Type O Negative | |
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Background information | |
Also known as |
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Origin | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 1989–2010 |
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Spinoffs | |
Spinoff of | |
Past members | |
Website | typeonegative |
Type O Negative was an American gothic metal/doom metal band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1989 [1] [2] by Peter Steele (bass, lead vocals), Kenny Hickey (guitar, co-lead vocals), Josh Silver (keyboards, backing vocals), and Sal Abruscato (drums, percussion), who was later replaced by Johnny Kelly. Their lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "the Drab Four" [3] (in homage to the Beatles' "Fab Four" moniker). [4] The band went platinum with 1993's Bloody Kisses , and gold with 1996's October Rust , and gained a fanbase through seven studio albums, [5] two best-of compilations, and concert DVDs.
Steele died on April 14, 2010, at the age of 48; some sources report the cause of death as heart failure [6] [7] brought on by an aortic aneurysm, while others list sepsis caused by diverticulitis. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Seven months after Steele's death, the surviving members of Type O Negative announced that they would not continue as a band. [14]
Type O Negative was formed after frontman Peter Steele's [15] previous band, Carnivore, broke up. Steele formed a new band with childhood friends Sal Abruscato, Josh Silver, and Kenny Hickey, which they initially named Repulsion. The band later changed their name to Sub-Zero because another band with the name Repulsion already existed, then changed it again one final time, settling on the name Type O Negative. [16] Steele was still tied to the multi-album contract he had made with Roadrunner Records during his time in Carnivore, despite the fact the band had broken up; after receiving a demo from Type O Negative, Roadrunner decided not to drop Steele, and the band signed to the record label in 1991. Shortly after signing, they released their debut, Slow, Deep and Hard . [17]
Type O Negative's first album, Slow, Deep and Hard , [18] incorporated dragging Black Sabbath-esque dirge riffs, maniacal hardcore outbursts, and droning industrial and gothic atmospheres. The songs were long, multi-part theatrical epics, with lyrics loosely surrounding a story involving a man enacting revenge on a cheating girlfriend before ultimately contemplating his actions and committing suicide.
They began creating a new album, with the idea of presenting it as a live album. The subsequent 1992 album was entitled The Origin of the Feces and a warning label was put on the album cover: "Not Live at Brighton Beach". [19] The album contains faux-live recordings of songs from Slow, Deep and Hard, as well as previously unreleased songs such as "Are You Afraid" and "Hey Pete" (a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe" with altered lyrics) and Black Sabbath's "Paranoid".
Type O Negative's third album, Bloody Kisses , was released in 1993 to critical and listener acclaim, and eventually became the first record for Roadrunner to reach certified gold status in the US. [20] The newfound success brought by the album's release reportedly put a lot of pressure on the band; initially, Peter Steele expressed disinterest in touring nationally. Monte Conner, who at the time was Vice President of A&R at Roadrunner, said in a 2018 interview with Revolver Magazine, "There was a lot of pressure for him to take the band to the next level, but he didn't want to quit his job... There was a point where it looked like the band might break up." [21]
Bloody Kisses mostly addressed loneliness and heartbreak, with songs like "Too Late: Frozen", "Blood & Fire" and "Can't Lose You". The organ-driven "Set Me on Fire" is vintage 1960s garage rock, while "Summer Breeze" covered the 1972 Seals and Crofts hit. "Christian Woman" and "Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)" became the most popular tracks, after having been edited down to radio-friendly lengths (the album versions were 9 and 11 minutes long respectively). In order to promote the album, Type O Negative embarked on a two-year world tour. During this time, the band was featured on MTV, VH1, and in Rolling Stone . In the midst of this media blitz, drummer Sal Abruscato quit the band to join another Brooklyn quartet, Life of Agony. Johnny Kelly, the band's drum technician, was therefore hired as a full-fledged member. Bloody Kisses was re-released a year after the original release in a limited-edition Digipak form, including eight of the musical tracks from the original (omitting the "filler" tracks) and the previously unreleased "Suspended in Dusk".
