All I really wanted was a copy of Bloody Kisses, the third studio album released in 1993 by Type O Negative, probably the "gothest" band out there. This was the last album to feature the original lineup, as drummer Sal Abruscato would leave later that year. I wanted the record because I kind of like Type O Negative's sound - it's unlike anything else - and it was being released by Run Out Groove, which meant it was going to be a very high quality release. And I didn't have any Type O Negative in my collection, which was something I thought should be corrected. And they do a killer version of Seals & Crofts' Summer Breeze on this album, which alone is almost worth the price of admission.
Actually … what I really wanted was None More Negative, the 6-LP Type O Negative box set, also released by Run Out Groove, but at $300 US I couldn't justify it. So Bloody Kisses would have to do. I ordered it and waited for it to arrive, and a couple of months later a package from Run Out Groove landed on my doorstep. It felt unexpectedly heavy when I picked it up, and when I opened it, instead of a single copy of Bloody Kisses, I found the None More Negative box set. Say what? I went online and checked my order to make sure I hadn't accidentally ordered the box set and spent $300 US, which would have landed me an extended stay in the proverbial dog house. But I hadn't. I was in the clear.
I then checked the packing slip, which clearly stated one copy of Bloody Kisses is what should have been delivered. Run Out Groove had made a mistake - an expensive one - so I called them to let them know and … drum roll please … they told me to keep the box set! In the record collecting world that kind of thing is akin to winning the lottery, and it really is because as I write this that set is now long out of print and commands about $800 on the secondary market.
It's all the Type O Negative you'll ever need, probably more than you'll ever need, and each record is a variation on a black-green-coloured vinyl theme. Overall, the set sounds absolutely impeccable. Gorgeous, would be word I'd use to describe the sound. I say that even though I've always thought that, with this type of music, it's hard to really tell if one pressing is better than the other. The needles were probably pushed all the way out during the recording process, which I imagine would make the music somewhat difficult to work with during the re-mastering process. All I know for certain is that these Run Out Groove pressings really do sound terrific. I don't have any original pressings to compare them to, but they are sonically very good sounding records. Outstanding, even.
This set contains all six Roadrunner studio albums pressed on 140-gram vinyl in beautiful board jackets, and a 36''x12'' fold out poster, a one-sided 12'' insert with track listings and credits and a backstage laminate that won't actually get you backstage. It's limited to 7,500 copies worldwide. Note that their final album, Dead Again, was released on another label and isn’t included here in this set.
Led by singer and bassist Peter Steele - who at 6' 8" and with his pronounced facial bone structure and long black hair looks exactly as one would imagine a Goth Dark Lord to look - Type O Negative spent their career exploring the genre like no other band could, sometimes injecting humour into the mix, but always remaining true to the original intention. Truth is, they more-or-less invented it, after something of a thrash metal start.
Steele shared the vocal duties with guitarist Kenny Hickey (he handles all the screaming and shouting), but it's clearly Steele's voice and bass that defines the band's luxurious and deeply lush sound. Together with the velvety guitar riffs provided by Kenny Hickey and Josh Silver, along with Silver's keyboards and Abruscato's deliberate drumming, Type O Negative literally defines the goth sound.
The band touches on some dark topics. On World Coming Down, Steele sings about the death of people close to him. He was also probably thinking about his own mortality, as he was known to have been in the throes of some serious addictions of his own, any one of which could have killed him. In two of the songs found here - the hook-laden Everyone I Love Is Dead, and the bittersweet Everything Dies - Steele tackles the subject by wondering if it’s worth going on without those he’s lost. We are aware, after all and from Steele's own admission, of at least one suicide attempt.
Unfolding another layer from under the goth umbrella, the music of this band could be further described as "doom psychedelia". Just listen to their reworking of Neil Young’s Cinnamon Girl, from the October Rust LP, and The Beatles' medley called Day Tripper, from World Coming Down (sometimes referred to as The Drab Four). It's beautiful and messed up at the same time, and - in some places - as trippy as the Grateful Dead.
