old school goth

An old school goth is one who listens to goth rock that was recorded and released from 1979-1985 (the prototype goth era) before the goth subculture embraced techno, goth metal and industrial music. These old school goths do not always wair overtly costly clothing like modern goths and are often be found in more everyday clothing. Old school goths will often listen to bands such as bauhaus, The Cure, The Damned, Siouxsie and The Banshees (in other words, post punk and goth rock) as well as various other genres that influenced or are asscosiated with the early goth movement such as dub, reggae, punk rock, glam rock and genres that influenced early goth rock. Most old school goths never listen to goth metal and certainly object to the commercialism of the goth subculture and fashion as seen by mall punks and mall goths whom don't even listen to goth rock.

A person who listens to old goth music (From the 80s), like Deathrock (Christian Death, Alien Sex Fiend, Specimen), Post-Punk (Bauhaus, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Joy Divison), Gothic Rock (The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of The Nephilim, Rosetta Stone) and maybe some New Wave (Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Soft Cell), or anything related to the Batcave.

Old School aesthetics are punkish and cheesie, dark and sometimes elegant or sofisticated, but you don't have to dress goth to be goth.

They have no philosophy, nor a lifestyle, the only thiing that makes them a subculture is the music. Metal, Nu Metal, Industrial, EBM, or related genres are not included. Psychobilly, Horror Punk, Darkwave, New Wave and No Wave are related genres to goth, but generally are not considered goth, except for some Darkwave (Sopor Aeternus) and No Wave (Lydia Lunch) bands.

Goth music is not only music from the 80s, we have many groups from the 90s and 00s making goth music, like Naughty Zombies, Cinema Strange, Diva Destriuction, Joy Disaster, Faith and The Muse, Bat Attakk, London After Midnight, Two Witches, Frank The Baptist, All Gone Dead, etc...

The type of Goth, that actually has a religion, often can be Satanism or Witchcraft. They listen to more gothica and black and death metal. They are closer to a metalhead than a third definition Goth. They are the types who often have long hair, dreadlocks, capes and doc martens, more kind of "The Crow" style dress. They are not depressed, they are the kind most likely to smile or give devil horns in a picture than the sterotypical apathetic Goth look.