Type O's October Rust picked up where Bloody Kisses left off, exploring themes of sex, nature and sensuality, first in a humorous sense on the single "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend" and then taken much darker with "Love You to Death". This record also saw a cover of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" as well as the fan favorite, semi-serene "Green Man". While not quite as successful as Bloody Kisses, the album was certified gold [22] in the US, and was the first Type O Negative album to enter the top half of the Billboard Top 200, debuting at No. 42.
With the completion of another successful world tour, writing for a fifth album began. In the period immediately following the release of October Rust, resulting in 1999's World Coming Down (working titles included Prophets of Doom and Aggroculture).World Coming Down debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard Top 200 charts. World Coming Down featured a much darker, bleak tone than its predecessors, [23] [24] [25] having been written after a series of deaths in frontman Peter Steele's family. [26]
A best of album followed in 2000, entitled The Least Worst of Type O Negative. Although most songs appear on previous albums, many are unreleased remixes or B-sides of previously released singles. Along with these songs are some unreleased numbers from the World Coming Down sessions, the band's cover of "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath (Peter Steele's version with different lyrics, written from the perspective of Satan), and a cleaner version of "Hey Pete" (originally released on the mock live album The Origin of the Feces).
Type O Negative's sixth studio album, Life Is Killing Me (originally called The Dream Is Dead after the closing song), was released in 2003. [27] For this album, the band picked up the pace of their sound from the dirgeful slowness of World Coming Down. Songs such as "Todd's Ship Gods (Above All Things)", "(We Were) Electrocute", and "I Don't Wanna Be Me" convey the band's classic elements of melody, though the song lengths were much shorter on this outing, the longest being the 7 and a half-minute "How Could She?", a list of female character names from television shows. The album includes a humorous cover of the song "Angry Inch" from the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, detailing a sex change operation gone terribly wrong. Type O Negative left Roadrunner after the album's release, having fulfilled their contract for the label.
In June 2004, Type O Negative signed to the Steamhammer imprint of SPV Records. [28] Their only album for the label, Dead Again , was released in 2007. Dead Again debuted at No. 27 in the United States, [29] the band's highest chart debut to date. They also continued to tour through October of that year, including a performance at the Rock am Ring festival in Germany. [30]
On April 14, 2010, frontman and bassist Peter Steele died, reportedly from heart failure. [6] [31] The cause of death was later reported to be sepsis, caused by diverticulitis. [32] The following statement concerning Steele was released April 15 on the band's official website: [33]
It is with great sadness that we inform you that Type O Negative front man, bassist, and our band mate, Peter Steele passed away last night of what appears to be heart failure. Ironically Peter had been enjoying a long period of sobriety and improved health and was imminently due to begin writing and recording new music for our follow up to "Dead Again" released in 2007.
The official cause of death has yet to be determined pending autopsy results. The funeral services will be private and memorial services will be announced at a future date. We'd like to share our thoughts and those of Peter's family below. We are truly saddened to lose our friend and appreciate the tremendous outpouring today from around the world.
Sincerely,
Josh, Kenny and Johnny
In a November 2010 interview with Rock Hard magazine, Johnny Kelly and Kenny Hickey confirmed that following Steele's death, Type O Negative had split up. [14]
Roadrunner Records released a box set of all the band's albums (with the exception of Dead Again) for Back to Black Friday 2011, a spinoff of Record Store Day, on November 25, 2011. Each vinyl cover has no text and The Origin of the Feces uses its original cover art. The box set also contains various bumper stickers related to the band. [34]
In a June 2023 interview with Loaded Radio, Hickey was asked about the future of Type O Negative. He said that he was against the idea of continuing the band with a new vocalist, noting, "People have approached us to try and reform the band with a singer and go on the road...We personally don't think Peter is replaceable by anyone and it just wouldn't work." He did, however, mention that he would not be against the idea of some kind of tribute show with guest musicians saying "If somebody had the idea and got it together and got the logistics together, sure – I would be into that." He also mentioned that Johnny Kelly would enjoy performing for a tribute show, but Josh Silver would more than likely not participate due to his current job as a paramedic. [35] Kelly has also stated that a Type O Negative reunion without Steele would never happen, but believes the latter "deserves some kind of celebration" and did not rule out a tribute show. [36]
Type O Negative's musical style has been described as gothic metal [37] [38] [39] and doom metal. [37] [40] [41] Regarding the band's influences, Johnny Kelly has stated, "The common denominators, for certain, were The Beatles and Black Sabbath. Those are the two bands that everybody agreed on. They were favorites. Everybody was into different, various things. Those were the two that there was never an argument when one of their songs was being played." [42]
Additionally, Steele cited Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, [43] Einstürzende Neubauten, Curve, Duran Duran, the Cure, [44] Depeche Mode, Devo, and Laibach, [45] as personal influences. In the past, Steele and his bandmates expressed the frontman's appreciation for shoegaze acts Lush and My Bloody Valentine and for synth-pop bands A Flock of Seagulls and Simple Minds. [46] [47] [44] According to Kelly, he and Josh Silver were influenced by grunge bands Alice In Chains and Soundgarden. [42]
The band has gone on to influence numerous metal acts including Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine and Trivium, the latter having covered their single I Don't Wanna Be Me.
This section needs additional citations for verification .(November 2017) |
Type O Negative's songs have appeared in numerous motion pictures, including "Blood and Fire (Out of the Ashes Remix)" on the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie soundtrack (also on the bonus CD of Life Is Killing Me), "Love You to Death" in Bride of Chucky , "Everyone I Love Is Dead" in Faust: Love of the Damned , "(We Were) Electrocute" in Freddy vs. Jason, and "Summer Breeze" in I Know What You Did Last Summer . As a result of Howard Stern being a self-professed fan, Private Parts: The Album contains "Pictures of Matchstick Men" with the band playing music and Ozzy Osbourne on vocals. "Haunted" also appears on The Blair Witch Project "soundtrack CD" (the album's concept was to contain songs from "a tape that was found in the woods with the students' gear"). In 1998, Arrow Videos made their own version of the 1922 classic horror film Nosferatu by simply overdubbing the silent film with a soundtrack consisting entirely of Type O Negative tracks, taken from the first four albums. This version is now on DVD from DigiView Entertainment, a company that makes budget-priced DVDs. It also has an introduction by actor David Carradine. [48]
In other media, the computer game Descent 2 features a shortened, instrumental version of the track "Haunted". Additionally, Descent 2: The Vertigo Series contains a full-length version of the instrumental; the compilation Duke Nukem: Music to Score By features "Cinnamon Girl (Extended Depression Mix)"; "Love You to Death" in the computer game Blood ; "Out of the Fire" from the Life Is Killing Me bonus CD was a theme created for wrestler Kane, but was never used. The opening two seconds of "I Don't Wanna Be Me" were used as a frequent sample in Grand Theft Auto IV , on the Liberty Rock Radio Station, and 2012 video game The Darkness II features Type O Negative's "Black No. 1" in its multiplayer lobby, played at random amongst other songs.
Type O Negative performed and recorded numerous covers. The Doors' "Light My Fire" has been covered live numerous times, mostly during the 1990s. [49] Steele has described the song as "probably the greatest song ever written" before apologizing for having "destroyed it". Seals and Crofts' "Summer Breeze" appears on Bloody Kisses , and Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" appears on October Rust . The tongue-in-cheek "Angry Inch" (from Hedwig and the Angry Inch ) appears on Life is Killing Me . World Coming Down includes a Beatles medley consisting of "Day Tripper", "If I Needed Someone", and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)". Other covers include a rendition of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" and "N.I.B."; Status Quo's "Pictures of Matchstick Men" with Ozzy Osbourne, two versions of "Black Sabbath" (one with the original lyrics and one rewritten by Peter Steele to be from Satan's perspective), Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe" (rewritten as "Hey Pete"); the Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R.", Deep Purple's "Highway Star", and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising". A medley of Santana's "Evil Ways", "Oye Como Va", and "Black Magic Woman" are also available on the CD accompanying the DVD Symphony for the Devil. The 2007 tour song set started with a cover of "Magical Mystery Tour" from the Beatles.
