You know who gets a bad rap? Goth kids.
Everyone picks on them because of the funny clothes and pale skin. But they've actually got great taste in music, y'all.
That's why today, we here at Crossfade are taking time out of our day to celebrate World Goth Day in celebration of all things spooky, morbid, moody, and dark!
In honor of every kid who's ever cried while listening to the Cure, here are our top ten creepy musicians.
10. Nik Fiend
When it comes to ugly mofos, this guy takes the cake. Fortunately for his love life, he kicks total ass. He and his wife make up iconic deathrock duo Alien Sex Fiend who formed as a house band for famous English goth club The Batcave. Lewd, over-the-top, and zombified, Mr. Fiend is one creepy cat.
9. Peter Murphy
Behold the mothereffing goth-father! Being the lead singer of Bauhaus (literally the first band to call itself "goth" and not feel bad about it), we couldn't possibly omit Murphy from this list. Not to mention, singing songs about Dracula pretty much makes you the coolest.
8. Marilyn Manson
Brian Warner was just an awkward-looking nerdy kid until he discovered Nine Inch Nails and found his calling. He made huge waves dressing up as some kind of crotchless boob alien and he was even blamed for the Colombine shootings. A lot of serious goth kids might be upset that Manson made our list, since spooky kids and Hot Topic basically ruined the movement for post-romantics everywhere. But let's be honest, you all love his cover of "Sweet Dreams" and you know it.
7. Nivek Ogre
This industrial icon has had his fingers in everything, with a resume that boasts stints in groups like KMFDM, the Revolting Cocks and Ministry. His solo career as ohGr also yielded some great tunes, but his most popular work is hands down his role as frontman of Skinny Puppy. Any twerp who claims they stomp to industrial and doesn't worship the Puppy is just a poser.
6. Karin Dreijer Andersson
Lady Gaga likes to think she's weird because she calls her fans "little monsters." But that's just cute. Honestly, meat dresses and flaming bras are nothing compared to the mysterious, melted visage of Karin Dreijer Andersson. Whether she's working as the faceless front woman of The Knife or filming spooky videos for her solo project Fever Ray, this Swedish star stands strong as the queen of creep.
5. Rozz Williams
Before Manson made cross-dressing cool, Christian Death's eccentric singer Rozz Williams was prancing about in wedding dresses and singing about the KKK. He brought the glory of glam to the gloomy goth world and helped make sunny Los Angeles a headquarters for the horror crowd. Unfortunately, he hung himself in '98. But that sort of just adds to the mystique.
4. Dinah Cancer
Another Los Angeles goth icon, this frontwoman of death-rock founders 45 Grave happens to be a total bad bitch with the best stage name ever. She even used to date Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx, so you know she puts out. She helped fuse fast, punk rock guitar with horror-themed lyrical content. And for that, she's forever one of the spookiest.
3. Trent Reznor
Without Nine Inch Nails, there would be no Marilyn Manson, which is reason enough to put Reznor on this list of total creeps. But even without inspiring one of the weirdest mainstream musical careers of all time, Trent is so moody that it's almost impossible to question his goth cred. Also, the video for "Closer" pretty much takes the creep cake.
2. Øystein Aarseth, AKA Euronymous
All fun and games aside, nothing says evil creepster like (purportedly) eating your friend's brains. This guy used to play guitar in the black metal band Mayhem. The story goes that the lead singer shot himself in the head, and when Aarseth found the corpse, he cooked the brains into a stew and made a friendship necklace out of skull fragments. A few years later, this cannibal was murdered by another bandmate. Shit is weird in Norway.
1. Ian Curtis
Crotchless aliens, melted faces, and brain stew is all well and good. But we wouldn't even be celebrating this holiday without the contributions of the late Ian Curtis. For many, Joy Division is considered to be the inception of the goth-music spirit, and Curtis lived a life more doomed than most. The poor guy suffered from epilepsy and depression his whole life, which ended when he hung himself in 1980 at the age of 23. But at least we got New Order out of it, right?
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