying writing, etc.).
Ok. Now that's out of the way, here's the good stuff about this book. Robb has conducted countless interviews with many vital musicians that are either in or have influenced the goth music scene. I am grateful that he has taken time to do these to gain a little more insight straight from the artists themselves. I was also grateful for the large sections on 70s - early 80s industrial music, as that is something of a deep fascination to me. The parts on these artists and bands are obviously what the author is most interested in and knowledgeable about, and feel a lot more put together than the rest of the book. I learnt more about bands that I've only listened to briefly or only heard of and didn't know anything about beforehand. It's good for that, if you can ignore the unreliable and mysterious nature of the sources (obviously this is a sore spot for me - Harvard referencing is so dear to my heart).
Sorry John for ripping your book to shreds (not literally), and sorry to she who bought me this item as a present, but it just wasn't for me. I am too pretentious and picky when it comes to historical works, which is not a bad thing by the way.
First off, we are briefly introduced to the Germanic Goths of pre-medieval Europe, and a little bit about gothic architecture, poetry, and literature. Yet, it is completely obvious Robb has absolutely no idea what he is writing about here. It's almost as if he has just put Wikipedia pages into his own words. Seeing as though he does NOT use any references (which is practically a crime when it comes to non-fiction, and completely invalidates anything you are writing that is not completely sourced from your own thoughts), I would guess this is actually probably the true case. He also decides to forcefully link together almost every famous figure in the arts who has ever played with darker themes, which is like, everyone.... It is so far fetched and amateurish and he can't help but insert his own personal opinions while neglecting to expand on them with any sort of personal analysis. What further confuses me about Robb's inclusion of all these people and movements, is that he fails to mention or barely mentions so many themes and figures that are intrinsic to gothic history, such as southern gothic (Faulkner, Lee, etc... just really basic stuff that seems completely lazy to have left out) and models like Bettie Page. How is she nowhere to be seen? Also, there was only one paragraph on German Expressionism at the end of the book. If you want to write a book on late 20th century goth music, that's fine, just don't try to create some pseudo-intellectual and half-arsed attempt at gothic history. You're setting yourself up to fail when you obviously don't have that knowledge, and most people would not, because it's an insanely wide field which would require years upon years of research.
Furthermore, it often seems like it's written by a 15 year old. Slightly concerning when this guy is in his 60s. Sometimes he decides to try his hand at creative writing which was honestly just embarrassing. I'm all for writing a more playful history book with a more informal tone to reflect the D.I.Y nature of the original goth scene, but some of the stuff in this book is just downright ridiculous in its unprofessionalism. As mentioned before, there's no references (except for direct quotes) or bibliography. So he could literally just be making stuff up and passing it off as fact. It also means he probably isn't cross-referencing or fact checking his sources. Secondly, he uses terms which are either long outdated or just plain derogatory, such as 'trannies' and 'Aspergers'. He seems to have some obsession with making everything to do with sex, especially when women are involved. He claims that women in goth music have been rare until now. Um....since when? Something else I found incredibly funny was how he gets mad that apparently Rhianna wore black lipstick one time. Good Lord. Call me a woke triggered liberal if you want but attitudes like these have no place in non-fiction. If you want to call people slurs and push dramatically androcentric sentiment in perhaps your memoirs or personal life then go ahead, you have freedom of speech. I couldn't really care less. Just leave it out of your factual writing... it's sloppy and immature. Also, as other people have said, it could greatly benefit from editing (random typos, repetitive language, straying writing, etc.).
Ok. Now that's out of the way, here's the good stuff about this book. Robb has conducted countless interviews with many vital musicians that are either in or have influenced the goth music scene. I am grateful that he has taken time to do these to gain a little more insight straight from the artists themselves. I was also grateful for the large sections on 70s - early 80s industrial music, as that is something of a deep fascination to me. The parts on these artists and bands are obviously what the author is most interested in and knowledgeable about, and feel a lot more put together than the rest of the book. I learnt more about bands that I've only listened to briefly or only heard of and didn't know anything about beforehand. It's good for that, if you can ignore the unreliable and mysterious nature of the sources (obviously this is a sore spot for me - Harvard referencing is so dear to my heart).
