Review by Saxy S for Type O Negative - October Rust (1996)

Type O Negative were not a group that I grew up with, but in hindsight, they would have fit right in. I enjoy the new wave sound of the 1980s, and the arrival of darkwave with Dead Can Dance were one of my favourites. And Type O Negative fit right in from a lyrical perspective, although with a predominantly doom metal sound. I caught on to this band super late, and I don't think I've heard this album since the passing of Peter Steele in 2010/2011.

So I've gone back and listened to it and man is it great! I really enjoy how well this album holds up by today's standards, and how influential it proved.

But I have to begin by talking about this album's bad parts, and trust me, they are unavoidable. None of these songs are finished...literally! Oh, the songs themselves sound complete, but every single track on this album ends prematurely without allowing their final notes to reach their desired conclusion, or lead in to the next track. Now, this may have been an issue of being under a time constraint; this album came out in 1996 and had to deal with time limits on CD's and vinyls. Valid argument, then explain to me why the album begins with thirty-eight seconds of static on "Bad Ground" a twenty-one second, untitled intro, and another nine second, untitled outro. I will at least give track 12 (I'm not writing all of that title down!) for being somewhat of a musical idea. These should have been cut. Even by the standards of the time, this is unacceptable.

Outside of my issues with the actual album, we can now talk about the music, which is excellent. When the album begins properly, "Love Me to Death" is an absolute joy to hear, no matter how many times I listen to it; the shoegaze elements are among some of the best in doom and sludge metal. Unfortunately for me, those elements take a backseat for the more traditional doom metal sound on "Be My Druidess", but is still a very solid tune with an awesome hook.

"Red Water (Christmas Mourning)" is literally a Christmas song with Gothic implications. I love how the bridge quotes the melody from "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", but the tone gives it a very different feel. While songs like "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend" and "Cinnamon Girl" are shorter, more accessible songs, the atmosphere does not go away. Meanwhile, "Die with Me" and "Wolf Moon (Including Zoanthropic Paranoia)" are longer, and more deliberate, but still sound great, especially the guitar work.

The Halloween-esque organ that persists throughout this entire record gives it that truly gorgeous eeriness that a lot of Gothic metal bands seem to lack. Think along the lines of the best tracks of Marilyn Manson. The bass lines are straightforward, as you would expect from a doom metal album, while the drums have their moments, but most of the time is left to basic timekeeping. This is all because of the lyrics and Peter Steele as a performer. His vocal timbre is very similar to that of Glenn Danzig, but much lower and drone-like. I can't explain it any more than that, you have to hear it!

In the end, I can see why this is considered by many as the pinnacle of Gothic metal. The music is haunting and dark, the songs are deliberately slow and brooding, Peter Steele's vocal's are what you might expect out of a satanic ritual! This is fantastic stuff and it still holds up today, even if the production and composition have some...questionable motives.