Vampyrique

I kept the same criteria as Requiem: one album per band, otherwise it would likely be dominated by two bands. And I use 'gothic' as a descriptor rather than the common genre definition. I provided some brief notes for each album. This is only a rough idea of my top ten as it is hard to include only ten. Theatres des Vampires - Bloody Lunatic Asylum An absolute masterpiece. TdV really had something special going on in the late 90s/early 00s before they changed their direction and split with their vocalist. Cradle of Filth - The Principle of Evil Made Flesh It's brutal, ugly, and utterly atmospheric in its funereal gloom. One of many masterpieces that the band has released. Darkness of Blood - A Dream of Vampires in Astral Dementia It doesn't get any more vampiric than this obscure masterpiece, trust me. This is a blood overdose. My Dying Bride - As the Flower Withers Whist essentially being a death metal album, it does display some gothic touches here and there. Some of their later albums may wear the descriptor better but, nevertheless, this is my personal favourite of theirs. Dimmu Borgir - Spiritual Black Dimensions I normally wouldn't refer to Dimmu Borgir as gothic but this particular album is. I think this was due to the changes in line-up and it's no surprise that it is very similar to Mirrored Hate Painting, only more majestic. Moonspell - Wolfheart I have a difficult time choosing between this and Irreligious but I think I prefer Wolfheart stylistically. Deinonychus - The Weeping of a Thousand Years An anomaly amid their catalogue, Deinonychus decided to fully immerse themselves in gothic atmospheres on this album. Evenfall - Still in the Grey Dying Excellent album, similar to early Theatres des Vampires. Anathema - The Silent Enigma Excellent album, more engaging than their debut. I prefer earlier Anathema over their later stuff. Paradise Lost - Icon I am not entirely sure this is my favourite of theirs but Icon, along with Gothic and Draconian Times, represents Paradise Lost at their best.

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Kaleidoscope Siouxsie and the Banshees - Through the Looking Glass Siouxsie and the Banshees - Peepshow Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Rapture

I should also mention too the role of imitators, whether good or bad, and how they influence the perception of a genre. They come in droves and help to popularize a style of music and to a great extent cement into definition what it means to play a particular style of music by the conscious decision to exploit and replicate certain qualities derived from the originators on a mass scale. For example, if 500 black metal bands deliberately write an album in homage to Transilvanian Hunger, people will naturally begin to associate the black metal sound with Transilvanian Hunger and view it to be the archetypal black metal album whether or nor this is fair or accurate in regards to historical context.

I didn't read every post but from what I did read, I agree with everything that BlutAusNerd said. It was no coincidence that the Norwegian bands all initially played death metal and then suddenly quit; they deliberately strove to to bring extreme metal back to its raw, ugly, blackened roots when they were annoyed with the 'trendy' burgeoning death metal scene; it's exposure, popularity, image, cleaner production. Many of the already-mentioned 80s bands served as major influences but Bathory, in particular, was plagiarized the most; hence why most black metal fans will cite Bathory as the first and only 'true black metal band' of that era but this understanding or lack thereof is akin to a kind of revisionist history.

I'm certainly looking forward to 1755 as well as any future releases but I need to go back and listen to their last couple albums as my recollection of them is vague at best. I purchased the Alpha Noir/Omega White limited edition CD but was disappointed with it at the time of its release. On Alpha Noir, it sounded like Fernando, at times, was blatantly imitating Sakis from Rotting Christ and I found this to be odd and distracting. Extinct didn't really leave a strong impression on me either.

I've found that accusations of the like really depend on how the definition of chauvinism (or whichever ism) is interpreted by an individual and the level of rationality of said individual. People often rely on intuition and anecdotes to guide their judgment but if an individual possesses a preconceived belief that chauvinism exists then these anecdotes may only serve as a form of confirmation bias. Identity politics offers a gross oversimplification of reality and, ironically, do more to contribute to civil unrest and dissension between genders, races, cultures etc. I'm certain that many women view the metal community as a 'boys club' and may not feel entirely welcome within but I don't believe that male metalheads treat women any worse than they treat each other.

King Diamond - House of God King Diamond - Abigail II: The Revenge

Great band. My favourites are also Wolfheart, Irreligious and Memorial.

Akercocke.

Gothic Metal should be metal that is, in essence, gothic. It should evoke imagery of gothic architecture, literature, atmospheres, and the like. Goth rock influences need not apply because most goth rock generally fails to offer anything inherently gothic, save only for dark melancholy. Simply said, the cannibalization of the genre is the issue driving the genre to its grave. I believe the genre suffered immensely when it became a label for all things trendy and without substance. Between female-fronted or beauty-meets-beast, symphonic doom-pop and slightly heavier versions of The Sisters of Mercy or Type O Negative clones, the term 'Gothic metal' will now forever conjure up imagery of the aforementioned whether or not it actually provides anything truly gothic or worthwhile.

Checkout Christian Death's 1994 album Sexy Death God. It isn't metal but deathrock; a close cousin of goth rock. Nevertheless, I believe it may be along the lines of what you're looking for, especially the middle portion of the album. I've always thought that some of these songs would be suitable for a soundtrack to Queen of the Damned. Perhaps also Nosferatu's 1993 album Rise. Goth rock.