Sorry John for ripping your book to shreds (not literally), and sorry to she who bought me this item as a present, but it just wasn't for me. I am too pretentious and picky when it comes to historical works, which is not a bad thing by the way.
June 2, 2024
Well I wanted to like it a lot more. The good is that there as a very good run down of post punk music, including interviews, insights and regional information. His knowledge of the scene and relationships with key figures lift the material well.
The not so good? It struggles between an academic intent (history, footnotes, and completeness) and a failure to nail its premise and stick to it. Maybe that’s the elusiveness of goth? Almost no band accepts the label and many just like to dabble for a time. It’s neither a book that has a narrative thread strong enough to carry you reading it’s length nor divided up sufficiently to reward picking and choosing chapters of interest.
The annoying? Really poor editing, there is a good book in there somewhere. Wasting so much time on bands that were not gothic or barely pre-cursor. I did not expect to be fronted with so much ghastly prog rock. Punk was year zero for a reason. Likewise the case for glam as a pre cursor could have been done in many fewer words. Overall it came across as this may be my only chance so I am going to throw all my musical stories in regardless of relevance to the topic. Then there is the arrogance of failing to adequately define goth but then becomes the strident arbiter of what is and what isn’t. Try some evidence, well thought out arguments, and objectivity. In places I would have toned down the purple prose/word salad. Sometimes fun’s sometimes way too much!
Overall there is much to enjoy and reward inside the covers. Good but not great.
The not so good? It struggles between an academic intent (history, footnotes, and completeness) and a failure to nail its premise and stick to it. Maybe that’s the elusiveness of goth? Almost no band accepts the label and many just like to dabble for a time. It’s neither a book that has a narrative thread strong enough to carry you reading it’s length nor divided up sufficiently to reward picking and choosing chapters of interest.
The annoying? Really poor editing, there is a good book in there somewhere. Wasting so much time on bands that were not gothic or barely pre-cursor. I did not expect to be fronted with so much ghastly prog rock. Punk was year zero for a reason. Likewise the case for glam as a pre cursor could have been done in many fewer words. Overall it came across as this may be my only chance so I am going to throw all my musical stories in regardless of relevance to the topic. Then there is the arrogance of failing to adequately define goth but then becomes the strident arbiter of what is and what isn’t. Try some evidence, well thought out arguments, and objectivity. In places I would have toned down the purple prose/word salad. Sometimes fun’s sometimes way too much!
Overall there is much to enjoy and reward inside the covers. Good but not great.
July 26, 2023
DNF. I really tried with this book, having a strong interest in the Goth subculture and keen to know more - but, although it is very comprehensive and eloquent, I found it beyond tedious reading. It's extremely lengthy and dense and often reads a bit like a university thesis rather than a book. I get it's supposed to be factual, but does that mean it can't be entertaining too? I don't know. This one just wasn't for me I'm afraid.
November 24, 2024
A mention of this book in The Economist on the goth-industrial-fashion complex and being a retired goth from the mid-1980s sparked this read. If you are a goth or geeky-goth curious, this is a good book to read, but it has several issues. First, Robb seemed driven to make it longer than The Holy Bible, clocking in at 744 pages or at a butt-numbing 27.25-hour listen. This might be OK if justified, but it's not. Robb repeats himself several times over in an evil echolalia of gobbery. Second, when I spun off the book to read more about something, a Wikipedia entry inevitable popped up, and Robb's content paralleled the associated Wikipedia entry to the point of plagiarism. He provides value through something of a seaming structure (more on that later), but his research is apparently shallow outside of his personal interviews.
For example, when he discusses Alaric the Visigoth, he simply lists the uninformed factoids in Wikipedia. This is a missed opportunity since Alaric pushed for inclusion of outsiders and was forced to take over Roman leadership (and culture) to bring a voice to the minorities and misfits of the world (in a rare case of the victors not writing history, read Douglas Boin's "Alaric the Goth: An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome"). Now that would have been a epic and appropriate thematic tie-in with more recent goth culture.
There's a rough organization to the book, but it is mostly band-focused, which doesn't lend itself to a linear history of who did what when, so it all seems like a plate of spaghetti at the end. My eyes started to glaze after the 13th proclamation of a separate "This is the first goth album." Finally, Robb doesn't quite know how to end the book, so it becomes this strange collection of cat vomit in every corner of every page of the final chapters.
