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TYPE O NEGATIVE

by Frank Moriarty

 

 

 

 

 

Type O Negative is band that doesn't really fit into the realms of heavy metal or goth, but that doesn't stop people from stubbornly trying to assign their work to one genre or another. On October Rust the band mixed divergent styles so effectively that attempting to pigeonhole the recording became an exercise in futility. Here's a conversation for Guitar magazine with Peter Steele and Kenny Hickey recorded during the final mixing for that landmark album.

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            In a control room at Brooklyn's Systems Two studio, Peter Steele and Kenny Hickey of Type O Negative brace themselves for the question that any band playing hard, dark, and dense rock must eventually face: are you guys a metal band?

            "I don't think we can really be thrown into any one genre," guitarist Hickey begins. "We spread out and diffuse into a lot of things. But overall, it seems that our basic image is connected with that."

            "People do seem to need those generalizations," adds Steele. "They need to know where you belong. I don't mind being labeled metal. It doesn't bother me because the band was definitely influenced by bands like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and stuff like that, but also by The Beatles, The Cars, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine. So I guess that out of all the different genres of music, we would be closest to metal - but really on the fringe."

            Those who like to categorize music will face a difficult task when Type O Negative's next release hits the stores in August. The followup to the surprisingly successful Gold Album Bloody Kisses is being recorded under the working title October Rust, and it is an intriguing project. A listen to the work-in-progress reveals a dense production that contains absorbing melodic textures while retaining Type O's characteristic heaviness, and Steele's deep lead vocals are often supported by waves of harmony.

            "We really didn't have a goal as far as what we wanted the final product to sound like," bassist Steele reveals. "We figured this album could sound great a thousand different ways, and we spent a lot of time here working with the material. Sometimes things occur to us where we think that maybe something else might sound better and we'll go in and play a part over and it totally changes the song."

            Type O Negative's exploration of new directions is being colored not only by the usual tuning down but also through the use of a variety of open chord tunings. While Steele is using German Esh basses built to his specifications, what has Hickey excited is the use of the Fernandes Sustainer guitar to augment his customary Gibson SG crunch.

            "They designed it where you can get feedback anytime you want on a clean tone without blasting," Hickey explains of the Sustainer system. "I tuned them to open positions, and I could get clarity and sustain."

            With studio work nearing an end, touring beckons. And after opening for bands ranging from Pantera to Queensryche, as well as headlining their own shows, Steele and Hickey have learned well the demands of the road.

            "When you're playing every night for 18 months, that puts the equipment to the test," Hickey points out. "There's bound to be something that goes wrong some time."

            "We have three of everything," Steele notes. "So if something gets broken or has to be sent out you still have one backup. We've gone through speakers and amps like crazy. You could cook bacon on top of my amp! You'd turn around and think that the fog machine must be on, but it's not - it's your bass amp on fire. You think, 'Wow - there goes another one!'"

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