Type O Negative
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Peter Steele
Josh Silver
Kenny Hickey
Johnny Kelly
The world we live in is marked by disorder and chaos. Few things, if any, are certain. But then there is Type O Negative, the Brooklyn band whose been making a glorious, doom-caked racket for over a decade. With a sense of humor blacker than the clothing that the individual band members wear and a profound distaste and disgust for both humanity and political correctness, Type O Negative never changes with the times the times change with them. Marked by sharp wit and bouts of gloom 'n depression, Type O Negative continues to reward its listeners with what they have come to love and what they have to expect from the Brooklyn doom squad: a nihilistic world view, anthems of sex and death, and a blinding torch of well-placed hate.

It is Type O Negative's gothically tinged metal, reared on a steady diet of Bauhaus and Sisters Of Mercy, which never takes itself too seriously, that has garnered them critical and commercial success. 1993's Bloody Kisses was the first album to achieve Gold and Platinum status in the Roadrunner Records catalog. It's successor, 1996's October Rust, also went Gold, thus solidifying Type O's roots in the sediment of metal. Through it all, bassist/frontman Peter Steele still reminisces about his days as an employee of the NYC Parks Department, still lives in the same basement apartment in Brooklyn, still drives the same car, and still wolfs down TV dinners. And he and his cohorts still make bittersweet, head down hard rock.

Life Is Killing Me is Type O's fifth full-length record, and its first batch of new material since 1999's World Coming Down. In between this opus and World Coming Down, Type O released The Least Worst Of compilation, to tide over fans over! Steele is a towering hulk of a man his biceps could crush your skull like a walnut and he is someone whose fist you would not want to meet the business end of. But when he speaks in that trademark, so-deadpan-he-must-sleep-in-a-coffin delivery, through a thick New York accent, it's like a pearl of wisdom handed down from a man who has lived through it all, seen the seediest underbelly of the human psyche, and survived. Regarding the new album, the aptly named Steele remarks, "When we were writing Life Is Killing Me, I knew I didn't want it to sound like World Coming Down, because I was having quite a few personal problems at the time that album was being recorded and mixed. Because I had distanced myself from the process, too many cooks spoiled the broth. No one was happy and I am the least happy of all. However, failure is not failure if you learn from it and I took an active part in this album. I hope it turns out to be somewhere between Bloody Kisses and October Rust. Because I was wrapped up in my old bullshit during the execution of World Coming Down, I feel that I owe, not just the band, but our fans, some sort of an apology. I am working on trying not to be so selfish, and I am doing the best I can." Since Bloody Kisses and October Rust are true fan favorites, Steele's hope that Life Is Killing Me will redeem him in fan's eyes should become a reality.

Steele admits he did not set out to write out an album that replicated Type O's past works. "That style of songwriting is still in me and I like the songs from those albums, whereas I am less fond of World Coming Down, since it reminds me of things I was involved in at the time." Steele further reveals that staple Type O issues of "self pity," "hatred," "drugs and death," "religion," and "the usual" are all a part of the lyrical tapestry of Life Is Killing Me. He contends that the album is less depressing than its predecessor, with less dirges and different songwriting styles. He elaborates, "There are three types of songwriting: one is hardcore/punk, almost like party punk. The other is the older style of goth-metal that we have always done. The third is a combo of '60s and '80s type of songwriting." He concludes, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, that "Life Is Killing Me is a sonic legacy of past mistakes."

Self-deprecation aside, Steele is forthright and open when discussing his latest creations (or mistakes, depending on who you ask in the band!) Regarding specific songs on the album, Type O chose to cover a song from Hedwig And The Angry Inch musical, to illustrate its infamous sense of humor. "It's about a transvestite who goes in for sex change and the doctors fuck it up. I thought it would be fun to play it live, because we sped it up a little to make more punky." The song "I Like Goils" is Steele's response to homosexuals who try to pick him up. "Whether a man or woman finds me attractive, I take it as a compliment, although I am more flattered when it's a woman. Thanks for the invite, but I like girls.' The song is punky and I am sure that it's going to be misconstrued, so we're going to be prepared." It's apparent that Type O likes to stir up a little shit, and is always ready for the backlash, and equipped with more ammunition than its opponents. Remember, this is the band who, back in the day, answered a crowd's taunts of "You suck!" with "You paid 15 American dollars to get in. Who's the real asshole here?" Indeed, it's wit that is Type O's strongest suit of armor.

"Nettie" centers around Steele's mother, while "Above All Things" is about his father. "How Could She?' finds Steele asking all of his favorite female TV characters, cartoon or human, a question. "I mention every single one from Edith Bunker to Judy Jetson, all who I encountered when sitting in front of the TV, eating a TV dinner." 'A Dish Best Served Cold' is self-described revenge anthem.

