Artist

Type O Negative

Brooklyn, United States • 1989 – 2010

Type O Negative is a music group from Brooklyn, United States, active 1989–2010. Their discography on Gatefold includes 14 records.

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Albums tracked

187

In collections

1989

Since

Biography

Type O Negative was a gothic metal / doom metal band formed in Brooklyn, New York, US in 1990. They are well known for their dry, morbid and ironic sense of humor and their often slow and brooding music. "The Drab Four" (the nickname Type O Negative gave themselves) always succeeded in keeping their own unique style, mixing melodic, classic rock 'n' roll with slow, doom-like vibes, and down-tuned heavy metal guitar riffs with dark soundscapes. They were also known for doom metal riffs

The Arc of Type O Negative

The pivots — what forced Type O Negative to reinvent.

The Carnivore Hangover
After the thrash outfit Carnivore folded, Peter Steele and Sal Abruscato formed Subzero, which quickly became Type O Negative. The debut album, Slow, Deep and Hard, was a screaming match of Brooklyn hardcore tempo shifts and industrial noise. Josh Silver's cheap keyboard samples of jackhammers and screaming crowds defined this era. It was ugly, misanthropic, and sounded like a street fight in Red Hook.
Goth-Metal Cross-Over
In 1993, the band threw out the thrash tempos and embraced slow-motion doom and pop melodies. They dragged the Beatles-style harmonies of the 1960s through a wall of fuzz pedals and digital delay on Bloody Kisses. Johnny Kelly replaced Sal Abruscato on drums just as the record went platinum. This was the moment they traded Brooklyn basement anger for atmospheric, radio-friendly gloom.
The Pop Over-Correction
October Rust arrived in 1996 with massive, pristine production designed to capitalize on their new goth-rock fan base. Silver used a Roland JV-1080 synth to mimic orchestral strings on every track while Kelly played to a rigid click track. Steele lowered his register to a smooth, crooning baritone. It was a slick, calculated record that divided the old-school metal fans but sold like crazy to the mainstream.
The Black No. 1 Hangover
By 1999, personal loss and addiction caught up to Steele, resulting in the pitch-black World Coming Down. The band stripped away the romantic goth-pop sheen of the previous record in favor of crushing, detuned Sabbath riffs. The songs abandoned vampire themes to address cocaine addiction, death, and familial grief. You can hear the physical exhaustion in Steele's vocals, recorded during a period of severe clinical depression.

Influences

Black Sabbath — Peter Steele frequently cited Tony Iommi as his primary guitar influence, which led to Type O Negative tuning their instruments down to B standard. You hear this heavy, sludge-tempo tritone riffing on songs like Prelude to Agony. It is the sonic foundation of their entire catalog.
The Beatles — The band paid tribute to their favorite songwriting team by covering Day Tripper on World Coming Down and heavily borrowing vocal harmonies. Josh Silver and Peter Steele utilized three-part pop vocal arrangements directly inspired by Rubber Soul to sweeten their darkest riffs. It created their signature contrast between heavy metal and pop melody.
Pink Floyd — Type O Negative covered Cinnamon Girl but styled the arrangement after the psychedelic, keyboard-heavy transitions on Dark Side of the Moon. Josh Silver used synthesizers to create ambient, sound-effect-heavy transitions between tracks. This spatial, cinematic production style is a direct nod to Richard Wright's keyboard work.
The Psychedelic Furs — Steele often pointed to Richard Butler's detached, deadpan vocal delivery as the blueprint for his own baritone croon. You hear this vocal mimicry on tracks like Love You to Death, where the vocals sit low and dry in the mix. It gave the band their post-punk edge.
Carnivore — Peter Steele's previous crossover thrash band provided the raw musical blueprint, lyrical themes, and early songwriting that Type O Negative inherited. Early tracks like Der Untermensch recycle the fast, aggressive tempos and confrontational lyrics of Steele's 1980s catalog. It represents the link between Brooklyn hardcore and their eventual goth metal sound.