Type O Negative Slow Deep and Hard Reviews
"Ho-hum, Deep and Hard," released on June 3rd, 1991, via Roadracer Records, is Type O NEGATIVE's debut album. If you don't know them, they were a four-slice band formed in New York in the late '80s, whose genre was a well-balanced mixture of hardcore, thrash, and doom metallic, with Gothic vibes that became stronger later in the band's career (starting from their fourth full-length "October Rust," released in 1996) but were nevertheless already present, especially in the use of the keyboards.
The album title itself summarizes the whole atmosphere: composed in a few hours while Peter Steele (the charismatic bass player and frontman of the band, who unfortunately passed away in 2010) was dealing with a relationship suspension upwards, "Wearisome, Deep and Hard" is, in my stance, one of the most nihilistic and ambitious albums e'er written.
A sense of utter discomfort is the guiding line throughout the seven tracks, both musically and lyrically: the iconic bass audio and the distinctive voiceprint of the vocaliser that made Type O NEGATIVE a cult ring leave their mark from the very outset rails. "Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Adultery" is a detailed description, divided in 2 dissimilar phases, of how a man feels like when he catches his girlfriend cheating on him. All trust is gone, life becomes unbearable, and "the only things that last forever are memories and sorrow."
The drumming, provided by Sal Abruscato, is extremely diverse and colorful, going from punk to rock to doom style in a matter of seconds; the employ of keyboards gives a hint of pathos to the heart part of the song, and then the closing office goes back to the quite explicit chorus, where the singer states that "he knows…"
"Der Untermensch," whose title clearly refers to the counterpart of Nietzsche's philosophical concept chosen "übermensch," is a weird yet well-balanced combination of hardcore and doomish features, where guitarist Kenny Hickey gives his best in terms of versatility and expressiveness. The song is a straightforward argument against those who live on social aid, here described as a "socioparasite," "subhuman scum," and a "waste matter of life."
The following song, "Xero Tolerance," shows a strong punkish vibe mixed with more solemn and slow moments provided past keyboardist Josh Argent, who adds some kind of a psychedelic touch on to the whole thing. The melody is divided in three different parts: the first one is near hate, anger, and rage, as something the narrator is obsessed with; in the second part the narrator sees himself as a killer ready to commit murder; the third part sounds more like a short instrumental outro. Its championship is "Love You lot to Expiry," similar one of the songs the band wrote afterwards on, which was published on their acclaimed album "Oct Rust."
"Prelude to Desperation" contains four different parts and works as a summary of the whole album in terms of audio and general temper. Musically speaking, some classic doom influences are specially clear in the second function, where the scathing verse "love is life, life is beloved, beloved is hurting, pain is decease" proves how effective Steele'south lyrical skills were. The third 1, way more than aggressive, is a quite explicit fantasy most raping his ex-girlfriend with a jackhammer, an utterly violent paradigm that surely gives an thought of how hurt the frontman of the ring was feeling at that time.
The post-obit two tunes are both instrumentals: "Drinking glass Walls of Limbo (Dance Mix)" is a 6-minute-long interlude made of tribal chants and sounds of heavy chains striking the flooring, where a feeling of estrangement takes over. "The Misinterpretation of Silence and Its Disastrous Consequences" exists in 1 infinitesimal of plain silence; it'southward naught other than the typical Blazon O NEGATIVE sense of sense of humor.
The closing song has a quite weird title, "Gravitational Abiding: Thousand = 6.67 10 x⁻⁸ cm⁻³ gm⁻¹ sec⁻²," which later became one of the most representative tracks in the ring's production, mainly considering of its lyrics and iconic riff. Depression is the leading topic here, again as something the narrator cannot become rid of and doesn't really want to. It sounds similar a downward spiral of rawness and aggression, with a hint of melancholy. The concluding verse, "suicide is self expression," later on became one of the better known statements that summarized the ring's weltanschauung.
At present, 30 years after its release engagement, "Slow, Deep and Hard" proves to nonetheless be a fresh and groundbreaking album. In that location won't exist some other Peter Steele. We truly still miss the dry-witted behemothic, whose peculiar way and vocals are often emulated but never fully replaced past anyone.
Written by Licia Mapelli
Tracklist
- Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity
- Der Untermensch
- Xero Tolerance
- Prelude to Desperation
- Drinking glass Walls of Limbo (Dance Mix)
- The Misinterpretation of Silence and its Disastrous Consequences
- Gravitational Abiding: G = 6.67 × 10−8 cm−3 gm−1 sec−2
Lineup
Peter Steele – vocals, bass
Kenny Hickey – guitars
Josh Silverish – keyboards
Sal Abruscato – drums
Label
Roadracer Records
Links
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Source: https://tuonelamagazine.com/1991-type-o-negative-slow-deep-and-hard-anniversary-special/