Johnny Kelly
Type O Negative / Seventh Void
By Rock N' Write
(SugarBuzz Las Vegas)
SugarBuzz Magazine
I’m going to tell you a story that was meant to be shared somewhere on the streets of Brooklyn with four individuals that call themselves something that should never be repeated to virgin ears, also known as Type O Negative. Seeing that this scenario isn’t happening any time soon and I can hardly contain myself, I’m going to share it right here in black and white for your reading pleasure.
On an ominous grey afternoon in 1995, I sat in the passenger seat of my boyfriend’s black on black car gazing up at the looming clouds above when he asked, “Hey, you’re into vampires right?” My answer was “Of course.” He flashed that devilish grin of his. “Check this out.” All was silent until the rain poured through the speakers, the death bell sounded accompanied with a deep, slow bassline. A sinister voice then spoke: “I went looking for trouble…and boy, I found her.” That very dark voice then sang: “She’s in love with herself…she likes the dark.” “What is this?” I asked. “Just listen,” he said, his eyes fixated on me. “On her milk white neck…the Devil’s mark.” There I sat, little miss innocent, trying to synthesize what I was listening to. I could feel the singer’s hot breath hovering on my neck. I could hear him choking on fresh blood while
his sharp teeth pierced my skin. And for whatever reason, all I could picture was Lemmy. “What the hell is THIS?” I asked. “Shhhh! Just listen,” my boyfriend responded, unable to wipe that goddamn grin off his face. That’s because he knew me, the reactionist. He was banking on that one nuance in the song that would spark a monumental reaction out of me…and it finally came: “But will she Trrrick or Trrreat, I bet she will…”. Suddenly, Lemmy had a different accent. “Are you kidding me?” I exploded. “This guy thinks he’s Transylvanian??” And so the commentaries flew like Beavis and Butthead while we listened to the intro to “Black No. 1” over and over. As much as I now love that song, had my boyfriend (aka ex-husband) made me listen to “Christian Woman”, I would be telling you the tale of how I spent fifteen years praying at the Church of Type O Negative. Essentially, I missed out on fifteen years of incredible music all because of some pre-conceived notion of what Type O Negative was…let’s just not go there. For my sake, thank God that incident in 1995 wasn’t the final nail in Type O Negative’s coffin in my books. They were just placed in a shallow grave only to be dug up later and placed on the highest pedestal my tiny frame could possibly reach.
Enter Kari Kane, rock dj extraordinaire, fifteen years later on a date at midnight with our laptops. “Have you heard of Type O Negative?” she asked. “Pshhh, ya,” I responded. I told her the trick or treat story and all the misconceptions I had of the band based on the intro to ONE song. Unlike her predecessor, she introduced me to Type O Negative with a song that was upbeat and very different than the other songs on their October Rust album. Along with a plethora of pictures of front man/bassist
Peter Steele, we viewed the pop-like video “My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend”…repeatedly. In the words of Peter Steele, “WOW!!” What was once too much vampire quickly became not enough. Video after video, song after song, interview after interview. The Ghost of Christmas Present took Scrooge by the hand and showed her everything she missed out on since that fateful day in 1995, prompting her to repent. I did. And if you want to know, Mr. Steele followed me into my dreams that night; I even woke up hung over the next morning, I kid you not. But the epiphany came on New Year’s Day in the form of a Myspace video dedication. Kari gifted me “Christian Woman”, burning a symbol I will wear on my heart for eternity. And so the quest began. A monster was created all in the name of wanting to know who Type O Negative really was and praying that I didn’t “discover” them on the eleventh hour.
Type O Negative can’t be pigeonholed into just one category. They’re not strictly one genre. Trying to label them in such a way would be like squeezing an oversized circle into a box two sizes too small. As much as you try, that circle is gonna bust that box wide open and bounce the other way. They’ve proven that over the years with their experimental style and varied sound.
Formed in 1990, Type O Negative released their debut album Slow, Deep and Hard in 1991 which featured long, requiem-like songs that dealt with infidelity, the pain of sexual desire, and losing the will to live. Controversies arose from that album which the band parodied in their fake “live” album Origin of The Feces, released the following year and also included their hauntingly nostalgic version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Hey Joe” which they reworded and renamed “Hey Pete.” Stylistic growth followed suit in the Brooklyn band’s third album Bloody Kisses, slowly winning Type O Negative a cult following and
skyrocketing them to platinum record status. Original drummer Sal Abruscato departed the band following the release of Bloody Kisses to join Life of Agony, at which point Johnny Kelly joined the band. Type O Negative cracked Billboard’s Top 200 well over a year after the release of Bloody Kisses. Moving away from punk/metal sounds, they released October Rust in 1996 which contained more of a gothic rock feel than previous recordings. After a three year hiatus, Type O Negative finally released World Coming Down in 1999. Peter Steele reportedly described the production as “too many cooks spoiling the soup” and stated that the songs were too strongly connected to a very uncomfortable period in his life. In the period immediately following October Rust, Steele was plagued with several deaths in his immediate family which lead to his heavy drinking to mask his grief. The morbid sounds of World Coming Down reflect his bereavement. Despite his own critique of the album, it debuted at #39 on Billboard’s Top 200 charts. October 31, 2000 marked the release of The Least Worst of Type O Negative which featured alternate mixes of the band’s most popular songs plus several unreleased tracks. Life is Killing Me followed suit in 2003 with Dead Again surfacing four years later. I’m sure I speak on behalf of all Type O Negative fans…we’re dying for the next album!
In an unprecedented state of occurrences, I had the opportunity to interview Johnny Kelly by phone and travel in time with Type O Negative, find out what’s on the horizon, and discuss his new band with Kenny Hickey, Seventh Void. The jk’s are flying in Parts 1 & 2 so grab an ice cold beer, get your headphones ready, and click the heres for the not-so-negative experience:
Editor's Note:
Click here to watch/listen to Part One.
Click here to watch/listen to Part Two.
These are video files that include audio and pictures. Please right click on the links and select "Save Traget As". They are kind of a big files so it may take a bit to download each one, but you are going to really enjoy it! Once it is on your computer right click your saved file and select "Open With", I use Quicktime, but you can select from what you got. Do it!! Remember all our downloads are safe and insane!!!