Year Of Metal #019: Type O Negative - World Coming Down

Type O Negative’s highly successful 1999 release comes as quite the anathema after Portal, which is saying something for an album this gloomy and foreboding. An epic, doom-laden record with shades of Sabbath, Iron Butterfly, and Sisters Of Mercy, this is a cinematic goth-opus, quite accessible and melodic but making no bones about its thick, gloomy intent.  

“White Slavery” kicks off proceedings with creepy organs and buzzsaw guitars; it’s learning towards horror once again, but Type O Negative are more Hammer than snuff film brutality. It’s dark but kind of fun, and by the time we hit the chorus, we’re even in a major key. The light and shade are nicely managed; this is great music to sulk to, but there’s no active attempt to unsettle a listener. 

There are tracks that lean a little too far into the trappings of radio friendliness. “Pyretta Blaze” has a melody that wouldn’t be out of place on a Wonder Stuff song, and all the heavy, ragged guitars in the world can’t paper over that. This leads to another problem of sorts - the drums on World Coming Down are often pretty underbaked, or otherwise overwhelmed by everything else Type O Negative are getting up to. The guitars sound like they’re recorded in the great hall of a Transylvanian castle, while the percussion tippy taps away in a garden shed. 

Every song on the record that isn’t a little instrumental interlude lurches over the six minute mark, and when you’re in it for the long haul, you’d better hope the band are working away at something worth hearing. More often than not, they are. “Who Will Save The Sane?” is almost swooning, psychedelic and swaying, with Peter Steele’s characterful vocals sweeping across the speakers. “All Hallows Eve” is maybe my favourite song, with a dentist’s drill of a riff and a ludicrous chorus.

(There’s a fair bit of material on this album that’s decidedly silly, but it’s not always clear if they’re in on the joke. They come across a bit like a more sincere Faith No More, which is intended more or less as a compliment.) 

The particularly long “World Coming Down”, on the other hand, is a more trying experience. As if the record needed any more drama, the band pare the track right down at the midpoint for a pretty tedious three minute stretch before stomping back in for a bravura finish. The Rammstein-like coda is really cool, but you’d be hard pushed to say they needed 11 minutes to get there. 

With such a long runtime and relatively little variety, World Coming Down is an album you need to be in the mood for, but that’s a useful thing to have in your arsenal as a music fan (see also Galaxie 500’s On Fire, the world’s greatest record for a self pity sesh). It’s a quality sound for sure and the presentation’s great; the steak maybe doesn’t always live up to the sizzle.