The band's first two LPs are more like preludes to what Type O Negative would become (rather than what one might consider actual Type O Negative LPs to sound like). They're more thrash metal than goth. They represent a band trying to find itself, missteps and all. On Slow, Deep and Hard, the band almost acknowledges this by adding some fake crowd noise, complete with hecklers. The album covers - a blurry closeup of sexual penetration and a crystal-clear photo of Steele’s anus - almost force one to push them away from the turntable. But then again …
Type O Negative didn't have a filter. Other entertainers have been called out by fans and critics for much less than what Steele said into a microphone. The song Can’t Lose You features Steele crooning, “I can’t lose you,” repeatedly, a seeming plea to lost love. But then it fades out with the so-called Bensonhoist Lesbian Choir (which consisted of Steele's bandmates and friends who were hanging out in the studio) chanting, "Everybody smokes pot, Monte Conner sucks cock.” Connor was vice-president of Roadrunner Records, with whom the band was signed for all but their final album. Steele would eventually walk back some of his words in his final interview. Referring to I Know You’re Fucking Someone Else from Slow, Deep and Hard, he said, “When I used the words ‘slut,’ ‘whore,’ and, ‘cunt’… I’m not proud of that language.”
Type O Negative were also influential - Marilyn Manson comes immediately to mind - and Steele drummed up even more publicity for the band when he appeared on a 1995 episode of the The Jerry Springer Show called “Sexy Groupie Girls Tell All!” where a woman with a tattoo of the Type O Negative logo on her shoulder called him the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. Later that same year he also appeared, as a fully nude centrefold, in an issue of Playgirl.
Steele died from either heart failure, diverticulitis or sepsis (or perhaps a combination of all three) on April 14, 2010, after which Type O Negative officially disbanded, saying that without Peter Steele there simply could not be Type O Negative. And they were right. This set is …
All I really wanted was a copy of Bloody Kisses, the third studio album released in 1993 by Type O Negative, probably the "gothest" band out there. This was the last album to feature the original lineup, as drummer Sal Abruscato would leave later that year. I wanted the record because I kind of like Type O Negative's sound - it really is unlike anything else out there - and it was being released on the Run Out Groove label, which meant it was going to be a very high quality release. And I didn't have any Type O Negative in my collection, which was something I thought should probably be corrected. They do a killer version of Seals & Crofts' Summer Breeze on this album, which alone is almost worth the price of admission.
Actually … what I really wanted was None More Negative, the 6-LP Type O Negative box set, also released by Run Out Groove, but at $300 I couldn't justify it. So Bloody Kisses would have to do. I ordered it and waited, and a little while later a package from Run Out Groove landed on my doorstep. It felt unexpectedly heavy when I picked it up, and when I opened it, instead of a single copy of Bloody Kisses, I found the None More Negative box set. Um … say what? I went online and checked my order to make sure I hadn't accidentally ordered the box set and spent $300, which would have landed me an extended stay in the proverbial dog house. But I hadn't. So … what then?
I checked the packing slip, which clearly stated one copy of Bloody Kisses is what should have been delivered. Run Out Groove had made a mistake - an expensive one - so I called them to let them know and … drum roll please … they told me to keep the box set! In the record collecting world that kind of thing is akin to winning the lottery, and it really is because as I write this that set is now long out of print and commands about $800 on the secondary market.
It's a beautiful set and it's all the Type O Negative you'll ever need, probably more than you'll ever need. Each record is a variation on a black-green-coloured vinyl theme, and the records are flat and quiet. Overall, this set sounds absolutely impeccable. Gorgeous and lush, would be words I'd use to describe the sound contained in these grooves. I say this even though I've always been of the opinion that, with this type of music, it's hard to really tell if one pressing is better than the other. The needles were probably pushed all the way into the red during the recording process, which would make the mixing process, as well as the re-mastering process, difficult. But having played these records, all I can say is that however they managed it these pressings really do sound terrific. I don't have any original pressings to compare them to, but I can't imagine they could be any better.
This set contains all six studio albums the band released while signed to Roadrunner Records. They are pressed on 140-gram vinyl and come in beautiful board jackets that replicate the original sleeves, and the set also includes a 36''x12'' fold out poster, a one-sided 12'' insert with track listings and credits and a backstage laminate that won't actually get you backstage. It's limited to 7,500 copies worldwide. Note that their final album, Dead Again, was released on another label and isn’t included here in this set.
Led by singer and bassist Peter Steele - who at 6' 8" and with his pronounced facial bone structure and long black hair looks exactly as one would imagine a Goth Dark Lord to look - Type O Negative spent their career exploring the genre like no other band could, sometimes injecting humour into the mix, but always remaining true to the original intention. Truth is, they more-or-less invented the goth genre, after something of a thrash metal start.
