Style and Influence
Rowan London stated that "... we believe in God. As a more complex answer you need to talk for an hour to examine all the details." Virgin Black's sound combines elements of doom metal and classical music, and the band's image incorporates gothic aesthetics. A critic described their style as having influences of "dark wave with gothic atmosphere" and "symphonic gothic-doom". Virgin Black states that their influences include the British group My Dying Bride, the American gothic metal band Saviour Machine and 19th century classical music. Their sound is typically sorrowful, representing mostly down-tempo arrangements. Rowan London employs various vocal styles including operatic, shrieking, death growls and melodramatic tenor and baritone singing, and the music often features choirs. Occasionally the lead guitarist Samantha Escarbe plays faster tremolo riffs typical of extreme metal, such as on "Drink the Midnight Hymn" from the debut album. Sometimes there are longer, mellow and emotional guitar solos such as on "Weep for Me". A great deal of variety can be found in their music. For instance, "Walk without Limbs" combines ominous cello with programmed drums for a softer darkwave style, the Requiem - Pianissimo album is entirely classical, whereas Requiem - Fortissimo's sound is firmly rooted in death/doom metal.
Virgin Black's lyrics are an introspective, melodramatic and poetic take on faith-based subjects. While members of Virgin Black have Christian beliefs, the band has often sought to explain that its music is an exploration of spirituality and attempts to highlight the difference between the organized Church and the spiritual aspects of Christianity. In response to a question on the "religious atmosphere" in their music, Rowan London responded: "We write our music and lyrics from a personal perspective, hence they do have a particular moral and meaning but we also encourage people to shape it to fit their specific situation. Museum Of Iscariot for example was written from a spiritual view point and is describing the struggle to step beyond the limitations that we all seem to put on ourselves. However, even though its written within a spiritual context it can also be applied to many different aspects of life. Its important to understand that we're not trying to act as if we know everything about life, it would just be great to see more people considering things other than purely the material world."
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—Coco Chanel (1883–1971)
“Compare the history of the novel to that of rock ‘n’ roll. Both started out a minority taste, became a mass taste, and then splintered into several subgenres. Both have been the typical cultural expressions of classes and epochs. Both started out aggressively fighting for their share of attention, novels attacking the drama, the tract, and the poem, rock attacking jazz and pop and rolling over classical music.”
—W. T. Lhamon, U.S. educator, critic. “Material Differences,” Deliberate Speed: The Origins of a Cultural Style in the American 1950s, Smithsonian (1990)
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