Review by Ben for Type O Negative - Slow, Deep and Hard (1991)

This is such a strange album. There are only 6 tracks (plus The Misinterpretation of Silence and its Disastrous Consequences which is humorously just a minute of silence), each running between 6 and 12 minutes in length. On each of these tracks I can find sections that I thoroughly enjoy. Type O Negative know how to create atmosphere when they put their mind to it and some of the doom sections are great. There are other rock parts that get me nodding my head and remind me of the greatness that Type O Negative would reach with their gothic rock in years to come. There's even an awesome 6-minute instrumental (Glass Walls of Limbo) complete with low chanting vocals and sound effects that could fit on any good dark ambient album. So, there's a lot that I like here!

But then there's so much that I really don't enjoy. These tracks move from doom to rock to a sort of sleezy punk sound that just about ruins everything. I know that this band (and Peter Steele's previous thrash band Carnivore which I can still hear in this release) have always been somewhat sleezy, with stupid cheesy lyrics, but I find it really annoying on Slow, Deep and Hard because I can hear so much potential for an album that I would love. I guess if I hadn't heard the band's more recent albums before giving this a spin, I'd probably see it differently. As it is, I don't think I'll listen to it all that much.