Steele shared vocal duties with guitarist Kenny Hickey (he handles all the screaming and shouting), but it's clearly Steele's voice and bass that defines the band's luxurious sound. Add in the dark and velvety guitar riffs provided by Kenny Hickey and Josh Silver, along with Silver's keyboards and Abruscato's deliberate drumming, and the result is a sound that literally defines goth. There is also no mistaking it for anything other than Type O Negative.
The band broaches some dark topics. On World Coming Down, Steele sings about the death of people close to him. He was also probably thinking about his own mortality, as he was known to have been in the throes of some serious addictions of his own, any one of which could have killed him. In two of the songs found here - the hook-laden Everyone I Love Is Dead, and the bittersweet Everything Dies - Steele wonders if it’s worth going on without those he’s lost. Listening to them, I am reminded of the suicide attempt Steele once made and has talked about openly.
This box is a musical onion, and peeling off another layer suggests the music of this band could further be described as "doom psychedelia". Just listen to their reworking of Neil Young’s Cinnamon Girl, from the October Rust LP, and The Beatles' medley called Day Tripper, from World Coming Down (sometimes referred to as The Drab Four). It's beautiful and messed up at the same time, and - in some places - as trippy as the Grateful Dead.
The band's first two LPs are more like preludes to what Type O Negative would become rather than what one might consider actual Type O Negative LPs. They're more thrash metal than goth. The band had yet to find its footing and these two records really do sound like a band trying to figure itself out. And I don't think anyone understood them at this point. I don't think they understood themselves. On Slow, Deep and Hard, the band pretty much acknowledges this by adding some fake crowd noise, complete with hecklers. The album covers - a blurry closeup of sexual penetration and a crystal-clear photo of Steele’s anus - almost force one to push them away from the turntable. But then again …
Type O Negative didn't have a filter. Other entertainers have been called out for a lot less than what Steele has said into a microphone. The song Can’t Lose You features him crooning, “I can’t lose you,” repeatedly, which might sound like plea to lost love. But then it fades out with the so-called Bensonhoist Lesbian Choir (which consisted of Steele's bandmates and friends who were hanging out in the studio) chanting, "Everybody smokes pot, Monte Conner sucks cock.” Connor was vice-president of Roadrunner Records, to whom the band was signed for all but their final album. Let's just say there were problems. Steele would eventually walk back some of his words in his final interview. Referring to I Know You’re Fucking Someone Else from Slow, Deep and Hard, he said, “When I used the words ‘slut,’ ‘whore,’ and, ‘cunt’… I’m not proud of that language.”
Type O Negative were influential, as Marilyn Manson obvious imitation proves. And Steele drummed up even more publicity for the band when he appeared on a 1995 episode of the The Jerry Springer Show called “Sexy Groupie Girls Tell All!” where a woman with a tattoo of the Type O Negative logo on her shoulder called him the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. Later that same year he also appeared as a fully nude centrefold in an issue of Playgirl.
Steele died from either heart failure, diverticulitis or sepsis (or perhaps a combination of all three) on April 14, 2010, after which Type O Negative officially disbanded, saying that without Peter Steele there simply could not be Type O Negative. And they were right. This set is …
BONUS TRACK
Peter Thomas Ratajczyk was born on January 4, 1962, in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York. Known professionally as Peter Steele, he was the youngest of six children and was left-handed, although he played right-handed bass guitars as a musician. Before music became his full-time preoccupation in 1994, Steele worked for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Based at Brooklyn Heights Promenade, his job involved park maintenance and driving garbage trucks and steamrollers. He was eventually promoted to park supervisor, and later said he considered his days working for the parks department to be among his happiest.
In 1979, Steele formed the heavy metal band Fallout. In 1982 he formed Carnivore, who released a self-titled album in 1985. Type O Negative would follow, in 1989, and include among its members Steele's childhood friends Josh Silver, Kenny Hickey and Sal Abruscato. Originally called Repulsion, they had to change their name in 1990 due to legal issues with the American grindcore band of the same name. They would eventually sign with Roadrunner Records and release half a dozen albums on that label.
