Music to Die For: The International Guide to the Last Great Underground Scene

by Mick Mercer

Since Mick Mercer’s acclaimed last book 21st Century Goth was published in 2002, the MySpace internet phenomenon has helped fuel a worldwide explosion of related music. But as well as adding countries to the musical map, the post-Goth scene has resulted in a bewildering variety of musical sub-genres. This fully illustrated book is aimed to be the ultimate resource to make sense of the chaos, covering the fields of ambient, cabaret noir, deathrock, goth, gothic metal, horror punk, melodramatic song, post-punk, and psychobilly. Packed with discographical information, web addresses, line-ups, and often contributions from the bands themselves, this is the first edition of a book that will be turned to again and again and will undoubtedly appear in new editions as the years pass.

Genres: Music, Goth, Nonfiction

700 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

Mick Mercer is a journalist and author best known for his photos and reviews of the goth, punk, and indie music scenes. He publishes a monthly online magazine called The Mick. He also photographed the band Tragic Venus both in the UK and Europe.

Reviews

[Leonardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

One can't really claim to have completely read a catalogue... I certainly won't claim to have read every single word or every entry in this amazing and amazingly detailed listing of bands from all over the world who classify themselves or are generally considered to belong to the often derided genre of goth. Some entries are rather dry (merely line-up and discography), while others are quite extensive and even include all sorts of anecdotes and "dirty secrets" provided by the bands themselves. Mick Mercer is the longest-standing and one of the most prestigious goth chroniclers, and the vast amount of information he has collected over the years certainly shows in the entries for classic bands, while his prestige enabled him to make a call to lesser known or recent bands to send their CVs and he received a massive response from bands from all over the world (except perhaps from Micronesia or certain regions of Africa). As such, this book is a tribute to the wild diversity or thriving spirit of a subculture that isn't usually given the credit it deserves (without denying that going out on broad daylight dressed as a Victorian vampire doesn't verge on the ridiculous).

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had no idea that this book was just a massive encyclopedia of band names. So I've only looked at the band names, and not much more than that. They're organized alphabetically, and usually include genre, origin, year formed, members, a short description, discography, and link (usually to Myspace or website that don't even exist anymore). After every letter there are a few pages of black and white photos of random bands mentioned from the previous pages. In the back there are links to magazines, and lots of Cherry Red ads (yeah I think that's where I got the book while CD shopping).

I assumed this would be about goth and similar genres, but it includes lots of other stuff as well. Here's a short list of some bands I don't understand why are in it:
69 Eyes, Abney Park, Alice Cooper, Birthday Massacre, Dresden Dolls, Epica, Evanescence (and a tribute band), HIM (referred to as Goth-Lite LOL), Johnny Cash?!, Lacuna Coil, Leaves' Eyes, Nightwish + tribute bands (I had a feeling they would be in there), Rasputina, Sirenia, Theatre Of Tragedy, Tristania, Voltaire, Wednesday 13, Within Temptation, and probably more.
I do see that the cover states ''ambient, cabaret noir, deathrock, goth, gothic metal, horror punk, melodramatic song, post-punk and psychobilly'' - But I think that's a pretty odd mix.

I did find a bunch of norwegian bands in there, which I'm pretty surprised by. But most of them had broken up by now, so that was disappointing. This probably counts for other bands too.
But I have to say, it's hard to flip through this without stopping to put on a band!

In conclusion: I don't really recommend this. It's just a (600 page!) list of bands you can find anywhere online. If you are a music nerd, you WILL do a lot of research anyway - And it's more fun to do it yourself! Plus a lot of the information is outdated, as it was published in 2006. I also don't get why there are links in there, it just doesn't make sense in a printed book. It's a shame, cause I had heard Mick Mercer wrote great books! If anyone has read his other books, please let me know how they are. I don't want to keep this one, so if anyone wants it, hit me up!