By: Chris Stead

Xperimental Eros
Released by Facets

This is something very different from what I expected going in. I was under the impression that this was going to be a look at erotica from several different perspectives. Rather this is a collection of, sometimes overly, artsy re-workings of old erotic video, and a strange look at film footage that is sometimes less than stimulating mentally or otherwise. This is not to say that there were not certain gems mixed in. Full Story »

By: Chris Stead

Ooky Spooky
Voltaire

If you felt like there was something missing with Voltaire’s last release, i.e. the comedy, you will be glad to hear that he is back in fine form with his newest album reflecting on the seedier aspects of life like prostitution, trips to Mexico, bombing a certain city and a Star Wars influenced intrusion on Luke Skywalker’s posterior. Truly listening enjoyment from beginning to end, although I wouldn’t recommend playing this one too loudly at work. I have gotten a couple of shocked looks because of lyrical content. Full Story »

By: Chris Stead

What makes a good Goth comic? It must be a little dark, the humor has to be a little twisted, perhaps even silly, and monsters always make for good reading. Voltaire’s “Oh My Goth” or Roman Dirge’s “Lenore” definitely meet these criteria, as does Batton Lash’s “Supernatural Law.” Wait, what? You haven’t been reading “Supernatural Law?” You’re missing something great. Batton says that he feels the idea of the comic comes off as a little “dry” at times, but if one were to read his work it is hardly so. Lighthearted and fun would be a better description. The idea of the comic is two lawyers take up casework for monsters. Frankenstein’s Monster, The Wolfman and many other creatures have come for legal advice from Wolff and Byrd. Full Story »

By: Chris Stead

Standing on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Lemoyn, I see three women walk toward me from the club half a block down. The one in front introduces herself to me as Aimee and then gestures behind her and says “This is my mom and our drummer, Chelsea.” This is how I met half of theSTART. We walk into Masa, the café on the corner and shortly behind us is Jamie, the instrumental genius behind the CD as well as Aimee’s significant other of the past 8 years or more. As we sit around the table, it doesn’t feel quite as much like a band as it does a comfortable family. Full Story »

By: H. M. Garber

“Mill Avenue: Vexations” is the first volume in an online series by Kyt Dotson. With a new take on mysticism that combines music with magic, Kyt has created something refreshing and new. Her characters seem as familiar as old friends. Her descriptions are swift and clean, letting her character’s actions fill the reader’s imagination. Her dialogue is neither stiff nor fake, and the writing is intriguing and fresh. Full Story »

By: James Treagus

To see all of the comics by James Treagus, please check out 7ShadesOfBlack.com.

By: The Gothling

Hello again, my dark and lovlies. Since I started this column, I’ve pretty much covered all the basics of fashion advice that I felt were truly important and necessary. That being said, I’m now on the lookout for things that will help my loyal readers really perk up their wardrobes and expand their Gothic horizons. Full Story »

By: Chris Stead

Christopher has been involved with the Goth scene in Southern California for some time. In that stretch, he found himself rooming with Roman Dirge, who is now working alongside Christoper on a series from Slave Labor Graphics called Haunted Mansion after the Disneyland classic attraction. In the meanwhile, Christopher works as a graphic designer and develops his own line of shirts plush dolls and the like for his private label called Invincible studios. Since becoming a father, Christopher tells us, he has had less time to get out and about, but he still feels ties to the culture. He was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule for Gothic Angst and answer a few questions. Take a look into Christopher’s world. Full Story »

By: Amy McCain, intro by Chris Stead

As the Gothic community grows and evolves new elements get introduced. Originally an offshoot of the Punk scene from the late seventies and early eighties, the Goth subculture has developed into a much more rich and diverse scene than its progenitor. As this evolution occurred, Gothic Belly Dance and Tribal Dance was introduced. Asherra wrote an article about this several months ago and Tempest left a comment which added further information about the topic. We have managed to track down one of the founding members of Desert Sin, a Gothic Belly Dance troupe from the Los Angeles area. They have performed at many venues least of which is Labyrinth of Jareth and have generated a reputation for themselves. Full Story »

By: Amy McCain, intro by Chris Stead

Voltaire is a name that is known well in two specific communities. One, the literary community, with regard to the French political satirist and the other, the Goth community with regard to the satirical songwriter from New York. The thing they both have in common is the satire, something that distinctly separates them is the span of centuries. The contemporary Voltaire has had his hands in the Gothic culture for a very long time, as he put it in his book “Paint It Black,” he first tried the Gothic aesthetic in his teen years with the “dark hippie” look. Aside from this he has also made countless animations and written several albums. As far as the Gothic community goes, Voltaire is a household term just like black clothes and crushed velvet. Full Story »

By: Bob “Humane Pain” Zox

Another foggy, cold night at the cemetery, the fog hugging close to the ground, with inky blackness above, but tonight…Tonight was Valentine’s Day night.

A dark green Cadillac pulled into the familiar, black gated driveway. He had taken her out to dinner, and now at ten o’clock, they had come to their favorite, secluded sanctuary. As the car lights were shutting off, the car doors opened. They got out, he wearing his black trench coat against the cold, she in her shining black leather jacket with her collar turned up against the moisture. This night, they held hands as they slowly walked the familiar path under the black iron and vine entwined archway entrance to the home of No Problems. Full Story »

By: Chris Stead

A hush falls across the crowd and the screens set at the back of the stage light up white. Little cheers go up here and there as the crew make the last preparations to the stage. VNV Nation makes a regular pass through Southern California on any given tour. The last time, however, that VNV Nation played in Los Angeles, they played at Das Bunker, the legendary industrial club, which celebrated its tenth year in late 2006 and there were many people that weren’t able to make it. Full Story »

By: Vittoria Minyaliel Berger- Hoff

Misty rivers,
Floating by, never ending,
Never beginning.

Fleeting dreams -
A memory
Of days and beauty
Never to end. Full Story »

By: Chris Stead

It was so strange to see and hear the debate about Marilyn Manson for so many years. Is he goth? Is he not? Is he a poseur? There were the Mansonites of the 90’s and that fad faded with time. You hardly hear the term any more. More often than not Marilyn Manson has gotten too outlandish in his makeup to mimic. Not so easy as a couple of lines to recreate the Brandon Lee “Crow.” All of that aside, if there was a debate before, the new Manson album might have been just the thing to settle the debate. Full Story »

By: Asherra

There is no question that there is something within the gothic heart that is drawn to the morbid, the dark, and the profane. Red upon black, heavily contrasted images composed of black ink and grotesquely twisted figures. Scenes illustrating the mysteries of the night and drawing the viewer into a world of lonesome graveyards, back alleyways wet with a fresh coat of rain, or any other horrific setting the gothic mind can come up with. It’s not only with pictures however that goth’s choose to draw the minds eye in. The roots of the gothic movement can trace their lineage back to the early gothic literature movements of the eighteenth century. It was with these ‘graveyard poets” like Horace Walpole and his tale of the tragic and supernatural events at The Castle of Otranto that gothic literature took root. With the emergence of the graphic novel (other wise known as the comic) around the turn of the 20th century, it seemed natural that ever popular horror and supernatural stories would now come to life in this new style of media. From this point, the comic book became the staple of American popular media. Full Story »