Maps of Music

Life Is Killing Me (2003)

Where the lyrics of Life Is Killing Me take you, and where it was really made.

The album was first planned under the title The Dream Is Dead, and that phrase survived as the name of its final track.

Key places

Recorded at Systems Two in Brooklyn (2003)

Recording site Rough Customer — The album was recorded at Systems Two Recording Studio in Brooklyn, New York. The pin sits at city-centre level, so the exact building is not confirmed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Life Is Killing Me: sixth studio album by gothic metal band Type O Negative
• Released June 17, 2003, through Roadrunner Records
• Final studio album the band released through Roadrunner
• Title and content centre on frontman Peter Steele's dissatisfied life outlook and his experiences with mental illness
• Lyrics deal with relationship problems and the illness and death of his parents
• Reached No. 39 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 27,000 copies in its first week

Background

• Steele described the record as shaped by a midlife crisis at age 41, with his health, his life, and the deaths and departures of people he loved on his mind
• The album's title was originally planned as The Dream Is Dead
• 'Todd's Ship Gods (Above All Things)' was written by Steele about his father
• 'Nettie' was written about his mother

Recording

• Recorded at Systems Two Recording Studio in Brooklyn, New York
• Steele used a custom Fernandes Tremor bass built to his exact specifications under his sponsorship with the company
• Last album by the band to use a drum machine, with no live drums, unlike October Rust and World Coming Down

Cover

• Sleeve design by Rebecca Waterfall
• Sleeve photography by Daniel Moss

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Type O Negative was an American gothic/doom metal band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 1989.
• The band was formed by vocalist and bassist Peter Steele, guitarist Kenny Hickey, keyboardist Josh Silver, and drummer Sal Abruscato, who was later replaced by Johnny Kelly.
• The band initially named themselves Repulsion, then Sub-Zero, and finally Type O Negative.
• Steele's contract with Roadrunner Records from his time in Carnivore led to the band signing with the label in 1991.
• Their debut, Slow, Deep and Hard, was released shortly after signing.

Members

• Peter Steele: bass, lead vocals, keyboards, guitars (1989–2010; his death).
• Kenny Hickey: guitars, backing and additional co-lead vocals (1989–2010).
• Josh Silver: keyboards, piano, effects, synthesizers, programming, sampler, backing vocals (1989–2010).
• Johnny Kelly: drums, percussion, backing vocals (1993–2010).
• Sal Abruscato: drums, percussion (1989–1993).

Career

• Bloody Kisses (1993) went platinum and October Rust (1996) gold, and the band built a substantial cult following through seven studio albums, two best-of compilations, and concert DVDs.
• The band was nicknamed "the Drab Four" in homage to the Beatles' "Fab Four" moniker.
• Steele died on April 14, 2010; the cause was later reported as sepsis caused by diverticulitis.
• In November 2010, the surviving members confirmed the band had split up.
• In 2016, Loudwire ranked Type O Negative 32nd on its list of the Top 50 Best Metal Bands of All Time.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Music critics gave the album positive reviews and noted a more melodic sound than the band's previous records
• AllMusic praised how guitarist Kenny Hickey's passages have grown increasingly melodic, and how Josh Silver's keys carry a timeless melancholy despite bleak or odd lyrics
• Loudwire described it as the most uplifting sounding album of the band's career
• Exclaim! called the album a tongue-in-cheek homage to the world and the women who had hurt Steele, and said the music is pure pop-rock bliss

Records

• Reached No. 39 on the US Billboard 200 chart
• Sold 27,000 copies in its first week
• Received its first proper vinyl release only with the None More Negative box set in 2011

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Steele said the album's theme came from a midlife crisis at age 41, and the title grew from the idea that his dreams were dead.
• 'I Like Goils' pokes fun at political correctness, with lyrics about the unwanted advances Steele received from men after his 1995 Playgirl photoshoot.
• 'Thir13teen' is a cover of music from the TV show The Munsters, and the album also covers 'Angry Inch' from the off-Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
• '(We Were) Electrocute' was featured on the soundtrack to the 2003 horror film Freddy vs. Jason.
• The album leaked online before release, and keyboard player Josh Silver publicly complained that the leak took revenue from the band.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

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