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Genre
dark wave
Parent Genre: new age

Dark wave is a subgenre of alternative rock music that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It is characterized by its melancholic and introspective lyrics, as well as its use of electronic instruments and synthesizers. The genre often features a heavy emphasis on atmosphere and mood, with a focus on creating a sense of darkness and mystery. Dark wave music often incorporates elements of post-punk, gothic rock, and new wave, and has been associated with themes of death, despair, and the supernatural.


Top artists of dark wave genre

She Wants Revenge
Bauhaus
And One
ASP
Christian Death
London After Midnight
Clan of Xymox
Ashbury Heights
Hocico
Wolfsheim
Apoptygma Berzerk
Project Pitchfork
Covenant
Diary Of Dreams
Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble Of Shadows
Fields Of The Nephilim
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dark wave music timeline

Explore dark wave history by listening to songs from every decade. Click on the decade to view songs.

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s

Similar Genres to dark wave

Discover more related genres to dark wave genre. This list is ordered by similarity from left to right.

ethereal wave gothic rock neoclassical darkwave ebm electro-industrial corrosion medieval folk futurepop dark electro neue deutsche todeskunst industrial metal dark post-punk aggrotech deathrock neo-synthpop rune folk industrial new wave steampunk synthpop
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dark wave playlist created by Chosic

Enjoy this playlist of popular dark wave music. We made this playlist using an algorithm created by our team.

Play on spotify

List of dark wave artists

Here is a list of dark wave artists on Spotify, ranked based on popularity, who exemplifies the dark wave genre. You can find out what dark wave genre sounds like where you can preview artists or sort them the way you want, just click the headers to sort.

