Dark rock
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Dark rock
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| Development phase: | Mid / late 1990s |
| Place of origin: | Europe |
| Stylistic precursors | |
| Gothic metal , alternative rock , German rock | |
| Instruments typical of the genre | |
| Electric guitar · Electric bass · Drums · Keyboard | |
Dark Rock , also known as Dark Alternative Rock , describes a form of rock music that predominantly emerged from the metal environment in the second half of the 1990s .
In music journalism in particular, the genre is often exchanged for Gothic Rock and marketed accordingly. Despite a few Gothic-Rock borrowings, neither genre is stylistically related to one another.
background
When groups like Paradise Lost and Secret Discovery increasingly looked for new ways of expression in the second half of the 1990s, they used contemporary elements to expand their soundscape. This was followed by a departure from metal and the development of a new genre, dark rock .
Alternative rock elements are increasingly being used, and the compositions are expanded to include electronic nuances (e.g. through keyboards, in particular through the use of synthetic piano sounds), without, however, completely leaving the metal environment. The singing mostly moves between baritone and bass and should - in combination with the music - create a melancholy mood. This is often reflected in the musical names of the respective band. For example, Lacrimas Profundere dub their music rock 'n' sad . The band End of Green , on the other hand, describes their style as Depressed Subcore .
In Finland, a similar scene developed with groups like HIM or The 69 Eyes , which achieved worldwide success, especially around the turn of the millennium, and which continues to this day with representatives such as Charon , Sinamore and End of You .
“ In the early 1990s we were close to Stockholm bands like Backyard Babies . We made the same music and played in similar clubs. At some point we went in different directions. They took the punk route - we took the dark rock. As Finns, we simply fostered our melancholy nature, which is in our blood anyway. "
The name "Dark Rock" first appeared in 1997 in connection with the album Slave by the metal band Secret Discovery . and was later used by Paradise Lost vocalist Nick Holmes to rewrite the 1999 album Host . Then the name was used in connection with the German group Zeraphine and was subsequently extended to other bands that move stylistically between alternative rock, metal and modern, electronic music.
Occasionally there is overlap with styles such as symphonic metal and symphonic rock . This peculiarity can be seen in symphonic metal bands such as Xandria or Within Temptation , for example . In addition, some German-speaking representatives such as Eisheilig and Schock have mixed styles with the New German Hardness .