Gothic Council Remembers Their First Dance

​Gothtopia has spent the better part of our free weekends over the last decade hanging out at Numbers whenever DJ Mina hosts Underworld. It remains the hub of all things goth in Houston, and Mina's dedication to the institution doesn't earn her nearly the praise it deserves. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank her for it, and also to say that there is no good reason she couldn't play Rob Zombies's "California" once in a while.

Now, Kompressor does not dance at Underworld. We prefer our role as mighty defender of the purses while the ladies gyrate in front of us. However, we'll always remember the first time a song actually got us out on the dance floor. It was the Sisters of Mercy's "This Corrosion."

Dancing to "This Corrosion" is something of an endurance trial. The album version runs over seven minutes, and really, there's no excuse for playing any other. Seeing Andrew Eldritch glaring down from the dual screens as he sang in the rain forever cemented what we considered cool. Floodland was the first album we ever bought just because we'd heard it at Numbers, and it's still in our Top 10 favorite records today.

Waxing nostalgic, we summoned the Gothic Council to ask what their first, real goth dance tune was. Joining the Council this week is Jvstin Whitney of Church ov Melkarth, Carmilla Voiez, the author of Starblood, fashion designer Batty, stylist Carol Daumer, regular contributor to Carpe Nocturne Magazine Alethea Carr, and Paul Fredric, the lead singer of Asmodeus X.

​Jvstin Whitney: The first thing I heard was Music from the Succubus Club and the Cruxshadows, Nosferatu and Bella Morte tracks really stood out for me. To this day I have an irrational love of the Cruxshadows and will take off work to follow them on tour for a few days when they come through Texas, which I don't even do for the most revered metal bands. I finally gave up and accepted EBM and Industrial into my narrow-minded music Nazi brain when Mortiis put out the Smell of Rain.

Carmilla Voiez: Is this dancing in a club or dancing like an ethereal fairy on acid around my bedroom? If the former, Sisters of Mercy's "Temple of Love" (the original 12" version); it used to go on for ages. It was a glorious track to dance to. If the latter - pretty much anything from Christian Death's Catastrophe Ballet.