#namePopularity instrumentalnessdanceabilityenergyacousticnessHappinesstempofollowers
1
She Wants Revenge
54 16 60 73 2 50 130 322081
2
Bauhaus
53 13 50 62 12 43 131 709742
3
And One
45 43 59 76 18 56 124 103973
4
ASP
44 11 53 86 7 45 127 100753
5
Christian Death
43 16 38 78 9 29 129 148001
6
London After Midnight
42 20 44 81 0 28 124 108666
7
Clan of Xymox
42 26 53 73 5 44 129 136078
8
Ashbury Heights
41 8 59 82 2 51 125 38515
9
Hocico
40 38 49 94 2 33 132 77811
10
Wolfsheim
40 12 60 67 15 48 129 84078
11
Apoptygma Berzerk
39 32 56 85 4 47 127 74976
12
Project Pitchfork
39 24 54 89 1 41 122 67259
13
Covenant
38 59 59 83 12 39 127 89562
14
Diary Of Dreams
37 36 60 72 29 30 124 67933
15
Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble Of Shadows
37 21 49 54 13 31 110 101520
16
Fields Of The Nephilim
37 49 30 70 8 31 126 101408
17
Peter Heppner
36 23 61 66 15 41 112 29277
18
:Wumpscut:
35 37 52 83 4 28 126 53634
19
Solar Fake
35 8 57 86 4 43 128 29316
20
Deine Lakaien
35 24 56 58 59 31 117 46315
21
Specimen
34 9 51 79 1 44 137 47539
22
Alien Sex Fiend
34 38 53 75 2 41 128 101698
23
Assemblage 23
33 43 52 87 2 44 127 58721
24
Xmal Deutschland
33 33 45 75 4 58 149 65186
25
Kirlian Camera
33 24 51 67 17 28 119 16697
26
De/Vision
33 9 56 81 7 40 127 48139
27
Rosetta Stone
32 48 47 87 2 57 139 42190
28
Icon Of Coil
31 44 61 89 3 51 131 31179
29
In Strict Confidence
31 33 56 84 3 41 126 31494
30
Paralysed Age
30 20 53 63 5 36 146 22608
31
The Crüxshadows
30 4 58 85 2 37 127 52523
32
Love Is Colder Than Death
30 57 44 39 28 27 122 15741
33
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
30 71 46 81 1 43 126 36611
34
Mephisto Walz
30 45 38 73 4 37 124 34326
35
Corpus Delicti
29 11 34 84 10 25 133 33524
36
Switchblade Symphony
29 23 57 56 17 41 135 50341
37
L'âme Immortelle
29 1 53 73 9 24 111 46953
38
Diorama
29 10 62 78 13 49 121 23193
39
Inkubus Sukkubus
29 14 40 72 13 32 128 31755
40
Velvet Acid Christ
29 61 54 88 3 47 120 39031
41
The frozen Autumn
29 49 50 79 5 38 129 27699
42
Die Form
28 27 60 82 6 45 119 17444
43
Love Spirals Downwards
28 37 36 57 34 25 130 17171
44
The Danse Society
28 50 41 79 6 44 138 38389
45
Das Ich
27 29 61 87 9 43 122 28307
46
bel canto
27 9 54 54 38 35 113 20854
47
Collide
26 26 53 82 7 43 130 25212
48
Leæther Strip
26 61 58 77 1 41 128 23792
49
Lycia
26 72 41 63 12 28 122 23628
50
The Beauty of Gemina
25 25 49 79 19 29 129 12082
51
Anders Manga
25 49 58 80 8 50 127 8179
52
Diva Destruction
25 10 53 77 8 36 130 25124
53
Faith And The Muse
25 47 40 66 17 29 128 27362
54
Two Witches
25 13 44 81 7 32 129 15035
55
Black Heaven
24 16 54 83 5 35 125 5708
56
The Merry Thoughts
24 14 48 79 2 67 111 12080
57
Love Like Blood
24 19 47 77 1 33 130 19479
58
Nosferatu
24 22 46 80 3 45 139 20361
59
Black Tape For A Blue Girl
23 75 20 23 76 12 100 16501
60
Sanguis et Cinis
23 29 53 76 10 47 120 12513
61
Suspiria
22 8 55 87 2 68 138 13165
62
And Also The Trees
22 49 42 53 24 42 122 17845
63
Umbra et Imago
20 9 49 85 1 35 123 23485
64
Seraphim Shock
20 32 50 80 1 27 121 9355
65
In The Nursery
20 68 37 46 52 17 116 6518
66
Escape With Romeo
20 60 56 78 2 49 121 5260
67
Miranda Sex Garden
19 32 33 55 29 10 115 14343
68
The Shroud
19 1 52 55 12 33 130 8062
69
Girls Under Glass
19 25 50 82 1 36 131 5620
70
Aeon Sable
18 56 54 71 10 39 139 4905
71
Bella Morte
18 43 53 82 1 52 133 18245
72
Dreadful Shadows
18 14 45 79 5 37 126 7700
73
Unto Ashes
18 29 47 36 65 21 118 7847
74
The Awakening
18 39 50 78 6 32 135 8678
75
Ataraxia
17 21 39 47 63 41 125 10720
76
Autumn Tears
17 34 20 35 67 9 96 10965
77
Merciful Nuns
17 38 56 86 6 40 135 9784
78
The Eden House
16 66 43 70 1 25 129 8989
79
Angels of Liberty
16 0 0 0 0 0 0 7810
80
The Cassandra Complex
16 33 52 68 6 41 127 7894
81
The Ðevil & the Uñiverse
15 75 52 80 4 30 134 4330
82
Ex-Voto
14 51 51 81 2 47 137 6880
83
This Ascension
13 4 31 64 11 20 124 6222
84
Claire Voyant
13 19 47 58 17 18 120 6475
85
All My Faith Lost...
13 62 34 21 94 7 93 6067
86
Big Electric Cat
12 36 47 87 0 55 113 7671
87
Attrition
12 10 58 84 14 52 109 4597
88
The Last Dance
12 11 46 84 2 39 121 8569
89
Trance To The Sun
11 84 44 71 8 15 105 4915
90
The Garden Of Delight
10 61 60 77 17 36 121 3614
91
Dr. Arthur Krause
10 9 50 83 1 50 133 4135
92
Faith & Disease
9 42 29 47 33 17 127 3019
93
Whispers In The Shadow
9 12 51 82 3 32 132 4417
94
Chandeen
9 10 36 46 40 21 104 3514
95
Collection D'Arnell-Andrea
8 39 45 77 11 46 135 1864
96
Rozz Williams
8 2 30 88 4 34 159 11167
97
Veljanov
8 1 57 85 0 29 140 6881
98
Mors Syphilitica
8 62 45 57 33 27 125 2993
99
Monica Richards
7 0 41 71 0 6 140 4340
100
Die Laughing
7 0 38 93 1 38 124 2192
101
The Changelings
6 42 43 58 66 4 117 2830
102
The House Of Usher
6 0 41 78 0 27 135 4006
103
Rhea's Obsession
5 23 43 62 21 21 147 2398
104
The Arms of Someone New
5 0 0 0 0 0 0 902
105
The Machine In The Garden
5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1815
106
Rise And Fall Of A Decade
5 43 37 56 45 51 114 1245
107
Sophya
4 87 54 72 3 44 107 621
108
Ghosting
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1117
109
Eva O
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3122
110
Engelsstaub
3 8 70 60 0 19 119 765
111
Sleeping Dogs Wake
2 93 58 40 2 6 120 450
112
In My Rosary
2 30 59 33 20 35 86 950
113
Olen 'K
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 131
114
Breath of Life
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 83
115
Silke Bischoff
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2081
116
Edera
0 0 49 51 1 14 112 206
117
Aenemia
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 146
118
Kirlian Kamera
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28
119
Rheas Obsession
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 86
120
Absinthee
0 2 36 67 1 22 177 31