Having said all that, I did learn quite a bit about the proto-history of goth music, turning me on to some albums I hadn't considered before. Also, who the hell would have known that Adam and the Ants started off as a goth band! Back in the day, I snobbed at The Cult, but can listen to them now with enlightened respect. And did you know that the first song Bauhaus wrote was about Debbie Harry?
Someone needs to write a more succinct tome on the goth scene, but for now, I guess this will do.
For example, when he discusses Alaric the Visigoth, he simply lists the uninformed factoids in Wikipedia. This is a missed opportunity since Alaric pushed for inclusion of outsiders and was forced to take over Roman leadership (and culture) to bring a voice to the minorities and misfits of the world (in a rare case of the victors not writing history, read Douglas Boin's "Alaric the Goth: An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome"). Now that would have been a epic and appropriate thematic tie-in with more recent goth culture.
There's a rough organization to the book, but it is mostly band-focused, which doesn't lend itself to a linear history of who did what when, so it all seems like a plate of spaghetti at the end. My eyes started to glaze after the 13th proclamation of a separate "This is the first goth album." Finally, Robb doesn't quite know how to end the book, so it becomes this strange collection of cat vomit in every corner of every page of the final chapters.
Having said all that, I did learn quite a bit about the proto-history of goth music, turning me on to some albums I hadn't considered before. Also, who the hell would have known that Adam and the Ants started off as a goth band! Back in the day, I snobbed at The Cult, but can listen to them now with enlightened respect. And did you know that the first song Bauhaus wrote was about Debbie Harry?
Someone needs to write a more succinct tome on the goth scene, but for now, I guess this will do.
February 1, 2024
this reads like a rough draft of an outline of a book, also never covered a lot of what makes goth goth, also very obviously written by someone outside the community because of how emotional the text is, utter disappointment for such an awesome subculture
Read
October 21, 2023Would have benefitted from editing and proofreading.
November 19, 2024
John Robb’s The Art of Darkness is as good as Lol Tolhurst’s Goth: A History (reviewed previously) is bad. Tolhurst’s book, despite him being at the centre of the scene with the Cure, is as fun to read as a Wikipedia entry; Robb on the other hand, writes about the Goth scene with the passion of a fan, the comprehension and depth of a scholar, and the critical eye of a connoisseur. It’s remarkable how many bands are referenced in his book, and how he’s able to write with flair and originality about each one, identifying the songs and attributes which make each band so unique and interesting. His prose is never dull of repetitive. I thought I knew the scene pretty well, but I came away with dozens of new bands to look into (eg. In the Nursery, Death in June, Danielle Dax) and was persuaded to revisit a number of bands I thought I knew already, but realized deserved another listen (eg. Adam Ant, the Damned, Killing Joke). Robb’s history of the Goth movement through literature, classical music and cinema was also extremely well researched and discussed in a convincingly informed fashion - resulting in another list of artists for me to look into. The goth scene may be at the heart of Robb’s book, but Robb’s exposition into darkness extends beyond the traditional goth stalwarts. Sure there are detailed chapters on Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, the Cure, The Sisters of Mercy and the Fields of the Nephilim, as you would expect - but Robb reserves similar amounts of space for the Alice Cooper, the Cramps, Einsterzende Neubeuten, Public Image Limited, New Model Army, and Laibach, all bands with a dark side to their creativity, but none of whom I would say fit neatly under the goth tag. Although the book’s scope is impressively vast, the sections on group like Dead Can Dance, Christian Death, Sex Gang Children and Alien Sex Fiend - groups I consider seminal - are in my opinion relatively underwritten, but this is a small quibble. For the most part our tastes overlap agreeably. The goth music scene is often a path less travelled - that is part of the attraction - but sometimes it’s nice to find someone who shares the interest, especially someone like Robb, who is knowledgeable enough to teach you a few new tidbits about groups you already know, and to inspire you to listen to artists you’ve never heard of before. After all it is the unexpected wormholes that a book like this can send you down - the lists of artists to investigate further - which makes them so priceless. With Robb I felt I was in good hands: here we have a very cultured guide to the underworld, who happens to write very well.
