Gothic Metal

Gothic metal is characterized as a combination of the dark atmospheres of gothic rock with the heaviness of doom metal. The genre originated during the mid-1990s in Europe as an outgrowth of doom-death, a fusion genre of doom metal and death metal. Examples of gothic metal bands include Paradise Lost, Lacuna Coil, Type O Negative, Moonspell, My Dying Bride, Elis, Sirenia, Stravaganzza, Theatre of Tragedy and Tristania. The music of gothic metal is generally characterised by its dark atmospheres. The adjective "dark" is commonly used to describe gothic music in general while other terms that are less frequently used include deep, romantic, passionate and intense. Gothic metal has also sometimes been viewed as "a combination of the darkness and melancholy of goth rock with heavy metal". Allmusic defines the genre as a fusion of "the bleak, icy atmospherics of goth rock with the loud guitars and aggression of heavy metal" and further notes that "true goth metal is always directly influenced by goth rock - ethereal synths and spooky textures are just as important as guitar riffs, if not more so".

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_metal