𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗢 𝗡𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 — 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗜𝘀 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗲 (2003)

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

20 years ago this week, we were presented with “…A Dish Best Served Coldy”!

On June 17, 2003, Type O Negative released their sixth full-length studio album, “Life Is Killing Me” via Roadrunner Records.

The album's title and content refers primarily to frontman Peter Steele's dissatisfied life outlook and experiences with mental illness at the time of writing and production, with lyrics concerning relationship problems and the illness and death of his parents.

The album reached No. 39 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 27,000 copies in its first week, and received positive reviews from music critics, who noted a more melodic sound in comparison to previous records.

Background:

“Life Is Killing Me” was recorded at Systems Two Recording Studio in Brooklyn, New York. Vocalist and bassist Peter Steele used a custom Fernandes Tremor bass guitar for the recording of the album, an instrument which was built to his exact specifications under his sponsorship with the company.

This is the last album by the band to make use of programmed drums, which had previously been used on “October Rust” and “World Coming Down”; the band's next and final studio album, “Dead Again”, would feature only studio drums.

Describing the inspiration behind the title and theme of the record, Steele responded in an interview at the time; "I guess I am going through some sort of midlife crisis being 41 years old now. And all the things I took for granted, my health, my life, people I love dying, people I loved walking away. I was with a girlfriend for 10 years but she left. It is like my dreams are dead." The album's title was originally going to be “The Dream Is Dead”.

“…It is my ironic sense of humor. It is like Black Sabbath, killing yourself to live. Or Lemmy said, killed by death. I joined Lemmy and Ozzy.”

The album contains a cover of the song "Angry Inch" from the off-Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The track "Thir13teen" is a cover of music featured in the TV show The Munsters.

Lyrical Themes:

Billboard described the record's lyrical themes as "infidelity, death and depression".

"Todd's Ship Gods (Above All Things)" was written by Steele about his father.

"I Like Goils" is described by Steele as "poking fun at PC" (political correctness), with lyrics centred on Steele's frustration with having homosexual men make sexual advances towards him following his 1995 Playgirl photoshoot, which, at the time, Steele agreed to pose for unaware that women made up only a minority of the readership.

The album's title track further references Steele's father's death, while "Nettie" was written about his mother.

Musical Style:

AllMusic wrote "guitarist Kenny Hickey's passages have grown increasingly melodic, and the keys of Josh Silver possess a timeless melancholy" despite "how bleak or odd the lyrical proceedings get". Loudwire described it as "the most uplifting sounding album of their career".

Release Info:

“Life Is Killing Me” was leaked onto the internet before release, upsetting keyboard player Josh Silver to the point that he released a message online complaining that the leak essentially took revenue from the band. The album was officially released on June 17, 2003 on CD as well as cassette in some regions. In Europe, the album was also released with a bonus CD.

The album reached No. 39 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

The album was favorably received by music critics. Exclaim! wrote "Life Is Killing Me pays tongue-in-cheek homage to the world and the women that have screwed Steele over so badly. But musically, the disc is pure Pop-Rock bliss."

"I Don't Wanna Be Me" was released as a promotional single, for which a music video was produced.

Noteworthy:

"(We Were) Electrocute" was featured on the soundtrack to the 2003 horror film Freddy vs. Jason.

"I Don't Wanna Be Me" was covered by European death metal band Meridian Dawn for their debut 2014 release The Mixtape. The song was later covered by Trivium.

The opening two seconds of guitar feedback and drum startup on "I Don't Wanna Be Me" is sampled and heard frequently on the Liberty Rock Radio station in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.

Critical Reception:

In a review published on January 1, 2006 for Exclaim!, Stuart Green stated; “The Sisters of Mercy would have killed for a couple of these. “Life is Killing Me” is a disc that is sure to divide fans. Some will be turned off thinking it's a complete sell-out, others will appreciate it for its creativity and undeniable infectiousness. I'm definitely in the latter category.”

While Whitney Z. Gomez at AllMusic stated; “The quartet may profess to hate everybody, but Type O deliver to the fans on this record. Like “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” or “Agents of Fortune” (Blue Oyster Cult), all the pieces fit; and though “Life Is Killing” Me may not make great steps forward, for now the ugly universe it unleashes is a great place to be.”

R.I.P. Peter Steele (January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010)

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “Life Is Killing Me” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/life-is-killing-me/214477226

Click this link to watch the official music video for “I Don’t Wanna Be Me”: https://youtu.be/LXIWRan3XGY

Click this link to follow the official Type O Negative page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/typeonegative

Click this link to follow Kenny Hickey on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063232570724

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells