Consistency is a thickly thing among bands amassing the years and albums. Maturing into their second decade, I anticipated a dip. With a sound no longer reflecting scenes of the time, Life Is Killing Me firmly solidifies the genius of this group. Stripping out the crass comical skits and experimental noise design interludes, Type O Negative ram another compact disc full with seventy plus minutes of moody Gothic tinged delight.
Their eclecticism runs amuck, new territory conquered and past roots resurrected. The pumping Hardcore Punk energy of Slow, Deep and Hard returns, accompanied by classic horror cheese synths. Fresh worldly instrumentation inflects accents in breezy unison with their motif. Somehow the experience comes intermingled with wretched bursts of sludgy Doom Metal riffage, Life Is Killing Me seems to offer it all again.
No thematic arc seems prevalent, simply a string of fantastic songs. Easily jumping among its more diverse territories, dense atmospheres and ripe attitudes always accompany. Steele seems evidentially distressed. Troubled by medical and identity issues, a handful of lyrics catch the ear as "overpaid meat magicians" are taken aim at professionals I can only assume gave him news he didn't want to hear. That and "I know I'm strange, I ain't no queer" turns up unfavorable attitudes lost to time.
Its a humble reminder of the human fragility behind the mesmerizing power of music, a touch unsavory in places yet his singing is quite the opposite. Leaning further into harmony and tenderness, the vulnerable side of a burly voice expresses captivating melodies with a keen pop sensibility among the 90s Alternative Metal vibes and doomed gothic romance he conjures. A bleeding heart performance, with sore pains and bleak suffering upfront yet not falling folly to shoutings barbaric aggression.
Thus its fifteen offer up fantastical conjurings which any fan will pluck some favorites. For me, IYDKMIGTHTKY a clear favorite. As Peter chants, "Gimme that", a snaky guitar grooves broods intensely in contrast to its shoegazing verses. The pivot into a hypnotic Synth whirl as he cries "If you don't kill me" an absolute delight. I could drone on but its rather simple, a quality record, lacking soaring peaks but absent of valleys along its path too. Just one record left to enjoy now. What a discovery!
Rating: 8/10