| Reviews for Type O Negative's Bloody Kisses |
| Catchy doom pop - 85% |
| Written by linkavitch
on March 31st, 2009
|
| This is one of my favorite Type O Negative albums. This is the first album where they used a more doom like approach compared to their previous two albums. Also, you know that really shitty record label Roadrunner? Yeah, this was the first album to come from those guys to ever go Gold and Platinum. Peter Steele using his deep, bass voice really helps at making this album doom like. The backing vocals from the rest of the band (aka The Bensonhoist Lesbian Choir) also help with the doom aspect in a way. Yet at the same time they kind of bring out a more pop like vibe to the music, especially in the song “Christian Woman”. It’s not really a problem I find in this album compared to their later work which tends to me mostly towards a more pop crowd. This album is a lot slower in pace compared to their last two, and the songs sound like they’re going to drag on forever and make no progress, let they don’t. Some of the songs may be slow and long in length but they actually go somewhere and make you want to listen to a ten minute song. You can pick up on all the other music genres they use in this album (or all their work) pretty easily. The song “We Hate Everyone” has a bit of a pop/punk feature to it during the choruses. Let the main aspect to the album isn’t so much pop, or punk for that matter, its still doom, which there’s plenty of in this album. Like I said, the song “We Hate Everyone” has a bit of a pop/punk in it, yet about 1:30 into the song it completely changes into a much slower pace and doom metal feel. Well it may not be their best album, but it sure is a doom filled album with a lot of catchy pop elements in it also. Catchy doom pop would be the best way to describe it. Even though it has a lot of pop elements in to, it were still an enjoyable album. Fans of gothic metal should check it out. |
| First real Doom - 80% |
| Written by grimdoom
on June 15th, 2008
|
| After releasing what is perhaps one of the best jokes every played on the recording industry in 'Origin of the Feces', TON returned with a new studio album and a new sound. This album utilized more of the band's Doom Metal influences where as the first two releases were more Crossover with Doom interludes. This album was also the album that put not only TON but Roadrunner on the mainstream map. The production is good considering the "shit" that came before it. The guitars are very slow and melodic. The bulk of the heaviness is in the bass. Sometimes the guitars sound buried in the mix when played with the bass. There are a few "solos" but they are mostly leads. There are several guitar/bass/keyboard dirges, but they aren't as long or as numerous as on the first two albums. There are a few cleaner parts/effects used but it’s mostly distorted. There are even some acoustic moments. The bass acts as both rhythm guitar and bass as Peter goes from clean to overdrive to distorted at any given time. His playing is very good as he and Kenny play off of each other more often then not. The drums are very creative, perhaps the most the band has ever had. The beats and timing are brilliant. The keyboards are lush and dense. They are more than just atmosphere here. Josh really knows what he's doing and adds all the beauty to contrast the ugly of the rest of the band. The lyrics are more serious and fit Peter's voice all the more. He utilizes his deep, bass filled baritone vocals to sing/shout his way through the album. The songs themselves are incredibly depressing with perhaps a few somewhat happy/joyful moments (see 'Sets Me on Fire') interspersed within. This album does have some short comings in the form of the samples and sound bites that are between all the songs however. These were thankfully eradicated when the digipack came out. There are/were three versions of this album to come out according to the bands old website. Most people are aware of the first and the digi, the third is more of an EP missing about half of the recording. In any event, aside from an altered track listing and the loss of 'We Hate Everyone', the digi also added a new track 'Suspended in Dusk'. This track, along with the title track are perhaps the closest that TON will ever get to a concept album. The first is a story along the lines of 'Interview with a Vampire' the other is about a girl that commits suicide and her lover joining her shortly there after. This album also contains some of the oldest fan favorites in the form of "Black #1", "Christian Woman", "Frozen" & "Blood & Fire". This was also one of the bands most drugged out recordings as there is a noticeable stoner influence in places (and not just because of the sitar). According to various interviews they were either drunk, stoned or both during the creation of this album. For the following two they were clean. This is certainly a mixed bag, as over all, the songs are very strong with perhaps the only questionable tunes being "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Crofts (of all people) and "Kill All the White People" as its just a stupid and repetitive song. In any event, this is a very good album and recommended to all that are new to the band and/or Doom Metal in general. |
