Type O
Negative’s debut was released in 1991 and it’s one freaky piece of work. It’s a lot more speed metal than their later,
more goth albums. There are only seven,
albeit lengthy tracks on the album. Apart from one minute of silence (entitled The
Misinterpretation of Silence and Its Disastrous Consequences), the other six
tracks are long, multi-part tracks featuring different ‘movements’. Of the non-bowel variety. But all the tracks have one thing on their
mind: death. Of another, to be
precise. If there is a more bitter,
bloodthirsty, threatening album out there I’ve yet to hear it.
Opening track
Unsuccessfully Coping With The Natural Beauty of Infidelity is a twelve minute
epic. It starts as speed-metal before
becoming a slow grind, all female backing vocals before Peter Steele emits a
blood-curdling howl over the murkiest, sludgiest riffs imaginable. After this, it resolves into the bitterest,
catchy, driving riff song with an absolutely venomous chorus. Throw in a church organ later plus Steele
bawling “you, you make me hate myself!” and you’ve got yourself a song that’s
so over the top it’d have Meat Loaf running for cover.
Some eerie
clanking introduces Der Untermensch with band belting out lines such as “you’re
a waste of life!”, while horrific drilling noises introduce Xero Tolerance as
Steele roars “I’ll kill you tonight!” over pounding riffs, drums and church
organ, Steele bellowing promises like “oh you’re dead now…”
Prelude to
Agony is another twelve minute track, featuring stentorian vocals, dead slow
riffs, drills, clanking bells, eerie chanting and a chopping axe. Glass Walls of Limbo is more atmospheric,
featuring what sounds like the condemned slow-marching towards Hades and some
ghoulish chanting.
The album
finishes with Gravitational Constant, which is a long but fairly conventional
rocker, apart from yet more disturbing chanting. You have to assume their tongues were in
their cheeks while making this.
Otherwise…
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