June 26, 2023
how do you write the history of a musical movement where most of the artists linked deny ever being part of it? That is the daunting question faced by John Robb when he began this massive in depth history of Goth, musical movement and / sound that is home to a thousand cliches. To his credit he has not just succeeded but excelled, this is a fantastic book and well worth reading if you've ever tapped your foot to the Sisters of Mercy. Starting with the original Goths and continuing to the present day while taking in the architecture, poets, mystics and artists over several centuries that have inspired Goth styles in one way or another, this tome takes in a broad sweep of history before concentrating on the immediate post punk period, with short histories of the bands and main personalities linked (but not by themselves!) to Goth. Consisting of detailed interviews this is the part I found most interesting, mainly because a lot of it is totally new to me, partly because the bands listed were usually never feted by the music press of the day, which means the likes of Bauhaus, the Sisters of Mercy, Killing Joke and Kirk Brandon finally get their moment in the moonlight (nb; as a big Stranglers fans I am particularly impressed by fellow fan Robb showing how much if an influence they were: if you're stuck for a subject for your next book, I suggest you do a Stranglers bio...). As someone who was around the local scene in Bradford in the mid 80s, one of those discussed in detail in this book, this has brought a lot of memories flooding back (while in the gym this afternoon, Body Electric by the Sisters, the Sound of Music by Joy Division and Vengeance by NMA came up on my playlist), I can recommend this to anyone else who has fond memories of this time, who still listens to this music or who has an interest in music that treads lightly (or just stomps) into the Dark Side.
June 21, 2023
I bought this book at a highly entertaining book talk and signing given by the author, a man who gives the impression of an all-round good egg and very cool indeed – that he writes a 500-page book and scarcely mentions his own band The Membranes is evidence of real modesty and comfort in his own skin. We briefly discussed what was Goth and what wasn’t and concluded that, while it’s fun to debate it all, it doesn’t really matter in the end.
I didn’t see myself as a Goth fan as a teenager – to the extent that I would deny that The Cure were Goth – mainly because how could a band I really liked be lumped in with the likes of Fields of the Nephilim or Balaam and the Angel? To give credit to my younger self, The Cure don’t really see themselves as Goth either and nor do 90% of the bands Robb writes about – even Siouxsie and the Banshees, for heaven’s sake. But seriously, one of the book’s strengths is its loose definition of Goth as a broad church.
There are great sections on US manifestations of Goth such as The Cramps – although Marilyn Manson and My Chemical Romance are given scant coverage and one suspects the genial Robb isn’t particularly a fan. Whole chapters are devoted to the major players – Siouxsie, The Cure, Sisters, Bauhaus but the author’s knowledge is truly encyclopaedic – Vandals at the gates of Rome, Mary Shelley, Tim Burton and various couturiers all receive coverage alongside the likes of Gene Loves Jezebel and March Violets. The musical roots of the whole culture are also skilfully delineated. The book is journalistic and celebratory in tone, a nice counterpoint to the very sniffy music press of the 1980s for whom Goth was a thing to largely be disdained.
I didn’t see myself as a Goth fan as a teenager – to the extent that I would deny that The Cure were Goth – mainly because how could a band I really liked be lumped in with the likes of Fields of the Nephilim or Balaam and the Angel? To give credit to my younger self, The Cure don’t really see themselves as Goth either and nor do 90% of the bands Robb writes about – even Siouxsie and the Banshees, for heaven’s sake. But seriously, one of the book’s strengths is its loose definition of Goth as a broad church.
There are great sections on US manifestations of Goth such as The Cramps – although Marilyn Manson and My Chemical Romance are given scant coverage and one suspects the genial Robb isn’t particularly a fan. Whole chapters are devoted to the major players – Siouxsie, The Cure, Sisters, Bauhaus but the author’s knowledge is truly encyclopaedic – Vandals at the gates of Rome, Mary Shelley, Tim Burton and various couturiers all receive coverage alongside the likes of Gene Loves Jezebel and March Violets. The musical roots of the whole culture are also skilfully delineated. The book is journalistic and celebratory in tone, a nice counterpoint to the very sniffy music press of the 1980s for whom Goth was a thing to largely be disdained.