| The Real Adams Family - 95% |
| Written by blackfiremonkey3
on March 28th, 2008
|
| Rarely will you find an album that compares to Bloody Kisses by Type O Negative in more ways than just instrumentally. I first heard about this band on Beavis & Butthead who described this group as a cross between Megadeth and Danzig. This can be argued however as much more diverse influences can be found in this great album. At first, I expected this album to be nothing more than a mere gothic metal album, not nearly as special as other metal albums but I was wrong. This album combines melancholy beauty, found in songs such as Christian Woman, common metal brutality, found in songs such as Too Late: Frozen, and - get ready for this - even hardcore influenced craziness found in songs such as my personal favorite off this album: We Hate Everyone, which fuses 80's hardcore punk with a doom metal midsection with the greatest of ease. On top of everything, you have the powerful bass sound courtesy of three elements: the bass drums, the double bass that Peter Steele uses (in fact, he actually holds it like a normal bass), and lastly, Peter Steele's voice. As well as have the common harsh metal vocals and screams, Peter Steele manages to galvanize the gothic atmosphere by adding a nearly inhumane vocal sound to the mix. Sufficed to say, a fan of just about any form of extreme music be it metal or hardcore can probably find something that they like on this album since this album manages to fuse all these different types of music together and then envelope it in a gothic atmosphere (in fact, even a fan of dark comedy can enjoy this album because of the dark humour found in some songs - yes, even people with minds as dark as the members of this band will have a sense of humour one way or another). Enough of my yapping, just pick up this album. |
| A Curious Phenomenon. - 89% |
| Written by hells_unicorn
on May 4th, 2007
|
| Back when I in my early teens and struggling with my own musical identity, I had a musical collaboration with a bunch of musicians who could be described as eclectic. They played everything from Sabbath and Maiden to Save Ferris and The Offspring. In many ways I owe my current musical identity to this band because they succeeded both in exposing me to earlier heavy metal and simultaneously turn me off to the style of rock that was mainstream at the time (recycled 70s punk rock with a pop twist and punk-ska). One album that was recommended to me was this one, mostly because my drummer at the time was a sex maniac and couldn’t resist the urge to peruse studiously the rather beautiful and sensual cover art. I must admit I have a soft spot in my heart for lipstick lesbianism, especially of the gothic persuasion, although there is obviously more to an album than its cover. I was not aware of singer Peter Steele’s previous band “Carnivore” at the time, so I was quite dumbfounded at the duality of this album, as at the time the full version (not the digipack) was more widely in circulation. The character of the lyrics of the entire LP depicts a person who can laugh at the silly/hypocritical politics of the thought police and cry at the suicide of a lover. This speaks nothing for the original placement of the various tracks, jumping back and forth between high tempo punk/thrash anthems of angst and doom laden hymns of melancholy woe. Hell, in addition to organ and harpsichord sounds, we actually hear a rather beautiful sitar line on “Can’t Lose You”. More recently I picked up the digipack version of this album and I came to understand why the later albums weren’t so eclectic, as well as why punk inspired classics like “Kill all the white people” and “We hate everyone” were dropped. Although not one to be straight jacketed by the will of the mainstream, Peter was most likely bored with the older thrash style he first played, which was likely the case with the host of other bands (minus Overkill and a few others) who decided to jump ship and either go for the groove metal sound or some grunge variant. This boredom could also explain the sheer amount of differing influences that have been pumped into this album, a combination that was quite unique and helped pave the way to a new sub-genre of metal. The instrumental