Cheap The Dark Reign of Gothic Rock: In the Reptile House With the Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus and the Cure (Helter Skelter) (Book) (Dave Thompson) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Dark Reign of Gothic Rock: In the Reptile House With the Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus and the Cure (Helter Skelter)

Thompson's book sets the record straighter by focusing mainly on the UK and the post punk scene that was the birthing ground for what would become 'gothic' rock. The author covers the separate 'scenes' that grew up in various parts of the country (London, Leeds, etc) and how they differed and developed. When the initial thrill of punk receded, post punk rose up and developed along different lines, spinning off and inspiring genres like goth and even new wave. Much attention is given to The Cure, Southern Death Cult, The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, Siouxsie, etc. A lot of ground is covered, from Joy Division (described as having a 'gothic' sound) through the wranglings between Andrew Eldritch's Sisterhood and the ex members of the Sisters, toward the Fields of the Nephilim, who tried to fill the gap left by the Sisters. Toward the end, the American scene is covered a bit, focusing on 'Death' rock with bands like Christian Death and .45 Grave, for instance.

The book is well researched, well written and not particularly biased. Thomson's style is smooth and well organized. The chapters deal with specific months and years and move around from the status of one band to another. The author also touches on more recents developments since the 1980s, addressing the various artists and bands that have been characterized as 'goth'. But again, the main focus is on progenitors of the genre rather than latter day pretenders to the throne.

There are also some decent pictures, but overall this is an excellent rock book, full of information for even casual fans of the genre or of the particular bands mentioned above. Well indexed, too. Highly recommended!

A "goth rock for dummies"?
No, it's not that type of book and if you are searching something like that better go to some other place. It's a serious exploration of the subject, and some chapters were written in language that reminds me a scientific review. I give it 5 stars for the amount of information it contains, but the style as well as the cover of the book could be a lot better. Also, not a word have been written about the Crow thing which for me is a real loss - for example one of the best Cure gothic tracks "Burn" was off the soundtrack for the first Crow movie. Anyway for one that wants a load of info it is a good place to dig.

History of Gothic Rock
I really liked this book, mainly because the writer didn't get too personally involved in his material but also because he was able to distinguish between the bands and individuals that were gothic rock and those that influenced gothic rock. Like the Damned's Dave Vanian who became a reluctant goth role model by just being himself.

It is also free from todays goth/industrial rock, focusing on the roots of gothic rock.

"It (the book) is an examination of what transpired when one specific tentacle of the post-punk British rock octopus stopped failing around in the wastes above its head, and burrowed instead into its blackest cave, there to contemplate...whatever."

If you are at all interested in gothic rock then this book is well worth the read.