Read
December 12, 2024I'm not giving this book a star rating because I think it's actually quite good, thorough, well researched, and obviously written with a lot of love. But if you are not deeply invested in this culture it will be a slog for you. The Cure is my favorite band and I like Siouxsie too, so I was excited to see them both on the cover. But these chapter-long deep dives into SO MANY bands I was unfamiliar with, or who may have ultimately been fairly marginal in influence, became exhausting. I had to take breaks and read other books several times before I could finish this. That's not even necessarily a knock on the book, it's just that it is written for a very particular kind of person.
I like goth culture and was very into goth/industrial in the 90's, but more into the American/Wax Trax scene. I will say this book inspired me to finally listen to a lot of bands I was aware of but had never explored, like Sisters of Mercy, New Model Army, Southern Death Cult, Nick Cave, Coil, and some others, with varying results and ongoing interest. I enjoyed the chapters more that were about exploring a scene, or a city, and talking about how various bands and artists grew from there and interweaving how they influenced each other. I got more out of those chapters than reading very long chapters and play-by-play histories of so many bands I wasn't interested in.
Anyway, your mileage with this book will vary greatly depending on your level of patience and investment. I'm glad it exists and that Robb's obsessive fandom is obviously paying off for him. It is amazing researched and detailed.
I like goth culture and was very into goth/industrial in the 90's, but more into the American/Wax Trax scene. I will say this book inspired me to finally listen to a lot of bands I was aware of but had never explored, like Sisters of Mercy, New Model Army, Southern Death Cult, Nick Cave, Coil, and some others, with varying results and ongoing interest. I enjoyed the chapters more that were about exploring a scene, or a city, and talking about how various bands and artists grew from there and interweaving how they influenced each other. I got more out of those chapters than reading very long chapters and play-by-play histories of so many bands I wasn't interested in.
Anyway, your mileage with this book will vary greatly depending on your level of patience and investment. I'm glad it exists and that Robb's obsessive fandom is obviously paying off for him. It is amazing researched and detailed.
September 23, 2024
This is an imposing doorstop of a book but is well written and easy to read.
There are three basic sections in the book. Firstly, John Robb details the cultural and historical threads which have fed into what 'Goth' is, from the sack of Rome in the 5th century to the Romantic ports, Surrealism, the authors and poets of the fin de siecle and the proto-punk and Glam eras.The second and main section of the book comprises of highly entertaining portraits of leading proponents of Goth music (all of whom hated that reductive term!) from Siouxsie and the Banshees to Bauhaus, Throbbing Gristle to The Cramps. Finally, Robb summarises how Goth became homogenized, normalized and defanged.
My favourite parts of the book, apart from the fascinating summary of Goth influences, are the parts where we get to hear from those leading figures of the subculture who need to be regarded as cultural national treasures. Amongst these are Daniel Ash, Dave Vanian, Jaz Coleman and - especially - Adam Ant who, to this listener, never produced anything that came close to his dark, daring and witty debut 'Dirk wears white sox'.
Worth dipping into, despite occasional repetition which hints at a less than fantastic editing job.
There are three basic sections in the book. Firstly, John Robb details the cultural and historical threads which have fed into what 'Goth' is, from the sack of Rome in the 5th century to the Romantic ports, Surrealism, the authors and poets of the fin de siecle and the proto-punk and Glam eras.The second and main section of the book comprises of highly entertaining portraits of leading proponents of Goth music (all of whom hated that reductive term!) from Siouxsie and the Banshees to Bauhaus, Throbbing Gristle to The Cramps. Finally, Robb summarises how Goth became homogenized, normalized and defanged.
My favourite parts of the book, apart from the fascinating summary of Goth influences, are the parts where we get to hear from those leading figures of the subculture who need to be regarded as cultural national treasures. Amongst these are Daniel Ash, Dave Vanian, Jaz Coleman and - especially - Adam Ant who, to this listener, never produced anything that came close to his dark, daring and witty debut 'Dirk wears white sox'.
Worth dipping into, despite occasional repetition which hints at a less than fantastic editing job.
December 4, 2024
I recently listened to the audiobook version of "The Art of Darkness" by John Robb, and I found it to be quite a challenging experience for several reasons.
Content Issues
Structural Issues
Audiobook-Specific Issues
Overall, while the book aims to provide a comprehensive history of the goth subculture, it falls short in several areas. The lack of editorial oversight, disorganized content, and problematic terminology make it a difficult read. If you're looking for a more accurate and inclusive exploration of goth culture, you might want to consider other resources.