interludes are skip worthy, they are funny the first few times, but like any joke when you hear them dozens of times it loses its effect, one of the upsides of the digipack version. “We hate everyone” and “Kill all the white people” are quite entertaining, particularly the former which is probably the last example of a thrash/crossover epic, albeit one with a lot of keyboards and some interesting studio effects. Some of the mid-tempo songs on here exhibit a larger amount of pop/rock influence, the most obvious example being the Seals and Crofts cover, which has had its dimensions completely darkened, yet somehow maintains its lighthearted nature. “Too Late: Frozen”, “Blood and Fire”, and “Set me on fire” contain elements of the same lighter spirit, particularly during their melodic verses and choruses, although the first of the three has an eerie doom middle section. The rest of the tracks on here are the most indicative of the later 90s material that Type O Negative is most associated, taking doom influences to their slowest and darkest conclusion with the occasional humorous interlude to shed some moonlight on an otherwise pitch black sound. The title track is by far the darkest, dragging at a tempo slow enough for a resurrected corpse to dance to and featuring a dreary church organ line fit for the funeral home. Peter’s vocal delivery is inhumanly low and somber, depicting a mourning lover almost to the point of becoming a caricature. “Black No. 1” and “Christian Woman” share similar doom influences, but also contain some up tempo sections and Peter’s seemingly bi-polar sense of dark humor. I have a special affection for both of these songs as my band at the time covered both of them, albeit with the lack of a true bass to accurately recapture the spirit of Peter’s ghoulish vocals. To any prospective buyer, which version of this album you should seek out depends largely on how eclectic your tastes are. If you are only familiar with their later works, namely “October Rush” and “World Coming Down”, I would advise picking up the digipack because it is far closer to that sound. Anyone who likes their metal slow and doom inspired as opposed to fast and thrash-like are also advised to go for the digipack version. However, if you have a wildly and seeming unexplainable ability to tolerate drastic contrasting styles jammed together into one album; give the full version a go. I possess them both and they each have their individual charms, the digipack including a bonus track more suited to the doom fan, the original release possessing one of my favorite punk injected speed metal anthems in “We hate everyone”. |
| Gloomy Kisses - 77% |
| Written by Sean16
on April 30th, 2006
|
| [FOREWORD: Please note I’ll be reviewing the digipack version (as it’s the one I own, as simple as that). For those who are too lazy to look at the additional notes, this version features a different tracklisting order, the extra song Suspended in Dusk, but lacks the noisy interludes as well as the tracks Kill All the White People and We Hate Everyone] With Bloody Kisses Type O Negative almost entirely abandoned the aggressiveness and punk-ish vibe of their two first albums – the only songs which could still fall into this category are actually the two which have been removed from the version I’m reviewing – to concentrate on the gothic-doom metal style they are now well-known for, and which fits them better in my opinion. Without of course forgetting the other various influences they feed every of their works with, from pop/rock to industrial music. As always this strange mixture leads to gems like the opener Christian Woman, which shows the band’s more melodic side, especially in the mostly acoustic second part, as well as its special brand of humour, like in the “Jesus Christ looks like me” part and its religious choirs background. Lyrics are as often double sided, between religious and sexual ecstasy. Totally different is the mood of the second track – the title track: a desperately gloomy and hideously slow doom tune, on which has been added the guitar distortion and the occasional eerie keyboard melody characteristic of the gothic sound. And just when you thought the song couldn’t go lower in depression, almost every instrument but the drums stop for a chilling spoken middle part, backed by sound landscapes and heart-breaking laments. Needless to say it’s a masterpiece. The following Too Late: Frozen always gives me the impression of an unjustly overlooked TON tune, because it’s without any doubt one of the best songs here as well. Granted, the opening pop-ish verses would show nothing really interesting per se. BUT. Around 2:30 the song suddenly incredibly slows down to enter again the realm of gothic doom metal, with this time