Type O continues the time honored tradition of producing its own albums at Systems Two in its homestead of Brooklyn, in the interest of avoiding "outside tentacles." Both Steele and keyboardist Josh Silver helmed Life Is Killing Me.. "I want to hear what is going on in my ears, what I hear in my head," says Steele. "I am not talking about the 'voices' I hear. I am talking about getting as close to my goal as possible. Within this band, the four guys are married to each other and the cap is always left off the toothpaste. We don't need a fifth clown coming in. At 41 years old, having been in bands for 30 years right now, I know how to get what I want, musically. Lastly and leastly, there is financial incentive for producing my flesh ourselves, and not just because we can walk away with chump change, but because anyone we'd like to hire would cost half a million dollars. There goes all my drug money for the year. That can't happen."

Steele doesn't cite any new influences on Life Is Killing Me. Other than calling himself an audio plagiarist, Steele admits he still listens to the same music that he always has, such as "early '70s metal, psychadelic '60s, '90s trans-dance shoegazer stuff. It's the basic inspiration comes from my feelings. I'm on a constant search for new and interesting ideas, which I am not usually successful at." When you've got the word "negative" in your band name, it's not surprising that such an attitude pervades Type O.

Life Is Killing Me is more grist for the Type O Negative mill, further championing the band's lifelong subscription to the attitude that the glass is not only half empty, but broken and laced with cyanide. Life Is Killing Me's alchemy of sludge metal and chilling gothic imagery and conventions is just what fans and critics have come to expect and to rely on in this chaotic, undefined world. Life maybe killing Type O slowly, but the band is alive and kicking with new material for the time being. Thankfully.
25/03/2009 - TYPE O NEGATIVE'S 'BLOODY KISSES' TO BE RE-RELEASED AS A 2 CD SPECIAL EDITION Roadrunner are to re-release the classic album BLOODY KISSES by the legendary TYPE O NEGATIVE on MAY 4th. In addition to expanded artwork, the release ... 19/02/2009 - TYPE O NEGATIVE RE-ISSUE 'BLOODY KISSES' WITH BONUS MATERIAL! TYPE O NEGATIVE will be re-issuing their acclaimed album 'BLOODY KISSES' on April 20th! The re-issue will feature:8 bonus tracksExpanded artworkAnd expanded line 11/02/2009 - ROADRUNNER ALBUMS REDUCED TO £4.99 ON ITUNES A whole heap of Roadrunner albums have been reduced to just £4.99 on iTunes! Log in to your account to take advantage now of picking ... 23/12/2008 - DIGITAL SPECIAL EDITIONS OF RR FAVES TO BE RELEASED DEC 29TH Fancy getting your mits on some RR classics of the digital variety? Then head on over to iTunes where you can now pre-order some upcoming ... 02/12/2008 - NME.COM PREMIERS THE LATEST ROADRUNNER UNITED DVD CLIP Monday 8TH DECEMBER sees the long aticipated release of the ROADRUNNER UNITED: THE CONCERT DVD and in one of the last clips to be premiered ... 27/10/2008 - THIS WEEKS ROADRUNNER RECOMMENDS PLAYLIST Welcome to a new feature on ROADRUNNERRECORDS.CO.UK where each week we will fill you in on the tracks of the past and the present we ... 10/10/2008 - ROADRUNNER UNITED 25TH ANNIVERSARY CONVERT DVD TO BE RELEASED What was Roadrunner Records supposed to do after the label corralled 56 musicians from 44 different bands spanning the label's entire 25-year history to release ... 12/02/2008 - IN THE PRESENCE OF GODS Megadeth and Type O Negative performed at this year’s God of Metal festival which took place in Milan, Italy. Photos of the shows have been ... 12/02/2008 - CAMFIELD'S WEEKLY UPDATE As you may have noticed, Ian Camfield has been providing you guys with a weekly update of what’s going on in his shows, and here ... 12/02/2008 - ROCK AROUND THE COMP Make sure you tune in to tonights Radio 1 Rock show for a ton of Roadrunner prizes including: - Copies of Roadrunner new best of ... 12/02/2008 - COULD THEY BE ANY BETTER Roadrunner have pulled together the finest tracks from some of our greatest artists to bring you 3 stunning 'Best Of's' this September. The full tracklistings ... 12/02/2008 - BEST OF THE BEST On September 11th, Roadrunner will be releasing a set of Ultimate Metal Albums. These 'Best Of's' will pull together the best material from some of ... 12/02/2008 - BLACK NO.1 Roadrunners 25th birthday saw a host of events. From the release of The Roadrunner All-stars Album to the eclectic show in New York, it was ... 12/02/2008 - A NIGHT TO REMEMBER So here is the setlist from the special Roadrunner United show held last night at the Nokia Theater in New York. BIOHAZARD's "Punishment" Evan Seinfeld ... 12/02/2008 - R-tunes Are you sick of pulling out some of your favorite albums, only to find that the cd isn't in the case or it's soo scratched ... 12/02/2008 - THE ALL-STAR SESSIONS- THE FULL MONTE 4 team captains, 55 artists, 45 bands- but who does WHAT we hear you cry?!!!! Here for your salivation is the full run down of ... 12/02/2008 - 57 ARTISTS, 47 BANDS, 19 TRACKS, 1 RELEASE ROADRUNNER UNITED - THE ALL-STAR SESSIONS, 57 ARTISTS, 45 BANDS, 19 TRACKS, 4 TEAM CAPTAINS. 1 GROUNDBREAKING ALBUM Roadrunner Records has put together a groundbreaking ... 12/02/2008 - TYPE O VAMPIRE TYPE O NEGATIVE frontman Peter Steele will be joining the cast of the new vampire movie, "Tao of M", this August. Steele will be taking ... 12/02/2008 - THIS IS A TRIVIUM's Matt Heafy has revealed more details about his contributions to the upcoming "Roadrunner All-Stars" record to mark our 25th anniversary. The full-length release will ... 12/02/2008 - MORE ALL STARS ANNOUNCED In celebration of Roadrunner's 25 Anniversary, we are releasing an 'All Stars' album...and more confirmations on this release are in. Press release on the news ... 12/02/2008Get A Free Roadrage 20-Track DVD A ROADRAGE DVD is available exclusively NOW via Virgin/V.Shops for a mere £7.99 or utterly free if you buy 3 RR CD's for £20 or ... 12/02/2008Roadrage £7 & £8 Bargains Further to the last news update about the stonkingly cheap Roadrage campaign kicking off at Virgin this month, we can now tell you it's actually ... 23/12/2008DIGITAL SPECIAL EDITIONS OF RR FAVES TO BE RELEASED DEC 29TH Fancy getting your mits on some RR classics of the digital variety? Then head on over to iTunes where you can now pre-order some upcoming ... 12/02/2008Metal Sludge 20 Questions with Type O's Johnny Type O Negative has had a Metal Sludge link on their official site (www.typeonegative.net)for quite a while now, so it was about time they did ... 12/02/2008Updates From The Studio some current notes of interest from the studio this week: 36 Crazyfists They start pre-production of their second Roadrunner release on May 1st up in ... 12/02/2008CAMFIELD'S WEEKLY UPDATE As you may have noticed, Ian Camfield has been providing you guys with a weekly update of what’s going on in his shows, and here ... 12/02/2008A Lesson In Roadrunner History Why are we giving you a Roadrunner history lesson? Today, May Day, whilst people riot on the streets of London, our US office has just ... 12/02/2008Feeling the Roadrage on DVD The fantastic Roadrage DVD featuring new video's from the likes of Murderdolls, Stone Sour, Killswitch Engage, Nickelback, Soulfly, Ill Nino and classic video's from Life ... 12/02/2008Roadrage 2003 DVD Is Go! Do you want a stonkingly cheap DVD with a boatful of awesome videos on it? Of course you do! Coming late summer is 'Roadrage 2003' ... 12/02/2008Even More With £2 Off Monsieur, with this £2 off on even more albums, you are really spoiling us! Yes, we are talking about the Download 2003 discount card. Surely, ... 12/02/2008Drilling The Vein 4 Out Now The 4th volume of Roadrunner's low-price video sampler series is out now. Full tracklisting follows and it does, of course, retail for a bargain £4.99. ... 12/02/2008From Brooklyn With Update As we are just getting acquainted with the new year, Type O Negative's Josh Silver acquaints us with a bit more on the progress of ... 12/02/2008HAPPY NEW YEAR 2002 has now come to an end, and what a year it was in music. We asked a handful of Roadrunner's artists and employees what ... 12/02/2008Here's Johnny Johnny Kelly, the drummer for Type O Negative, will be filling in on drums for Danzig during their European tour. Johnny says, "I was contacted ... 12/02/2008Type O Kerrang Type O Negative's hilarious new video for 'I Don't Wanna Be Me' is now available on Kerrang! TV as selection number 305. Not only that, ... 12/02/2008Johnny Kelly Plans Led Zeppelin Cover Shows Johnny Kelly, the drummer for Type O Negative, has announced 2 New York shows with Earl's Court, his Led Zeppelin covers band. The 2 shows ... 12/02/2008Updates From The Studio(s) Some current notes of interest from the studios this week: 36 Crazyfists - back home fresh from the European Road Rage tour. Word has it ... 12/02/2008Valentine's Day Massacre! Love is in the air and no doubt you're looking for the perfect present for your loved one. So, how about some music that will, ... 12/02/2008None More Negative... Time for more Type O Negative. Recently, the band completed a new photo shoot and we've just put up the very first approved new photo. ... 12/02/2008Type O Negative OUT TODAY Type O Negative's awesome new album 'Life Is Killing Me' is out TODAY. You might have noticed the front page of this site is now ... Bloody Kisses (Re-Issue) Bloody Kisses (Re-Issue) Bloody Kisses (Digital Special Edition) Bloody Kisses (Digital Special Edition) October Rust (Digital Special Edition) October Rust (Digital Special Edition) The Best Of ... The Best Of ... Life Is Killing Me Life Is Killing Me The Least Worst Of The Least Worst Of After Dark After Dark World Coming Down World Coming Down Origin Of The Feces (Re-Issue) Origin Of The Feces (Re-Issue) October Rust October Rust Slow Deep And Hard Slow Deep And Hard Bloody Kisses Bloody Kisses Promo Live Shots Other