Here's a list of items on my "To Be Read" list -- please suggest your favorite books about goth subculture in the comments below.
These books should provide a more balanced and thorough exploration of goth culture. If you have any specific interests within the goth subculture, let me know, and I can help you find more targeted resources!
Content Issues
Outdated Terminology:The author consistently uses the term "transvestites" to refer to trans people, which is outdated and considered offensive.
Narrow View of Sexuality: The book presents a black-and-white view of sexuality, labeling figures like David Bowie and Lou Reed as "gay" without acknowledging bisexuality (aka "bi erasure").
Limited Representation of Women: Few women are mentioned, and those who are (like Siouxsie Sioux and Suzi Quatro) are often depicted as sex objects rather than influential figures in the goth scene. He does mention the lead singer of Bow Wow Wow but little beyond the fact that she was a teenager. I guess that doesn't make her an important part of goth culture?
Narrow Geographical Focus:The book focuses heavily on goth culture in Leeds and Manchester, with minimal coverage of other significant goth scenes, such as those in Germany.
Overwhelming / Marginally Important Information: The book tries to cover too much, including unrelated historical references like pre-Roman Goths, making it feel bloated and unfocused.
Structural Issues
Lack of Editorial Oversight: The book appears to lack proper editorial or fact-checking processes, leading to inaccuracies and a disjointed narrative.
Disorganized Content: The book feels like a collection of transcribed interviews and Wikipedia content, lacking a cohesive structure. This is especially confusing in the audio book because he will just say "... as so-and-so told me in 1999: blah blah blah I blah blah blah I which is read in first person and goes on for miles.
Audiobook-Specific Issues
Mispronunciations: The audiobook contains numerous mispronunciations, which can be distracting and reduce the overall quality of the listening experience. He uses a lot of French idiom - like "grandiose" but pronounces it as "GRAND-wah," or says "debut" correctly but "debuted" as "DE-BUTTE- ED" among other wacky mispronunciations which I do not think can be blamed on "English accent" (though his mispronunciation of de rigeur as "DEE RIGGER" might be an excellent drag name).
Narration Speed: At 1.0 speed, the audiobook is painfully slow. When played at a faster speed (like 1.7x), the included musical embellishments sound ridiculous.
Lack of Relevant Music:. I truly hoped the audio book would include some actual music from the period. I was mistaken. The audiobook includes musical embellishments but not actual music clips from the artists being discussed, which detracts from the listening experience.
Overall, while the book aims to provide a comprehensive history of the goth subculture, it falls short in several areas. The lack of editorial oversight, disorganized content, and problematic terminology make it a difficult read. If you're looking for a more accurate and inclusive exploration of goth culture, you might want to consider other resources.
Here's a list of items on my "To Be Read" list -- please suggest your favorite books about goth subculture in the comments below.
Goth Culture: Gender, Sexuality, and Style by Dunja Brill: This book explores the evolution of goth culture, including music, art, and dominant ideas, with a focus on sexuality and power relations.
Goth: Identity, Style and Subculture by Paul Hodkinson: This book delves into how goth culture is produced and marketed, offering insights into the business aspects of the subculture.
The Goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined by Nancy Kilpatrick: A highly recommended read that covers the history, important centers, and various aspects of goth culture.
Some Wear Leather, Some Wear Lace: The Worldwide Compendium of Postpunk and Goth in the 1980s by Andi Harriman: This book provides a comprehensive look at the postpunk and goth scenes of the 1980s, with a global perspective.
Goth: Undead Subculture edited by Lauren M.E. Goodlad and Michael Bibby: A collection of academic essays that cover a wide range of topics within the goth subculture.
Gothic Charm School: An Essential Guide for Goths and Those Who Love Them by Jillian Venters: A guide that offers practical advice and insights into goth culture, making it accessible for both newcomers and long-time goths.
What is Goth? Music, Makeup, Attitude, Apparel, Dance, and General Skullduggery by Aurelio Voltaire: A fun and informative guide to various aspects of goth culture.
Goth Chic: A Connoisseur's Guide to Dark Culture by Gavin Baddeley: This book explores the darker aspects of goth culture, including its history and influence.
Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 by Simon Reynolds: While not exclusively about goth, this book provides valuable context on the postpunk era that heavily influenced goth culture.
The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction by Nick Groom: A concise and insightful introduction to gothic culture and its broader implications.
These books should provide a more balanced and thorough exploration of goth culture. If you have any specific interests within the goth subculture, let me know, and I can help you find more targeted resources!
May 10, 2025
I recently have gotten into the Goth scene; my mom was goth and punk back in the 80’s, so I was raised around the music but didn’t appreciate it until recently. This book was a mixed bag for me. I found some of the information really good, and I enjoyed the interviews, but I felt it skimmed over artists or neglected things. I noticed there was a few paragraphs in one chapter dedicated to the Batcave club in London, which I thought was kind of criminal, because the Batcave was one of the early purveyors of the Gothic scene in the early 80’s; no interviews of Olli Wisdom or Jon Klein, which was a shame to me. However, I think this is a great book for people who are new to this sub genre or who don’t know what the goth scene is and want to learn about it, but I’d suggest to them to have a pencil and paper handy to write down band names. I give it a three star rating
August 1, 2023
The book was a bit all over the place in content but it did give me some new information about bands I liked and bands I had heard of. I always like when history books are able to do that.
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June 19, 2024i love the attempt. thank you for reminding me why editors matter, sir.
May 13, 2023
The flippant pun entitling John Robb’s History of Goth sets an appropriate tone of beneficent contrary. With references as far back as the fall of Rome, Robb succinctly establishes a convincing two-fold overview of modern aesthetics, classical and gothic, as preamble to a grab-bag of pick-and-mix rock journalism centred on melancholic post-punk: Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Damned, Joy Division, The Cure, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, The Cult… the usual suspects, with some surprising editions I will leave to the reader to discover. Skip those you’re not interested in and you’re into the conclusion, which once again… etc. A repetitive, indulgent yet informative and entertaining read aimed at intelligent genre fans and rockologists. Not bad at all.
June 29, 2023
This book is no joke. 539 pages covering the history of the goth culture. Much of which comes from punk and post punk. I found the book to be enlightening as I did learn some stuff. There was a lot of research and planning that went into this one. I recommend it. For more in-depth reviews and chats go to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC82t...
May 13, 2025
Let's get this out of the way at the very beginning: There is a ridiculous amount of queerphobic, transphobic, xenophobic, biphobic/bi-erasure, sexist junk going on in this book. It's a lot. That needs to be said at point blank before anyone reads this book and needs to be said point blank at the beginning of my review (from a non-binary bisexual themselves.)
So, why did I rate this book so high in spite of all of that? It's the massive amount of research that went into this book. That was my honest factor and motivation for such a high rating. That's really my only defense beyond what you'll read in the remainder of this review.
It doesn't usually take me such a long time to get through a non-fiction book - five months to be exact. However, "The Art of Darkness." is a truly dense read. If ever you were looking for a compendium of all things Goth, you've found the Holy Grail in this book.
Goth, at its core, is a subculture founded on the music. This book leans into that concept heavily and ensures the reader is well aware of it - so much so, there are chapters dedicated to the most formative Night Clubs/Goth Clubs of at the genesis of the movement and chapters each dedicated to the pioneering bands of the genre. There are even some chapters on the bands influential to the Goth Rock Greats.
This book is deeply comprehensive. I recommend purchasing this in print or e-book and taking the time to digest the information in these pages if you're wanting to read this book with serious intent. I read this as an audiobook, and as someone who would consider themselves a pretty experienced audiobook "reader" of hefty non-fiction, I had difficult time following and focusing my attention while listening.
Overall, I'm thoroughly impressed with this book. In sheer terms of research, there are very few things I have read that come this close in either documentation or detail.
So, why did I rate this book so high in spite of all of that? It's the massive amount of research that went into this book. That was my honest factor and motivation for such a high rating. That's really my only defense beyond what you'll read in the remainder of this review.
It doesn't usually take me such a long time to get through a non-fiction book - five months to be exact. However, "The Art of Darkness." is a truly dense read. If ever you were looking for a compendium of all things Goth, you've found the Holy Grail in this book.