the guitar as well as vocals distortion being put a step further, to finally end on Pete’s agonizing voice endlessly repeating “frozen... frozen... frozen...” while, believe me, the listener really gets the impression that the air is getting colder. Then, guess what? One falls back into pop music again – and the song abruptly ends. The famous TON quote (which, on a sidenote, doesn’t appear on this digipack version) reads “Don’t mistake lack of talent for genius”, and HERE is the genius, in the perfect mixing of apparently incompatible musical genres. Another gothic band could certainly have written Bloody Kisses, but only TON could have written Too Late: Frozen – and, of course, Black n°1. What leads me to this well-known TON song, which this time appears at the end of the album, what is not a bad thing as it’s the longest track. Quite frankly the most noticeable things on this a tad overrated tune are the hilarious lyrics making fun of 15 year old gothic chicks, which really rank among the best Pete has ever written. The music otherwise is not bad, but the song sounds too much like a weaker version of Christian Woman, with the emphasis put on the melodic parts, this time with too much repetition. Nevermind, a track with a chorus like “Black, Black, Black, Black number ooooooone” can only be a winner... Then, there are the other tracks, and I may once again play the same old refrain about TON writing enormous songs and then filling half of their albums with totally unnoticeable fillers. Blood and Fire is some small rock-ish tune, not unpleasant but far from being mind-blowing, Can’t Lose You and Set Me on Fire are [yawn] simplistic and repetitive as fuck, Summer Breeze is a forgettable pop-ish cover – and then comes the track specific to this edition, Suspended in Dusk. Seriously, this song was originally the B-side of the Christian Woman single, and should never have been more than that. Bloody Kisses (the song) is slow, but this is slower. Bloody Kisses already has a strong gothic feeling, but this is far more gothic. Actually this sounds like another version of Bloody Kisses, taken to such an extreme it becomes almost unlistenable, with its load of sighs, sound effects, church choirs and keyboards. Verses are exclusively spoken, and indeed are awfully LONG. And come on, Peter Steele singing about a VAMPIRE? Please, Pete, keep on telling us about your broken love affairs, dead relatives or whatever you want, but abandon vampires to CoF girls you described so well in Black n°1! To sum up, a mixed bag, as usual. But after all, if every track here was like Bloody Kisses, I’d have certainly killed myself before reaching the end. Highlights: Christian Woman, Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family), Too Late: Frozen, Black n°1 (Little Miss Scare-All) |
| Don't mistake lack of talent for genius... - 100% |
| Written by Unholy Diver
on August 19th, 2005
|
| ...and this is PURE GENIUS. For those of eclectic musical tastes, here is something to sink your fangs into. This offers a carnivorous combination of Goth-Thrash Grind Metal that will take you through a brainblender. It is sprinkled with bloody fragments of several morbid styles, that will send you on a sonic tour into beautific contemplative depression, wild fits of head-banging fury, & powerfully-forboding chords of doom. Dim the lights, ignite the candles, turn on the luc noire, & allow the writhing, sexotic sounds fill the air. The sensuous cantibles begin to float like serpantine incense smoke. The overall atmosphere is that of vampyric & predatorial embiance, which is perfect to add to a darkly romantic evening with a lover. The music itself serves as an aphrodisiac. From one emotionally-charged number to the next, Bloody Kisses is sure to stimulate & inspire deep subconcious feelings unto manifestation. If you are hunting for lustful satisfaction, this is a potent tool to establish a mood conducive to your wish. Just take it to a festivity, & witness the change it promotes, especially is liquors & salty snacks are being served. You may also wish to posses their previous release, "Slow, Deep, & Hard", which is a brutal, misanthropic onslaught of 'negativity'. Before there was Type O Negative, there was Carnivore, so feast your ears upon it! |
| The pinnacle of Type O Negative - 94% |
| Written by Black_Metal_Bastard
on April 10th, 2004
|