In 2005, Type O Negative left Roadrunner Records. Steele had never been happy with the Roadrunner contract and described it as a millstone around his neck. He has also alleged that the split had something to do with an unauthorized release of a best-of compilation.
In 2005 there were rumours of Steele's death after the band posted an image of a tombstone bearing his name and the dates 1962–2005 on their website. But it was a gag. In 2006, Steele reactivated the Carnivore band with a new lineup that played at the Wacken Open Air festival, in 2006. Steele made his final recording on the 2007 Type O Negative album Dead Again. The album cover depicts the Russian mystic Rasputin, a figure that Steele admired.
In August, 1995, Steele appeared as a nude centrefold in Playgirl, but after finding out that only 23% of the magazine's subscribers were female - and after being asked by men to sign copies of the magazine - he claimed to have regretted the decision to do the shoot.
Steele stood 6' 8", which gave him a menacing stage appearance. Despite that perception, he admitted to suffering from stage fright, which he overcame by drinking alcohol before shows, and by drinking red wine when on stage.
In 2005, Steele disappeared for an extended period of time without explanation, resulting in rumours of his death or a terminal illness. But the truth is he was in the psych ward at Kings County Hospital after his family staged an intervention. Steele would later confirm he had been suffering from paranoia caused by his heavy substance abuse.
In an interview given before his death, Steele stated that, as a result of his dependence on alcohol and cocaine, he had developed heart and liver problems. He would eventually die of sepsis, in 2010, after which the remaining members of Type O Negative declared the band finished. "We don't have any interest in continuing," they said, in a statement. "It's impossible. It hasn't even come up in any kind of discussion. When Peter died, Type O Negative died with him."
An oak tree, upon which fans have hung tributes, was planted in Steele's memory in 2011 in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.
Peter Thomas Ratajczyk was born on January 4, 1962, in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York. Known professionally as Peter Steele, he was the youngest of six children and was left-handed, although he played right-handed bass guitars as a musician. Before music became his full-time preoccupation in 1994, Steele worked for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Based at Brooklyn Heights Promenade, his job involved park maintenance and driving garbage trucks and steamrollers. He was eventually promoted to park supervisor, and later said he considered his days working for the parks department to be among his happiest.
In 1979, Steele formed the heavy metal band Fallout. In 1982 he formed Carnivore, who released a self-titled album in 1985. Type O Negative would follow, in 1989, and include among its members Steele's childhood friends Josh Silver, Kenny Hickey and Sal Abruscato. Originally called Repulsion, they had to change their name in 1990 due to legal issues with the American grindcore band of the same name. They would eventually sign with Roadrunner Records and release half a dozen albums on that label.
In 2005, Type O Negative left Roadrunner Records. Steele had never been happy with the Roadrunner contract and described it as a millstone around his neck. He has also alleged that the split had something to do with an unauthorized release of a best-of compilation.
In 2005 there were rumours of Steele's death after the band posted an image of a tombstone bearing his name and the dates 1962–2005 on their website. But it was a gag. In 2006, Steele reactivated the Carnivore band with a new lineup that played at the Wacken Open Air festival, in 2006. Steele made his final recording on the 2007 Type O Negative album Dead Again. The album cover depicts the Russian mystic Rasputin, a figure that Steele admired.
In August, 1995, Steele appeared as a nude centrefold in Playgirl, but after finding out that only 23% of the magazine's subscribers were female - and after being asked by men to sign copies of the magazine - he claimed to have regretted the decision to do the shoot.
Steele stood 6' 8", which gave him a menacing stage appearance. Despite that perception, he admitted to suffering from stage fright, which he overcame by drinking alcohol before shows, and by drinking red wine when on stage.
In 2005, Steele disappeared for an extended period of time without explanation, resulting in rumours of his death or a terminal illness. But the truth is he was in the psych ward at Kings County Hospital after his family staged an intervention. Steele would later confirm he had been suffering from paranoia caused by his heavy substance abuse.
In an interview given before his death, Steele stated that, as a result of his dependence on alcohol and cocaine, he had developed heart and liver problems. He would eventually die of sepsis, in 2010, after which the remaining members of Type O Negative declared the band finished. "We don't have any interest in continuing," they said, in a statement. "It's impossible. It hasn't even come up in any kind of discussion. When Peter died, Type O Negative died with him."
An oak tree, upon which fans have hung tributes, was planted in Steele's memory in 2011 in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.
