Amazon.co.uk Review
Formed in 1991 from the ashes of Brooklyn-based shock-metal band
Carnivore--a band that used to hurl animal entrails over their gleeful audience--this retrospective proves that even the darkest of goth metallers can develop a sense of humour. Type O Negative are to Goth metal what U2 are to epic rock--pompous ironic, and quite fond of songs a few minutes too long--and as this greatest hits and remixes collection would suggest,
The Least Worst Of Type O Negative seems eager to highlight Type O's sepulchral dark sense of humour. It's there on the opening "The Misinterpretation Of Silence And Its Disastrous Consequences", which consists of 39 seconds of complete silence; it's pretty evident on the tongue-in-cheek B-movie perversions of "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend (Cheese Organ Mix)"; and it positively permeates "Hey Pete"--a horrifically butchered take on
Jimi Hendrix favourite "Hey Joe" that goes "Hey Pete/ Where you going with that axe in your hand?" And elsewhere, there are pretty enjoyable covers of Black Sabbath ("Black Sabbath") and Neil Young ("Cinnamon Girl"). Although sensitive listeners should be wary of Type O's 12-minute speed-metal-cum-orgasmic-prog-anthem "Unsuccessfully Coping With The Natural Beauty Of Infidelity", which--laugh-wise--might just outstay its welcome. --
Louis Pattison.
CD Description
This humbly titled collection offers up some rarities from the catalogue of Type O Negative, who've managed to turn their blend of goth, metal, and alt-rock into a long, successful career. Peter Steele's preternaturally deep voice--which bears echoes of everyone from Bauhaus singer Peter Murphy to Crash Test Dummies frontman Brad Roberts--is the band's mostinstantly recognisable sonic element. As we move through this compilation of alternate versions and other rarities, however, it becomes apparent that the band's knack for Halloween rock (complete with ominous bass lines, creepy guitar riffs, and evil keyboards) and mordant sense of humor are equally important to the overall effect. A goth band with a sense of humor? Try song titles like "Black Sabbath (from the Satanic Perspective)" and "The Misinterpretations of Silence andits Disastrous Consequences" on for size. Type O Negative is the goth band for people who think they don't like goth.