Type O Negative

00:11 Anesthesia
06:14 Christian Woman
14:16 Love You To Death

My 9th grade shop class was more akin to a bar than the wood shop that it was. We would mostly smoke cigarettes out by the dumpster. Our teacher was a really cool Vietnam Vet who would bring a grenade launcher and bazooka in to show us on the last day of school each year (times where different). When we weren't smoking or fighting, and occasionally learning we would sit on the couch in front of the shop and watch MTV on TV strapped to a metal rolling cart. It was the life, I must admit.

Growing up in the middle of nowhere, I had no cable tv. The only time I was able to watch MTV was while in this shop class and when my band was having band practice on the weekends. In this shop class, in between seeing "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "All I Wanna Do (Sheryl Crow was a crowd favorite) and "Linger" by the Cranberries there was a music video the came on that was unlike any other that I'd ever seen. I was a fan of Metallica, White Zombie and Pantera but this video was different that anything I'd seen before. The music had a heavy sound but was blended with synth sounds. The song was "Christian Woman" by Type O Negative and to this day I don't think there's been a band that has had the same writing style or sound.

After finding about Type O Negative and getting my hands on their album I was in awe of their style and sound. As the band I was in at the time began learning their songs I realized the pop based song writing style they had that surprised me after noticing it. I remember during the interviews they would have after the band first got popular they would say they where from some far-off place in Greenland. Honestly, looking at them it was believable, and many did believe.

Peter Steel weren't from some far off land. The band was actually from Brooklyn, New York where Peter worked as a Park Supervisor for the Department of Parks and Recreation. He was just a regular dude with an amazing knack for catchy songwriting in an unusual style which actually makes me respect him a lot more.

If you have 20 minutes to spare and have watched it already, give the video at the top of the article a listen. If you enjoy it then take a listen to what I think was their best album "October Rust" which you can find below.