This is a list of gothic metal bands. Gothic metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music. It is characterized as a combination of the dark melancholy of gothic rock with the aggression of heavy metal music. The genre originated during the early 1990s in Europe as an outgrowth of death/doom, a fusion of death metal and doom metal. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music. Lyrics are generally melodramatic and mournful with inspiration from gothic fiction as well as personal experiences.
Members of metal bands such as After Forever, HIM and Nightwish have downplayed or dismissed the gothic label from their music. The issue is obscured further by bands that have since move away from gothic metal or even heavy metal music altogether, as is the case for Anathema and The Gathering.