Deathrocker

Definition:
1) A member of the deathrock counter-culture
2) A missing link between punk and goth
3) A gothic-punk

Style and appearance:
A deathrocker's style is:
1) A mix of the goth and punk fashion: black\\gray clothes, ripped clothes typical to punk, amulets and jewelry typical to goth, combat\\biker boots (Doc Martins preferably).
2) Makeup
3) Nail-polish (some say it's necessary)
4) Deathhawk, mohawk, spikes, irokez, death guy doo, trihawk, any colored or natural hair
5) D.I.Y.

Attitude:
1) Have ironic humor
2) Be fond of blood, brains, zombies (mostly), vampires, bats.
3) Be political.
4) Be interested in supernatural, strange, mystical, occult things
5) Pretend to be undead
6) Be artistic, as both punks and goths are artistic people
7) Read a lot (mostly anything you like)
8) Mosh and fight! - since you're half punk, you can mosh or fight whenever you want, as you have to stand up for what is yours
9) Be ironic!
10) Walk around graveyards, as you're half goth, just don't mess it up
11) Never be too serious
12) Watch horror
13) Be yourself and don't sell-out!
14) Worship death, but don't take it as a authority
15) Be against mainstream

Music: (bands are JUST examples, listen to anything you like of these genres)
1) Deathrock (TSOL, 45 Grave, Christian Death)
2) Batcave
3) Post-punk (Joy Division, Siouxie and The Banshees)
4) Goth-rock (there's not much there anymore, listen to what you find, unless they're posers or pop-goth)
5) Punk-rock (any with political background, but not pop-punk)
6) Horror-punk (The Horrors, Misfits, Wednesday 13)

Listens to bands that you have never heard of. Has hairstyle that can only be described as "complicated." (Most likely achieved by a minimum of one week not washing it.) Probably tattooed. Maybe gay. Definitely cooler than you. Reads Black Book, Nylon, and the Styles section of the New York Times. Drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon. Often. Complains. Always denies being a deathrocker. Hates the word. Probably living off parents money - and spends a great deal of it to look like they don't have any. Has friends and/or self cut hair. Dyes it frequently (black, white-blonde, etc. and until scalp bleeds). Has a closet full of clothing but usually wears same three things OVER AND OVER (most likely very tight black pants, scarf, and ironic tee-shirt). Chips off nail polish artfully after $50 manicure. Sleeps with everyone and talks about it at great volume in crowded coffee shops. Addicted to coffee, cigarettes (Parliaments, Kamel Reds, Lucky Strikes, etc.), and possibly cocaine. Claims to be in a band. Rehearsals consist of choosing outfits for next show and drinking PBR. Always on the list. Majors or majored in art, writing, or queer studies. Name-drops. May go by "Penny Lane," "Eleanor Rigby," etc. when drunk. On PBR. Which is usually.

Originally Deathrock was a term used for certain bands that came out of the Los Angeles and New York Punk scenes in the late 70's and early 80's. These were bands that were morbid, darker, and maybe even esoteric when compared to the more straight forward Punk bands. It was essentially America's counterpart to England's Positive Punk (later called Gothic) scene. In the 90's the term "Deathrock" disappeared as more and more American bands adopted the Euro Goth look and sound. Positive Punk, Deathrock, and Gloom & Doom merged under the "Goth" banner. But from the late 90’s to present day, the Goth scene became polluted by Techno, Cyber Culture, EBM and Nu-Metal. Goth had all but lost its Underground rock & roll roots as well as it's meaning. It became another watered down trend to the mainstream, and Techno Disco to the underground. Deathrock became a world wide term for traditional Goth as a response to all this. New guitar based bands sprouted up all accross the globe, continuing the legacy of Bauhaus, Joy Division, Christian Death and The Misfits. Deathrock returned as an alternative for modern Goths fed up with the tainted modern Goth scene.

What goth music originally sounded like before the mopey set took over. A combination of horror-themed post-punk and rock music. Such bands as Christian Death, The Birthday Party and Bone Orchard helped create the sound, while bands like Cinema Strange and Bloody Dead And Sexy continue the tradition today.