Goth, at its core, is a subculture founded on the music. This book leans into that concept heavily and ensures the reader is well aware of it - so much so, there are chapters dedicated to the most formative Night Clubs/Goth Clubs of at the genesis of the movement and chapters each dedicated to the pioneering bands of the genre. There are even some chapters on the bands influential to the Goth Rock Greats.
This book is deeply comprehensive. I recommend purchasing this in print or e-book and taking the time to digest the information in these pages if you're wanting to read this book with serious intent. I read this as an audiobook, and as someone who would consider themselves a pretty experienced audiobook "reader" of hefty non-fiction, I had difficult time following and focusing my attention while listening.
Overall, I'm thoroughly impressed with this book. In sheer terms of research, there are very few things I have read that come this close in either documentation or detail.
August 9, 2024
What I liked: This book really covers the history of goth, from the fall of Rome and early Gothic literature to modern goth cinema and music. I like the chapters that talk about specific periods and styles and focus on some key artists from those times. Learning about how blues, early rock and glam influenced goth was interesting too.
What I didn't like: There are some very influential/relevant artists who only get a few pages (Edgar Allan Poe), half a paragraph (Screamin' Jay Hawkins), or a single mention (She Wants Revenge). However, most of the book is entire chapters that each focus on one band, some who aren't really even goth. These chapters talk about things like what their parents did for a living, their childhoods, and every lineup change of the band. It would have been much more interesting to make these chapters focused on styles and movements like the others, and have a page or two about each band instead of whole chapters.
Also, the last few chapters seem generous with the term "goth". He mentions how She Wants Revenge has been criticized for not really being goth, yet uses the term for pop stars like Rihanna, Lorde, and Billie Eillish.
Overall, I like the history and range of subjects, but it needs a lot of editing, and John Robb uses the word Goth too generously.
What I didn't like: There are some very influential/relevant artists who only get a few pages (Edgar Allan Poe), half a paragraph (Screamin' Jay Hawkins), or a single mention (She Wants Revenge). However, most of the book is entire chapters that each focus on one band, some who aren't really even goth. These chapters talk about things like what their parents did for a living, their childhoods, and every lineup change of the band. It would have been much more interesting to make these chapters focused on styles and movements like the others, and have a page or two about each band instead of whole chapters.
Also, the last few chapters seem generous with the term "goth". He mentions how She Wants Revenge has been criticized for not really being goth, yet uses the term for pop stars like Rihanna, Lorde, and Billie Eillish.
Overall, I like the history and range of subjects, but it needs a lot of editing, and John Robb uses the word Goth too generously.
March 20, 2023
A terrific overview of goth, from the fall of Rome to emo
March 15, 2024
The History Of Goth
Don’t let the title fool you this book isn’t about Cradle of Filth and other extreme bands. This book has been meticulously researched and goes back to Scandinavia in the 3rd century and the origins of the term Goth. Chapters are given to Bowie, The Doors and The Cure to name a few with countless other bands referenced throughout. One chapter in particular is about the Leeds based band Sisters of Mercy who although I am not a fan of, reading about them was fascinating. As mentioned, thoroughly researched and the only criticism is that there are so many annotations that it can detract from what is being said as you read the reference. Definitely recommend for music fans
December 1, 2024
I have been looking forward to reading this for a long time but was underwhelmed, I was going to give up after 400 pages but had already committed so much that I had to finish it. It bizarrely spends a lot of time on some bands that were nothing to do with goth, I guess because the author knew/liked them. There is a lot of over used language too - proto-goth, post-punk, bass-driven and sartorial are particularly popular appearing on most pages. It needed a good edit before publication.
January 29, 2024
The author isn't kidding regarding "the history of goth"... this book literally starts with the fall of the Roman Empire! This publication is over 500 pages with small text, a ton of footnotes with even smaller text; it was difficult to get through. In fact, I gave up on it. It's too dense. I wish the editors gave it a good chopping. I appreciated the Bauhaus chapter, but that's about it.
August 18, 2024
Lots and lots of great info here starting way back from 410 AD, but the editing seems to be pretty poor. Alongside, some of it is opinion over fact. The transphobia and LGBTQ+ erasure was highly unnecessary and very disappointing. Goth is a subculture that bonds many groups of people together over music, no judgement.
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