SilentScream213 I’ll have to admit right off the bat, as someone who loves Gothic Metal, Type O Negative are pretty much antithesis to what I like to see in the genre. Full of humor and groove, the album is about as far removed from Doom as Gothic can get, and spits in the face of any melancholy normally associated with Gothic Metal. Most of the time, the band is just having fun, and as a result there is a lack of any genuine emotion to it.

There are at least plenty of moments of decent musical composition. The Title track stands out as quite a good song, their closest to Doom here, and a few other tracks make great use of keys and other sound effects to layer the music. Unfortunately, Peter is always throwing ridiculously stupid lyrics over the music, which ruins a good amount of it for me. His delivery in general is hammy in a bad way, like he’s always trying to parody something.

Impressive musically, disappointing altogether.

siLLy puPPy TYPE O NEGATIVE also known as “The Drab Four” made a name for themselves on their third album BLOODY KISSES by creating a rock opera type sounding album that has become very influential in both the goth and doom world. The songs are pretty much goth pop with a few interesting sound effects thrown in here and there. It is goth in the sense that it is about loneliness, depression, anger and the usual negative estranged feelings associated with the subculture. The flow of the album is strong as one song leads into the other seamlessly.

The beauty of this album is that it isn't one of those gothier-than-thou snobathons but instead it is a parody of gothic subculture stereotypes. The album had a minor hit with the track “Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All) of which the video was a hit on MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head. The popularity of this album in the goth-tinged 90s made this the very first platinum record for Roadrunner Records. There are a few surprises on here as well such as the Seals and Crofts song “Summer Breeze” which came out even before Marilyn Manson covered the Eurythmics' “Sweet Dreams.”

Overall I find this to have more of a garage rock sound like The White Stripes or even a grunge or punk sound at times. When I think of other true goth metal bands like Cradle Of Filth, for example, this doesn't come close to the intensity usually associated with true metal bands. I wonder why this is categorized as metal at all as it seems to be only a minor element to the whole sound with more focus on Peter Steele's Dracula-like vocal style making it an eccentric blend of gothic rock, however, there is just enough doom metal to keep me from protesting its inclusion into the genre, although never anything outlandish and energetic. This album could be just a tad shorter for me but fairly uniform in quality throughout.

Warthur Playing a careful balancing act between flat-out goth rock and gothic metal, Type O Negative's Bloody Kisses doesn't offer a whole lot in the way of outrageous surprises, but it is a fun listen and, unlike so much gothy material, doesn't take itself remotely seriously. (Indeed, the big single from this one, Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All), is a big piss-take at the goth scene as a whole.) The long, epic, multi-part tracks tend to be the better ones, with Christian Woman probably being my favourite, and even if the album begins to flag a little towards the end, at least it does so with a smile on its face. I don't rate it on the level of the more accomplished gothic metal works bands like Paradise Lost were turning out at this time, but it's not horrible.

topofsm Imagine a goth male whose balls are as as big as basketballs and has a voice to match. Picture him sex crazed and completely set out against against the world. But then give him a sense of humor and put him behind sensible pop keyboards and catchy, but slow, guitar riffs. This is what you get when you listen to Bloody Kisses by Type O Negative.

This is undoubtedly a highly influential album, especially within the context of gothic and doom metal. The songs are accessible and simple, yet carefully composed, develop well, and are dark and heavy. As far as musicianship goes, there is nothing impressive here. But the listen is great, and Peter Steele's deep bass voice combines with the haunting synth layers, the chugging guitars, the low bass, and the solid driving drums to create an excellent dark atmosphere.

Standout tracks include the highly praised "Christian Woman", the true opening song of the album. A lone organ line faintly starts in the background and Steele sings a solitary stanza, until everything pounds in and the 'The Bensonhoist Lesbian Choir' pours in flowing melodies. "Black No. 1", another single, is also a good listen, an ironically both an anthem for gothic popular music fans while simultaneously mocking them the whole time.

Not all the songs are dark and slow. Two hardcore styled songs feature on the album as well, "Kill all the White People", a humorous take on violent racism, and "We Hate Everyone" written in the same style.

"Summer Breeze" is an excellent cover of Seals and Crofts, turning an airy hippie ballad into a low creeping song full of dark distortion. It segues into the following song, "Set me on Fire" which turns into a Beatles style psychedelic catchy pop tune.

Interspersed through the album are a few ambient tracks that add more to the mood of the album, often sexually crazed or dark and haunting. They neither seem to add or detract from the quality of the record, but certainly help establish the tone of it.

All in all this is a milestone in metal, and it certainly deserves that credit. This oft-cited masterpiece is one that metal goth fans can listen to over and over again with enthusiasm, however disaffected that enthusiasm is with teenage angst and gothic distain.

Negoba The Beginning of Goth Metal...At Least for Me

I write this review only a few days after the announcement that Peter Steele is dead at age 48. R.I.P. Big guy. Loved the humor, loved the fun. Hope you have some burdens lifted.

From the first low crooning of "Unsuccessfully Coping" there was something about this band that was unlike any band I'd heard before. When Bloody Kisses came out, the band had clearly figured out where their appeal was going to be. Catering to the vampire / goth element, the album features the sex / morbid depression / and plenty of black (and green) imagery to the extreme. There was plenty to dig about the band, but what I dug was the low vocals (as a baritone myself, I certainly envied Steele's ability to hit the low notes.)

At one level, the lyrics and the whole schtick are incredibly bad. But what makes this work, is that Steele is the first one who'll tell you that they're bad. He clearly has said from the beginning that it's a stage act, but at another level, there are plenty of indications that some of the black feelings are real. The double edged emotional delivery allows for some tension and energy in a slow, plodding music.

The biggest songs of the band's career "Black No. 1" and "Christian Woman" are on this one. They're not their best songs, but "Black No. 1" is probably their catchiest, and "Christian Woman" combines all the images into one hilariously over the top whole. There are some other good moments on this album too, but there are some very overlong fuzz bass sections too.

Though this was the breakthrough album, the follow-up, October Rust, is a much better album. But like many innovations that are rough, the power here is that there was virtually nothing else like this out when it was released. The sound has long ago been assimilated into history and the general goth metal sound, but in 1993 this was really quite fresh.