Type O Negative

New York-based quartet Type O Negative blended goth and metal under the leadership of vocalist, bassist, and songwriter Peter Steele, alongside guitarist Ken Hickey, keyboardist Josh Silver, and drummer Johnny Kelly. Steele assembled the group in 1990 from the remains of his earlier thrash outfit Carnivore, recruiting longtime friend Sal Abruscato on drums. Their sound stretched out thrash metal’s rapid tempos into slower passages while alternating between satire and immersion in themes of misanthropy, misogyny, depression, and vampiric vocals, all wrapped in layers of inexpensive guitar distortion. Their first release, Slow, Deep and Hard, arrived in 1991 and consisted of extended, brooding tracks whose titles included “Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity.”

Steele’s bleak humor drew sharp criticism from reviewers who labeled him a homicidal misogynist and Nazi sympathizer. The following year brought the fabricated concert recording The Origin of the Feces, whose original artwork showed a pair of spread buttocks before a later reissue adopted milder imagery. Bloody Kisses, issued in 1993, introduced more polished Beatlesque melodies; Steele’s frequently ironic handling of his somber lyrical topics and of goth’s emotional and sonic extremes proved both precise and humorous. After Abruscato left to join Life of Agony, Kelly took over the drum chair.

The album gradually attracted a devoted audience through the “Black No. 1” video and relentless touring, eventually entering Billboard’s Top 200 more than a year after its release. October Rust followed in 1996 with a brighter, more pop-leaning approach than its predecessor, coinciding with Steele’s appearance as a Playgirl centerfold. World Coming Down emerged in 1999 after a three-year gap, presenting a markedly darker tone than October Rust yet confirming that the earlier records had not been anomalies. Roadrunner assembled The Least Worst of Type O Negative in 2000, gathering European single edits, alternate mixes, and previously unreleased material. Life Is Killing Me appeared in 2003 and included a cover of “Angry Inch” from the film Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Dead Again arrived four years later. Steele’s death from apparent heart failure on April 14, 2010, at age 48 ended Type O Negative’s activity as a performing and recording entity.