Pagan rock is a genre of rock music created by adherents of

neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

traditions. It emerged as a distinct genre from

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie ...

in the 1980s. Bands in this genre will often use pagan and occult imagery and deal with pagan themes. In some cases the definition is stretched to include rock bands embraced by modern Pagans.

History

An early

rock band was The Quest, created by Todd Allen. Pagan rock as a more distinct genre emerged in the United Kingdom in 1980s, in particular from

and related

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

genres. Gothic rock had become popular among younger pagans as an alternative to the singer-songwriter style established by pagans from the baby-boom generation, which dominated the neopagan institutions in the 1980s and 1990s. One of the first bands to be labeled as Pagan rock by the press was

Inkubus Sukkubus Inkubus Sukkubus are an English goth and pagan band, formed in 1989 by Candia Ridley, Tony McKormack and Adam Henderson, who have been described as one of the most enduringly popular underground Goth bands in the UK. They also have been descr ...

, founded in 1989, who have

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...

n members and whose songs use pagan imagery and pagan themes. After Inkubus Sukkubus had some mainstream success with their debut album in 1993, many gothic rock and darkwave bands emerged with neopagan members and lyrical themes. By the mid-2000s, pagan rock had become fully integrated into the mainstream of neopagan events and institutions.

Characteristics

The term "Pagan rock" differentiates the genre from

new-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather than ...

, and from the traditional

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

found at many Neopagan events and gatherings. While many bands under this loose category do incorporate

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

styles, one can also find bands inspired by gothic rock,

medieval music Medieval music encompasses the sacred and secular music of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, from approximately the 6th to 15th centuries. It is the first and longest major era of Western classical music and followed by the Renaissanc ...

, the darker elements of

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

and

Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considera ...

neofolk Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrumen ...

and neo-classical,

darkwave Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...

ethereal Ethereal may refer to: *Ethereal (horse), a horse that won Australia's Caulfield Cup as well as Melbourne Cup in 2001 *Ethereal wave, or simply ethereal, a subgenre of dark wave music *Wireshark, formerly named Ethereal, a free and open-source pack ...

, ambient, industrial and

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

. In many ways, the label of "Pagan rock" carries with it the same complexities and problems as

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly C ...

. Like contemporary Christian music, it is more an umbrella term than a cohesive musical genre. The Pagan rock label can include bands like Inkubus Sukkubus and The Moon and the Nightspirit who explicitly state their allegiance to Neopaganism; bands like

Abney Park Abney Park is in Stoke Newington, London, England. It is a park dating from just before 1700, named after Lady Abney, the wife of Sir Thomas Abney, Lord Mayor of London in 1700 and one of the first directors of the Bank of England and associat ...

who have Neopagans in the band but do not label themselves as pagan rock, and bands like

Unto Ashes Unto Ashes is an American musical ensemble based in New York City that incorporates madrigal, folk, and elements of neo-medieval and darkwave. Founded by Michael Laird and Susanna Melendez in 1997, the band has released eleven full-length CDs ...

who sing songs involving occult and Neopagan themes but avoid publicly labeling their personal belief systems.

References

Citations

Sources

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External links