25 Years of October Rust
"October Rust", the fourth album by goth rock/doom metal group Type O Negative, turns 25 this year. Not only is it an iconic album with some killer tracks, it was also my introduction to the band when I was a very young little demon, so it's super special to me. I love his album. Right off the bat, this album shows you what kind of people Type O were with a silent track, and then them laughing and telling you that they were playing a joke. It's funny. But, then it goes right into the absolute masterpiece, "Love You To Death". This is by far one of their best known songs, probably only second to "Black No.1". This song really showed how well Peter Steele was capable of singing long drawn out beautiful notes. While he did this a bit on "Bloody Kisses", the album that came out three years earlier, I feel like he really stepped it up a notch in "Love You To Death".
While I'd love to talk about every track, that'd be a tedious read. I'm skipping ahead to "Red Water". This song is so full of emotions, which makes sense since Steele wrote it to help cope with losing family members on Christmas morning. It's such a sad song. I love how they were able to incorporate pieces from a couple well known Christmas songs, but make them dark and dreary to match the rest of the song. Definitely one of the most melancholy uses of Christmas bells I've ever heard.
After that, we got "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend", which is another of their better known songs. It starts off with a great thudding bass drum, and then we get the iconic keyboard line. This song is so good not only in sound, but also lyrically. It's got some really clever lyrics in it.
"Burnt Flowers Fallen" I feel like isn't talked about nearly enough. It's an absolutely beautiful song. Peter's softly done vocals, the bird noises, the acoustic riffs, and just everything about that song. It's wonderful.
The next track I have to mention is "Cinnamon Girl". The original version of this song was by Neil Young, and while it is a quality song, Type O's cover totally blows the original out of the water. They took it and ran with it and made it into a goth rock masterpiece. It's one of the best covers of all time, in my opinion.
Last but not least, I have to talk about "Wolf Moon". The most epic song about a period, ever. Unless you really pay attention, you likely won't even realize that that's what it's about. They made it all werewolfy and badass. It starts off with that beautiful piece on the keyboard, and then enter the bass and Peter's velvety voice. I even love that beautiful choir part with the drumbeat. It's such a beautifully written and wonderful song. One of my personal favorites.
While I could have made this review twice as long to cover every song, I touched on what I feel are the most important ones to mention, even though every song on the album is wonderful. This was my first, and will remain my favorite Type O album. There isn't a single song on here that I choose to skip. I've listened to the entire album so many times that I've had to buy three copies of the CD from wearing them out. I can't say enough good things about this album. If you haven't listened to it, you're seriously missing out, and I highly recommend that you check it out. ~Gangis
Photocredit: Album cover for "October Rust" by Type O Negative on Roadrunner Records.