"In the Flesh", originally written by Pink Floyd from their album The Wall, is another song that Type O Negative covered, used to open their 1999 World Tour. This version can be seen on the live DVD Symphony for the Devil. Also on the same DVD, in "Too Late: Frozen", the intro began with Jethro Tull's "Aqualung".
Final lineup
Previous members
Touring
Timeline
Studio albums
Award | Year | Nominee(s) | Category | Result | Ref. |
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Žebřík Music Awards | 1996 | Themselves | Best International Group | Nominated | [51] |
Peter Steele | Best International Male | Nominated | |||
October Rust | Best International Album | Nominated | |||
"My Girlfriend's Girlfriend" | Best International Video | Nominated |
Peter Thomas Ratajczyk, known professionally as Peter Steele, was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist and composer of the gothic metal band Type O Negative. Before forming Type O Negative, Steele had formed the heavy metal group Fallout and the thrash metal band Carnivore.
Slow, Deep and Hard is the debut studio album by the American gothic metal band Type O Negative, released on June 11, 1991, through Roadrunner Records. The album was originally titled None More Negative, and released in 1990 as a demo under the group's former name Repulsion.
Josh Silver is an American retired musician who is the former keyboardist, producer and backing vocalist of gothic metal band Type O Negative. He joined the band at frontman Peter Steele's request. He played for Type O Negative until they disbanded due to Steele's death in 2010.
October Rust is the fourth studio album by Type O Negative. It was released in 1996. This is the first album with Johnny Kelly credited as the band's drummer, although programmed drums are used on the album. October Rust has more ballads and less of the doom metal sound of previous or subsequent albums. It also features a cover of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl".
The Origin of the Feces is the second studio album by the American gothic metal band Type O Negative, released in 1992.
Bloody Kisses is the third studio album by the American gothic metal band Type O Negative and the last recording with their original lineup, as drummer Sal Abruscato left the group in late 1993 to join labelmates Life of Agony. The album includes two of their best known songs, "Christian Woman" and "Black No. 1 ", both of which earned the band a considerable cult following. The album further established recurring motifs of the band's music, such as including cover songs recorded in their own unique style, sample-heavy soundscape interludes and lyrics replete with dry, satirical humor.
World Coming Down is the fifth studio album by the American gothic metal band Type O Negative. Released on September 21, 1999, it is considered to be the darkest of the band's releases, having been written after a series of deaths in frontman Peter Steele's family, combined with the desire to break away from the sexually charged themes of the previous albums. It was also the band's first album to reach the Top 40 on the Billboard 200.
Life Is Killing Me is the sixth studio album by gothic metal band Type O Negative. It was released on June 17, 2003, and was their final studio album released through record label Roadrunner Records.
Kenneth Shaun Hickey is an American musician. He was the co-founder, guitarist, and backing and occasional co-lead vocalist of the gothic metal band Type O Negative, whom he played for from 1989 until the death of the band's frontman and bassist Peter Steele in 2010. He is currently the lead vocalist and guitarist for Silvertomb and was the co-founder of Seventh Void. All three bands featured fellow Type O Negative member Johnny Kelly on drums. Hickey is also an occasional touring guitarist for Danzig.
Johnny Kelly is an American musician, best known as the former drummer of gothic metal band Type O Negative. He is the current drummer for the bands Silvertomb, Kill Devil Hill, Eyeam, Danzig, and Quiet Riot.
The Least Worst Of is a compilation album from Type O Negative. It contains previously released material alongside a number of unreleased tracks and remixes. The album is available in an edited variant and an unedited one. The photograph on the album cover is of the defunct Parachute jump at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York.
Symphony for the Devil is a live DVD by Type O Negative released on March 14, 2006. It is a video of a live concert at the Bizarre Festival in 1999, with a behind-the-scenes look at Type O Negative, an interview with the band, commentary, biographies of the band members and a collection of photographs.
The Best of Type O Negative is an album from Roadrunner Records, featuring a collection of Type O Negative's music with the label. The album was released without Type O Negative's involvement.
Dead Again is the seventh and final studio album by the American gothic metal band Type O Negative, released before the death of frontman Peter Steele in 2010, and subsequent dissolution of the band. It was released on March 13, 2007, through record label Steamhammer, a subsidiary of SPV.
"Christian Woman" is a single by gothic metal band Type O Negative from their 1993 album Bloody Kisses. It is one of two songs that people credit with propelling the band into the mainstream. The song is inspired by a real woman with whom lead singer and songwriter Peter Steele was once romantically involved. Steele told Revolver, "She was a Roman Catholic, much as I am, but she would get off on breaking the rules a little bit. She would ask me to dress up as a priest and, well, I guess you can just imagine what would happen after that. So, I guess you could say I have a bit of a priest infection."
"I Don't Wanna Be Me" is a song by American gothic metal band Type O Negative. It is the second track on the band's sixth studio album, Life Is Killing Me (2003), and was released as a promo single the same year. Contrary to the gothic metal and doom metal style of the band's other songs, "I Don't Wanna Be Me" is often considered a punk rock song.
A Pale Horse Named Death is an American gothic metal/doom metal band from Brooklyn, New York. The band was formed in 2010 by Sal Abruscato and produced/engineered by Matt Brown of Seventh Void and Uranium 235. The band has released four studio albums to date – And Hell Will Follow Me (2011), Lay My Soul to Waste (2013), When the World Becomes Undone (2019) and Infernum in Terra (2021).
"September Sun" is a single by gothic metal band Type O Negative from the 2007 album Dead Again. The nearly ten minute song was edited to just 4½ minutes for the single release. The single was released on January 14, 2008, ten months after the album's release on March 13, 2007. "September Sun" was the band's final single released before the passing of frontman Peter Steele.
"The Profit of Doom" is a single by Goth metal band Type O Negative from the 2007 album Dead Again. The single version of the song is 4½ minutes long, but lasts nearly eleven minutes on the album. The single was released just before the album was released in February 2007. A music video was released for the song.
"Black No. 1 " is a single by American gothic metal band Type O Negative from their 1993 album Bloody Kisses. The song was written by lead singer Peter Steele while driving a garbage truck. During an interview with Revolver, he stated "I was waiting in line for three hours to dump 40 cubic yards of human waste at the Hamilton Avenue Marine Transfer Station, and I wrote the song in my head. I'm not kidding you." The lyrics sarcastically detail a relationship with a woman involved with the Goth subculture, loosely based around a relationship Steele was once in, and throws many tongue-in-cheek references to Halloween, Nosferatu, and Lily Munster, as well as quick musical references to Vic Mizzy's The Addams Family Theme as well as Jack Marshall's The Munsters' Theme. It is arguably their signature song; although it never cracked the Billboard Hot 100, it was their best-selling single and was a mainstay on MTV's Headbangers Ball. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked the song No. 64 on their list of the 100 greatest heavy metal songs of all time.
...the Brooklyn goth-metal band shows some unexpected warmth...
Brooklyn's Type O Negative, or 'The Drab Four' as they're probably known to their friends...
...while referring to themselves as the Drab Four (in homage to Beatles.)
Type O released seven studio albums, with their most recent being 2007's Dead Again.
Born in 1962, Steele played in a number of hardcore bands around his native Brooklyn before starting Carnivore,...
Their first release, 'Slow, Deep And Hard' (1991, RoadRunner) was notable for both its long dirges and thrash breaks, and dark, humorous lyrics.
Type O Negative became one of the most unlikely bands to break into the mainstream in the 1990s with their third album Bloody Kisses, which became the first album released by Roadrunner Records to go platinum.
In 2003, Type O Negative released what turned out to be their penultimate album, Life Is Killing Me.
Peter Steele, the singer, bassist and chief songwriter for the heavy metal band Type O Negative, died on Wednesday. He was 48. His death was announced on the band's Web site (typeonegative.net). The announcement said that the cause had not yet been officially determined but appeared to be heart failure
The band combined goth imagery with heavy doom metal and experimental tendencies
With Bloody Kisses and October Rust, Type O Negative became goth metal icons - the vanguard for future generations of genre-blurring metal pioneers.
On March 13, 2007, American gothic metal band Type O Negative released its seventh and final studio album, "Dead Again".