Maps of Music

World Coming Down (1999)

Where the lyrics of World Coming Down take you, and where it was really made.

The band's darkest album opens with 11 seconds of fake CD skipping, a joke intro.

Key places

Recorded and mixed at Systems Two (1999)

Recording site Rough Customer — The album was recorded and mixed at Systems Two in Brooklyn, New York. The source names only the city, so this point sits at the city centre rather than on the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Brooklyn Bridge on the cover (1999)

Album cover Brooklyn Bridge — The album cover uses a photo of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. The point marks the bridge itself, which is the subject of the cover photo. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• World Coming Down: fifth studio album by the American gothic metal band Type O Negative
• Released September 21, 1999
• Considered the darkest of the band's releases
• Written after a series of deaths in frontman Peter Steele's family
• Also a break from the sexually charged themes of the previous albums
• First album by the band to reach the Top 40 on the Billboard 200

Background

• Previous album: October Rust
• Keyboardist and producer Josh Silver felt the music was strong
• Steele said the songs were too strongly connected to an uncomfortable period in his life
• Live shows since the initial tour rarely included songs from this album
• During the Dead Again tour the band often played "World Coming Down" in its entirety

Recording

• Recorded and mixed at Systems Two, Brooklyn, New York
• Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York City
• Recording engineer Michael Marciano; mastering by George Marino
• Lineup: Peter Steele, Kenny Hickey, Josh Silver, Johnny Kelly
• Ends with a medley of three Beatles songs

Cover

• Cover features a photo of the Brooklyn Bridge
• Cover photography by Vincent Soyez

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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

• World Coming Down received mostly positive reviews
• AllMusic critic Steve Huey gave the album 4 out of 5 stars
• Chronicles of Chaos critic Adam Wasylyk gave a very positive review and called it his favourite album of 1999
• The Daily Vault critic Christopher Thelen called the album a great listen
• Thelen wrote that for the most part the album suggests the band is doing things right

Reappraisal

• In 2021 Metal Hammer magazine named it one of the 20 best metal albums of 1999

Records

• Reached the Top 40 on the Billboard 200, the band's first album to do so
• Brazil's and Lusophone coverage also recorded the 2021 Metal Hammer listing

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

Trivia

• The album's joke intro "Skip It" is 11 seconds of staccato band noise meant to sound like a skipping CD player.
• On the release, tracks III, VI and X were deformed by Josh Silver for Boycott Humanity Productions.
• Pyretta Blaze is also the title of a 2013 novel by Colombian writer Ricardo Abdahllah, inspired by the song.
• Hickey said the band did not know The Beatles charged $35,000 per song for cover rights, so the three-song medley became costly.

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

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