I remember my first experience with Type O Negative. I was
on one of my usual hunts for metal down at the second hand music shop, when I came
across as strange looking, green album from a band I had only heard about in
the past; Type O Negative. The album in question was, "World Coming
Down" and to be honest, the only reason I picked it up was because of the
Roadrunner Records label, so I knew it had to be some form of metal.
When I first listened to “World Coming Down”, I’ll admit, I thought
it sounded boring. I was about 16, so metalcore and death metal were my bread
and butter at the time, so my I my appreciation for the sound was unrefined. A
few years would pass and I would learn more about Type O Negative as a whole
discovering more about the band. Of course, "Bloody Kisses" was the
album everyone was suggesting, but I had this green looking album, so I figured
I’d start where from there.
By this time, my ear for metal had grown to appreciate a
wider variety sounds and genres, so I was able to digest what I was about to
hear. Still, I did a little research and read a few reviews before doing so as
to do my homework on the album and discovered that this was going to be a depressing
and hopeless experience. And that is not a bad thing. This is, after all,
Gothic metal, so one should expect some sort of doom and gloom, but it’s one
thing to act and dress the part, but it’s another to actually convey that through
your music. “World Coming Down” is filled with emotions of sorrow, pain and
mourning. Emotions that can be felt through both the music and Peter Steele’s
vocals. The album as a whole carries a certain burden to its overall atmosphere,
while the individual songs simply give off the notion that each track is a cry
for help to the listener. Tracks such as "Everyone I Love is Dead",
"Everything Dies" speak volumes to the misery Type of Negative set
out to create however, it gets even more morbid. I learned that the segues
"Sinus", "Liver" and "Lungs" were suggestive
pieces that paint a picture about the possible demise of one or more of the
band members. Talk about dark. (They also did a good job pissing me off with
the track "Skip It" before realizing what was going on.)
As for the music, after a few listens, I would quickly
become a fan of this album. The riffs churn out slow brooding doom style
madness, taking advantage of the very distorted sound. The guitars ooze with gloom
and misery as the plod forward painting the dark imagery surrounding this
album. Like many doom acts, the drumming is not meant to blow your mind away
with speed and power, but rather their slower tempo and crisp sound is meant to
help create an overall morbid atmosphere. I would say the bass is on a similar level
in that their groovy, yet distinctive sound is not meant to be a highlight of
the album, but rather compliment the tone and mood created by the guitars and
vocals. The use of keyboards also adds to the doomy atmosphere, especially the
organ sounds, which always helps with feeling of despair.
With that said, the highlight of “World Coming Down” or any
Type of Negative album in my opinion, would be Peter Steele's icon voice. His
deep, low voice has an immediate ability to put you in a dreary mood. The amount
of emotion that Steele put into his vocals speaks volumes as to why his voice
is highly regarded as legendary. He has to power to conjure mental images of regret,
sadness and misery, which help transport you into the very mood the band set
out to create on this, or any Type O Negatvie album for that matter.
To sum it up, it took a few years after I purchased “World Coming
Down” to be able to appreciate not only the album, but also atmosphere this
style of music can create. The music, combined with Peter Steele's vocals are
enough for me to really enjoy this album on its own. However, like any
underlying story line in an already excellent movie or book, the mood Type O
Negative creates adds another level of enjoyability, albeit at the cost of any
joy you’re experiencing at that time.
Rating: 4
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