Maps of Music

October Rust (1996)

Where the lyrics of October Rust take you, and where it was really made.

The album opens with 38 seconds of buzzing meant to sound like a badly plugged amplifier, and some buyers returned their copies thinking the disc was faulty.

Key places

Systems Two, Brooklyn (1996)

Recording site Rough Customer — The album was recorded at Systems Two in Brooklyn, New York. The point is placed at the city-centre level for Brooklyn, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• October Rust is the fourth studio album by American gothic metal band Type O Negative.
• Released 20 August 1996 on CD, LP and audiocassette through Roadrunner Records.
• The album has 15 tracks, and the first is 'Bad Ground' at 0:38.
• It includes a cover of 'Cinnamon Girl' by Neil Young and Crazy Horse.
• Compared with the band's other albums, it has more ballads and less doom metal sound.
• Recorded at Systems Two in Brooklyn, New York, and mastered at Sterling Sound, according to Discogs.

Background

• Johnny Kelly is credited as the band's drummer on this album, the first time he appears in that role here.
• The album features the new drummer Johnny Kelly, who replaced Sal Abruscato.
• Programmed drums are used on the album, and Josh Silver programmed the drum machines.
• Credits list Peter Steele on lead vocals and bass, Kenny Hickey on guitars, and Josh Silver on keyboards and sound effects.
• The opening 'joke intro' is 'Bad Ground', 38 seconds of low-level buzzing meant to sound like leads plugged wrongly into an amplifier.

Recording

• Tracks 2 and 15 are humorous untitled spoken word intro and outro, with the band downplaying the making of the album.
• Several songs end abruptly or segue into the next track, including 'Green Man', 'Red Water' and 'Haunted'.
• Engineer Mike Marciano handled recording, and George Marino handled mastering.

Cover

• The cover art is credited to Sagmeister Inc.
• Photography is credited to Tim Fitzharris and Joseph Cultice, and typography to Tobias Frere Jones.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · es.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

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

• AllMusic's Steve Huey gave the album 4 stars out of 5.
• Huey wrote that Steele's attempt at 'pop-goth' works well for a while.
• Huey noted that the cynical take on goth rock's typical subject matter is in full swing over the first half of the album.
• Huey also noted that the band wallows in its commercialism by thanking the listener for buying the album at the start and finish.
• Critics gave the album a generally favorable reception at release.

Reappraisal

• In 2017, former Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward ranked October Rust as one of his favorite metal albums of all time.
• In 2021, music journalist Pat Travers included October Rust in a list of '16 essential albums' for getting to know gothic music, published in Kerrang!.
• That 2021 article highlighted Steele's vocal work and the album's romantic yet gloomy atmosphere.
• Fans consider it the band's best album.
• Spanish Wikipedia describes it as a classic that made the band icons of gothic metal.

Records

• Sold over 500,000 copies and received a gold certification in the United States.
• Peaked at number 42 on the Billboard 200.
• Reached number 26 in sales in the United Kingdom.
• Sold fewer copies than its predecessor Bloody Kisses.
• Officially reissued on vinyl in 2021 to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
• Released on vinyl in 2024 as a limited edition for the Rhino Records 'Rocktober' campaign.

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

Trivia

• Some fans returned their copies, believing the disc was defective, because the band deliberately began the album with an entirely empty first track.
• The album is the first of the band's records with a 'joke intro', which is 'Bad Ground'.
• 'Green Man', 'Red Water' and 'Haunted' end abruptly or segue into the next track.
• In the United States the album was certified gold on 20 July 2000, almost four years after its release.
• Two promotional clips were shown regularly on MTV, but in censored form because of the sexual content of the songs.

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

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact