Type O Negative - Slow, Deep and Hard

If you pose the question "What is your favorite Type O Negative album" to a typical Type O fan, you'd probably get the answer Bloody Kisses or October Rust.  However, if you ask a metal fan the same question, you'd be more likely to hear Slow, Deep and Hard.  Why?  Because its a best of both worlds album - you get the thrashiness of old Carnivore material while mixing keyboards and catchy pop melodies often associated with later Type O Negative work.

Slow, Deep and Hard has an interesting history that many do not know.  As many fans DO know, the album was written by Peter Steele in response to his girlfriend cheating on him.  He had attempted suicide as a result of this betrayal and large majority of the songs have to deal with either suicide or this chick.  What many people don't know is that Slow, Deep and Hard was originally intended as only a demo, and nothing more.  Due to pressure from Roadracer (later Roadrunner), Type O Negative had to put out a full length album and quickly.  So they rushed into the studio and the recorded what would become Slow, Deep and Hard.  The album was met with mixed reviews, the negative reviews mainly to deal with the lyrical content.  Peter later said in an interview that he regrets releasing some of the more nasty songs (ie: "Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity").  People clearly took the intended meaning the wrong way (as they always do....ugh).

Now, to look at the album musically.

Slow, Deep and Hard is a rather interesting combination of crossover Thrash and Doom metal. The gang vocals bring out the NYHC influence and provide an interesting contrast as well.  Those two combined with Peter Steele's voice, vocals and the atmospheric effects provided by the keyboards lay the foundation for a fantastic album (arguably my favorite release of all time).  The guitar sounds almost mechanical, and its very reminiscent of an early industrial sound (its very interesting considering Kenny's rig, but thats another story altogether).  The bass has a very processed sound (very chorusy, with a bi-amped kind of a sound), but its very prominent in the mix.  The drumming isn't anything special really, and is probably the weakest point of the album - but hey, they get the job done, and I do like the snare sound quite a bit.  As mentioned earlier, Peter's vocals and the gang vocals are fantastic.

Link

Recommended Tracks
Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity
Der Untermensch
Xero Tolerance
Gravitational Constant