A style of post-punk rock music which came into being in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the Los Angeles area, and later in Europe.

Some popular bands of this genre are Christian Death, 45 Grave, Kommunity FK, Radio Werewolf, and Voodoo Church.

Basically, this music was post punk rock with a spooky or occultic edge to it which would later influence gothic rock.

This is a response/question to 'Juanelo'. If you know so much about what the 'real deathrock' scene was about from 'back in the 80s', what was it then? Explain yourself if you can. And how does that differ from your definition of what it is today?

Quite frankly, your definition of what deathrock is today is absurd, highly offensive, prejudiced, incorrect. Your self-esteem is obviously so low that you need to put other people down who are different than you in order to feel good about yourself (see lame). Not to mention that 'deathrock' is a just a frickin' name that people came up with in order to define the sound of the music that ARTISTS produced and the ARTISTS (see individuals) who produce such music today usually only use the definition as a reference point to a name that helps describe the types of music that influence their sound. No-one in '1998' just arbitrarily decided to bring the 'genre' back. People who identify with 'deathrock' do so because it resonates with who they are.

As to your claims of 'closet faggotry' and homosexuality: It is not even fair to say that 1/2 the people in the 'deathrock' scene are homosexual but it is accurate to say that most 'deathrockers' and 'goths' in general ARE anti-homophobic. Again, most people in the 'goth' scene I know highly value diversity, individuality, artistry and personal freedom of choice as opposed to people like yourself who obviously see sexual preference as no preference allowed (see fascist).

As to your claims of 'lack of maturity': that is highly subjective. Some would argue that the ability and willingness to explore and expose the darker side of society, the human experience and emotions in general reflects a level of maturity and courage to deal with such issues as death, grief, etc. (see catharsis and mortality) and not giving a s**t if people think it's morbid or morose.

As to your claims of 'social ineptitude issues': what extrinsic constraints do you allow to be placed on yourself in determining how to be 'social' and what is defined as 'social'? In order to participate socially, one first has to be an individual. Individuals can decide how and to what extent they CHOOSE to socialize with people.

As to your claims of 'sexual insecurity': I don't see how this is possible as most deathrock and goth music is highly danceable - dance itself being sexual. Most goths I know are not ashamed of or afraid to express their sexuality. Are you sure this 'sexual insecurity' you speak of is not just a projection?

As to your claim of 'high rates of pretension': see fun, camp sense of humor, halloween, imagination.

Deathrock (or goth punk as some call it) deals with themes of death and mortality, sorrow, despair, surrealism, fantasy, the darker side of the life of society, the supernatural, the occult, romanticism, the effects of psychological terror and trauma - just to name a few of the basics. The music of goth punk, (as opposed to the more traditional extremely fast and anger-based hardcore punk), usually exists within the realm of medium-fast, more danceable rhythms often including tribal tom-based drum sections for the verses. The music also often includes a synthesizer to accompany the drums, bass and guitar, which again, is something more traditional hardcore punk usually refrained from including. The result is more of a moody, introspective sound that takes one into the realms of imagination. The classic, essential deathrock bands include: Christian Death (the original lineup with vocalist Rozz Williams), early TSOL, UK Decay, The Damned, 45 Grave, Alien Sex Fiend and The Cramps.

Keep in mind that there were also several 'dark punk' bands around the same time that, while not maybe being quite as 'gothic' in some regards, still had enough stylistic similarities to be worthy of mention. They include bands such as: The Adicts, The Adverts, The Mob, False Prophets, Wipers, Chrome and can't forget classics that bridged the gap between hardcore and darkpunk such as Black Flag, Dead Kennedys and The Misfits. One should at least check out the classic deathrock bands before making comments on the genre. Keep in mind that while all these bands have similarities, they also have very distinctive sounds that set them apart from the others, as all good artists should, so don't think that just because you've heard one or two of the bands mentioned that you know what goth punk sounds like. Modern deathrockers worthy of mention are: Cinema Strange and Cauda Pavonis.