| This is Type O's 2nd full length (Origin... was just a fake live album) and my god have they matured so much as songwriters. This is probably their darkest, doomiest release, maybe only second to World Coming Down. It's definately their most goth release though, and not faggoth either. Peter Steele is certainly no mall goth type person and it's funny how he pokes fun at those types with Black No. 1. The music can go from extremely doomy to very fast thrash in no time it seems. The lyrics are at times very humorous to very depressing at others. As I mentioned before, the band has vastly matured as songwriters, especially Steele, whom I think writes most of the lyrics. There are songs dealing with perverted religious fascinations as in Christian Woman, which then makes its way into Jesus Christ Looks Like Me, which ends the song. I find it funny that if you look deep enough, this person may just have a fetish for Steele. Black No. 1 is making fun of goths all the way, but at the same time it is glorifying them. There is the down tuned heavy doom of Summer Breeze (a 60's cover), and the pop, almost Beatles like Summer Girl. Then there is Kill All the White People, a nice thrash-all-the-way song with it's little break in the middle where the band yells "All hail black power, destroy white boy!" Classic. We Hate Everyone is a thrashy, almost punk song that is an answer to all the people who accused Steele of being racist, a nazi, a commie, and anything else. There are also some little interludes that are funny to listen to, especially the opener Machine Screw. IMO this is Type O's best release. It is the second doomiest only to World Coming Down and it is certainly their darkest, most depressive release. Strongly recommended to doom fans, goth fans, and metal fans in general. |
| Peter Steele at (near) his best - 92% |
| Written by ADLombard
on March 10th, 2004
|
| Type O Negative's Bloody Kisses captured a moment in pop culture that will never come again. Thank the gods we wont have to deal with that many annoying little middle school goths running around telling us we dont understand our music. At the same time part of what allowed Type O's second most commercial album (Life is Killing Me is poppier although I suspect it was intended as a joke) was Steele's sense of humor. True one sees more of this in Origin of the Feces, but when listening to Bloody Kisses, you cant help but get the sense that sometime's Peter Steele's tounge is in his cheek. After all, doesn't it seem fitting that Steele's Black #1 and Kill all the White People are seperated by only one track. Steele thumbs his nose in a catchy gothic way at the very people who would make this album so popular precicely because they didn't realize Black #1 was making fun of them while it painted their tribute. As for Kill all the White People, Steele has been accused of hating just about everyone, and being everything from a Nazi to a Bolshevik, as he points out in We Hate Everyone, but untill this point he hadnt said anything aginst whites. Well he fixed that problem in true Carnivore-esque fashion. Steele's vocals and bass are as usual the best part of the album musically, and they shine on Christian Woman, bloody Kisses, and the ironically classic cover of Summer Breeze. That being said there are some songs on this album that simply don't measure up. The last three just get too groovy and catchy. Theyre all saying the same thing and it gets old. It's kind of odd that Type O goes from the climax of the album in Bloody Kisses where his love dies, to three songs that almost formulaicly plaeding for her to stay. The soundscapes on the original were removed on teh digipack with some reason. While they add to the feel of the album they break up the flow sometimes annoyingly so. Inspite of this Steele's sense of humor, and anger, coupled with his very emotive sorrow, make Bloody Kisses more than a worthy addition to anyones collection. |
| Brilliant Goth Metal - 83% |
| Written by Ktulu
on April 5th, 2003
|
| "Don't mistake lack of talent for genius" reads the back of this 1993 Type O Negative release. Well, I guess they're talking to people like me, because this album is exactly that. Genius. As always with Type O, this album is very catchy, almost poppy stuff. "Christian Woman" is a good example of this, as it weaves through different parts to finally finish some eight minutes later. "Black No. 1" is another opus of ghoulish humour, centered around a delightful little goth babe. "Summer Breeze" is a great cover of the famous 60's tune (can't remember by whom), and "We Hate Everyone" is an upbeat almost-punk tune. The album goes slightly downhill at this point, but still remains a certain level of quality which listeners have come to expect from Type O. This album really highlights Peter Steele's singing abilty. His deep voice is perfectly suited to the gothic genre and is outshadowed only by his tremendous songwriting skill. All in all, this album displays Type O's fantastic skill, and is one of their better, heavier offerings. If you like dark humour, songs that are fun to sing along with, and sludgy, grinding riffs, this album could be for you! |