You could say that Type O Negative frontman Peter Steele was a rather unfortunate fellow. Things started going south for Steele by the release of 1996’s October Rust, an attempt at going commercial which he and the band saw backfire. This, combined with a growing lack of interest for touring, relationship problems and the death his loved ones (including his mother and father) drove him to major depression and consequentially, drug addiction.
But what does this have to do with 1999’s World Coming Down? Practically everything. The album artwork and song titles such as “Everyone I Love Is Dead” and “Everything Dies” hint at the new direction that the band would take inspired by Steele’s misfortunes. Type O Negative was known for its dark and dry sense of humor since their first record, writing songs a dying family cat (Bloody Kisses) and about killing a cheating girlfriend, his lover and yourself (Xero Tolerance and Gravitational Constant, respectively) with a sense of sarcasm that made them absolutely hilarious. Besides album opener Skip It, none of that can be found here. In general, the band favored themes such as drug addiction, wishing for death and loss as the song themes this time around.
While the previous records had catchy yet heavy songs with hardcore punk, goth-pop, industrial and doom metal passages, World Coming Down is mostly composed of gloomy and soul crushing doom metal. Songs like White Slavery, World Coming Down and Everything Dies boast an unmatched sense of despair. It’s as if these tracks represent exactly what Peter Steele was mentally going through at that time of his life. White Slavery, in particular, is one of those songs that can really bring the listener’s mood down; the combination of church organs, slow and detuned guitar riffing and Steele’s morbid lyrical and vocal delivery make this the most melancholic and oppressive song the band has written. To compliment the dramatic feel of the album, there are three interludes related to drug addiction. Named after internal organs (Sinus, Liver and Lung), each one of them depicts a person abusing a substance and dying in the end, Sinus being the most horrifying of them.
What makes this album so great is its display of emotion. If there was anything close to what depression would sound like, it would be this record. Every note played and sung just reek of pure sorrow, not in a cheesy “boo hoo she left me life sucks now” way, but through the perspective of a depressed and drug addicted man who was aware of his situation, but could do nothing about it. Not everything is pure doom and gloom here, though, as there are some poppier moments to be heard in Pyretta Blaze, with its catchy Beatles-esque chorus, and Creepy Green Light, a subpar track that only interrupts the flow of the album. The Beatles medley is also terribly misplaced here as the interpretations of the songs are incredibly lackluster and honestly, a Beatles medley has nothing to do with a record such as this.
This album should satisfy just about any doom metal fan out there, granted they like their vocals sung rather than screamed. While it might be a difficult album to get into, it’s a rewarding experience once you do. It’s a shame that the band didn’t keep this direction with 2003’s Life Is Killing me, their only truly bad record so far.
