Type O Negative
World Coming Down (Roadrunner)
by Scott Hefflon
I’m still on the fence on this one. Suddenly, I think of the scene at the end of The Crow (#1, I mean – no one with any sense would ever think of #2 unless they needed to gag) and quickly choose a side and jump. World Coming Down is OK if viewed from the proper perspective. Otherwise, it stinks.
Seeing as I was a fan of Carnivore (saw them) as well as Type O Negative (saw them), I feel justified in saying the guys have plodded through a lot of territory, and I’ve gone with them thus far, though not always quietly. Type O was a joke from the beginning, all about money, and anyone who doesn’t know that hasn’t done their goddamn homework and should shut the fuck up. With that knowledge, Bloody Kisses really struck a vein (so to speak), and it plays on constant repeat in the candle-lit and incense-burning parlors of those of the pallid persuasion. October Rust took time to grow on me. Eventually it did, and aside from singles that are now part of the vocabulary, it too has now achieved the power of end-to-end playability. Each is perfect for caressing bare skin as well as doing a little therapeutic bloodletting, and seeing as those’re the highs and lows of the human experience, that means Type O covers the gamut.
Which leads us to World Coming Down… If you peel away the layers of sexuality, debauchery, love, loss, and carnage of both Carnivore and Type O, you’ll see an under-current of classic rock. Covers of “Cinnamon Girl,” “Summer Breeze” and WCD‘s “Day Tripper” should’ve pointed in that direction, but it really comes to light on World Come Down. While there’re still Gothic elements, tuned-low buzzsaw guitars, and a rather metallish group roar, there are melodies and progressions that, contrary to their dreary Sabbath depth, are actually kinda poppy and, dare I say, finger-snapping. Another new kink is the oft-feared inevitability of maturity. They say no one dies an atheist, likewise it’s hard to pretend to welcome the chilling fingers of death when you’ve seen them tear loved ones away from you in a way not nearly as romantic as song lyrics like to describe. Death is a bitch, and Type O have met the cunt a few times. While “Everyone I Love is Dead” isn’t as catchy (or as good a song, to be honest) as previous singles, the repeated chorus has a vibe that’ll really get beneath your skin. It’s bound to be misinterpreted by the alabaster-skinned crowd, rocking slowly back and forth in self-fortified misery and self-pity, but the true meaning behind it – the loss, the loneliness, and the knowledge that, like it or not, you have to persevere as time takes more and more of what matters to you away – shit, that’s the real horror of it. At the end of the line (in the song, I mean), Peter Steele bellows “Goddamn it!” cuz he’s not one to curl up like a whining little pussy and give up. He’s angry, and I’d bet he’ll give Death a good whuppin’ before he gives up the ghost.
When all’s said and done, World Coming Down has sludgy moments of brutal beauty, and plenty of doom-flavored psychedelic rock that only barely masks the image of Peter skipping about, throwing flowers. Ugh. While I have faith he’d skip like a Frankenstein monster, snarl like a convict, and some of the lilies would actually be sharp rocks, I hope his fancy for fruity melodies subsides soon and we can get back to some good ol’ wrist-slashing gloom. Be uplifting and thoughtful on your time, buddy, we pay for your deepest, darkest, most morbid thoughts.
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