Kev Rowland I am not sure how I first came across Type O Negative, but given I was involved with Roadrunner Records back in the Nineties I guess it was probably through them. Their infamous “live” album, ‘The Origin of the Feces’, struck a real chord with me and I can remember playing it to anyone who was daft enough to get in my car (generally to massive dislike, tough, it was my car). ‘Bloody Kisses’ brought them to much wider attention, which was continued in ‘October Rust’, and when this was released in 2007 it was very well-liked and was their highest chart debut in the Billboard charts at #27. Things appeared to be going well for the band, but then on April 14th, 2010, it was announced that Pete Steele had died, and without Steele there was no band who promptly broke up. The album was swallowed up in many issues, so much so that it has been difficult to find it in recent years. As guitarist Kenny Hickey explains, “The first casualty of this album was the record company - which promptly went under after its release. Soon after, Peter passed, and then even the rehearsal studio it was written and developed in was burnt to the ground by Hurricane Sandy. As the black cloud continued its relentless path over TYPE O, ‘Dead Again’ appeared and disappeared from the streaming platforms for years.”

Now it is back, containing not only the original 10 songs and the original bonus numbers (which includes the wonderful “My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend”), but four more from their set at Wacken Open Air in 2007. This reissue has been widely awaited, and hearing it again after all these years is great as this actually is an album worth hearing as opposed to something which people will flock to as it was the last one he recorded. Instead of using programmed drums they actually let Johnny Kelly play this time around, which means this is the only album he played on even though he was credited on the previous three. Combined with a somewhat happier approach from Steele, there is a lot of space within the album, and while they continue in their gothic theme and heaviness there is far more variety without losing any of their passion. This is not all doom and gloom, and consequently is one of the easiest albums for a newcomer to the band to discover, even if we do get numbers like “These Three Things” which are classic ToN, slowed down, gothic doom with passion and those deep baritone stylings of Steele on a track which keeps developing throughout its 14-minute length. As for the bonus cuts, the sound may not be perfect but it certainly captures the power of the band in the live environment, and takes me back to the early days.

A nice example of how to reissue a classic album, this is not only one for the fans but for people who may have wondered just what this Brooklyn band were all about.

Warthur Type O Negative was so creatively dominated by Peter Steele that the content and tone of their albums was highly dependent on his moods. This, for instance, is why their debut (Slow, Deep and Hard) is so incredibly angry - Peter was a very angry man at that point - whilst World Coming Down was such a downer even by their usual standards. Dead Again came out in 2007, a time when Steele claimed to have turned his life around - to the point where he claimed ot have found religion in some interviews - and you can sort of tell because there's a perkiness to the compositions which is absent from much earlier Type O material.

It isn't a radical departure from their sound, but it's less emotionally committed to their classic downer approach than any preceding album, with the end result being that the album feels a little insincere and generic. It's an OK listen if you're into Type O, but I'd recommend anything between Bloody Kisses and Life Is Killing Me over this.

UMUR Dead Again is the 6th full-length studio album by American metal act Type O Negative and it´s probably bound to be their last, as main composer, bassist and lead vocalist Peter Steele passed away due to heart failure earlier this year ( 14th of April, 2010). Peter Steele had led a hard life with reported alcohol and cocaine abuse but according to the statement the band sent out regarding the death of their frontman, Peter Steele had been enjoying a long period of sobriety and improved health and was imminently due to begin writing and recording new music for the follow up to Dead Again. Dead Again was released in March 2007 by Steamhammer/ SPV.

The music on the album is in the trademark Type O Negative sound. The combination of brick heavy doom metal, goth rock/ metal, Beatlesque psychadelia and hardcore punk/ crossover is as usual very unique. Let´s just say it out loud. No one sounds like Type O Negative but Type O Negative. Peter Steele´s deep and emotional vocal delivery is as always the focal point in the music. The lyrics are the usual cynical pain and suffering stuff but as always there´s the tongue in cheek dark humour present too. Type O Negative were always the masters of balancing between the two. This is a delicate art that wouldn´t work for most acts.

As with all Type O Negative albums, Dead Again is packed to the brim with music and it´s no surprise that the album is 77:34 minutes long. There are several very long tracks on the album, so the many minutes of playing time is actually only distributed over 10 tracks. I like the fact that the band have chosen to include more up-tempo hardcore sections in several of the songs because it provides good variation on the album. It´s a feature they´ve slowly returned to after having ditched the hardcore influence on a couple of albums. The melodies are generally strong and memorable, but I have to admit that Dead Again has taken a bit longer for me to absorb than the other albums by the band. Mainly because I feel the band have stopped developing their sound over the last couple of albums. It´s taken me almost 3 years to really gather up interest in giving the album some prober listens. After having given the album a lot of spins I´ve come to enjoy it a lot though, but if you ask me it´s the least important album released by the band. The overall quality of the album ( production, musicianship and compositional quality) is much higher than what you´ll get from most other acts though, so Dead Again is still a high quality album deserving a 3.5 - 4 star rating. I wish the album had been a bit more adventurous but songs like Tripping a Blind Man, The Profits of Doom, She Burned Me Down and Hail and Farewell to Britain still save the day.