"Idle Hands May Be The Devil's Work...Unbridled Minds, You See, Are So Much Worse...."

Being a fan of Type O Negative for more years than I care to mention, I’ve collected a lot of bootleg recordings of live shows as well as CD singles and maxi singles. When I hit the video game exchange last week I was greeted with snickers and smiles from the employees. This isn’t all that unusual since my brood usually have them in stitches with their rather unique requests but today it was all about a stack of CD singles that had come in earlier in the week. Singles that they decided to tuck away under the counter before they put them on sale - just to see if I would want first grab. After about ten minutes of the giggles, Mike, the ringleader and store manager, tapped me on the shoulder and told me to follow him to the counter. He pulled out a huge stack of jewel cases and handed them to me; looking at the one on the top of the stack I knew exactly why everyone was chuckling up a storm. Even though I already had most of the CD singles there were a few that I had been looking for - an alternative version of Cinnamon Girl, maxi single of Christian Woman and “Everything Dies”. They went above and beyond the call of duty saving them for me and I do owe them a lot for the favor!

Everything Dies

I was really surprised that this one came into the store new, still sealed in plastic. Most of the time they deal with used CD’s, DVD’s and video games so to get something new is a shocker - especially when this was first released in 1999. Another thing that really got my panties in a bunch was that there was a video for “Everything Dies” on the disc. As soon as I got home I threw it in the DVD player to watch the video, I’d seen it a million times but I wanted to see if this was the long or short version. That’s when my electronics curse once again reared it’s ugly head. It wouldn’t play the video and only read that there were three tracks on the disc. That’s when I thought that this had to be a joke - the video was no where to be found but it did have all three songs on the disc. I tried everything imaginable to try to get the DVD player to read it, that’s when it dawned on me that there was no DVD logo on the case. Heading to my laptop, I popped it in and it played almost immediately. Oddly enough, when I opened Windows Explorer it only showed one track on the disc. The lesson here is that if I want to listen to the songs I have to use the DVD player or my portable CD player and if I want to watch the video I have to use the laptop, most of the time it’s the exact opposite. Oh well, at least I have another single for my collection!

The Tracks

Everything Dies [edited version 4:25]
12 Black Rainbows
Everything Dies [LP version 6:14]
Bonus Everything Dies [video]

Sometimes the group puts out a song that really makes you stop and think; sometimes it’s more than the haunting lyrics or music that grab hold of you and touch a part of you that you keep tucked away - that’s what “Everything Dies” means to me. Josh did a magnificent job with the piano pieces, Pete’s bass is dark and passionate and finally Kenny gets to break out of the norm with his guitar work. I’d be remiss if I didn’t give Johnny a pat on the back - without his contribution to the song, well, it wouldn’t have that Type O Negative feel to it. To me this is one of their best songs ranking right up there with Love You To Death and Summer Breeze. The group has always been vocal about death and the eventual manner that ‘everyone dies’. The second version of “Everything Dies” has a much heavier intro to it and if you aren’t at the top of your game you might think that it’s the overlap from "12Black Rainbows” - most of this stems from the fact that the edited version is the one that was promoted heavily. People just weren’t expecting such a heavy and metal-like intro so it did lead to some confusion when it was featured in it’s full length version. There are some other minor changes in the song but unless you cue them up and play them side by side, chances are you won’t be able to pick up on them.

“I’m searching for something which can’t be found
But I’m hoping ...
I still dream of dad, though he died. Everything dies ...”

One of the biggest perks to this CD single is the inclusion of the song "12 Black Rainbows” that was first featured on the European single for “Everything Dies” as well as being in the mix when they recorded “World Coming Down”. To me this song represents a lot of non-sexual foreplay - that in itself needs explaining. It never gets down to the nitty gritty of sex but it has a hell of a lot of innuendo to it. When I first heard this on The Least Worst I thought it was a ‘nice’ track but it didn’t really impress me to be something that one automatically thinks of when Type O Negative is mentioned. It did take a while for it to grow on me and now that I’ve given it an honest chance and really pushed aside the typical Type O music, I can say that it is one of their better cuts. This is really heavy on bass .. not that I’m complaining in the least. To get the most from it, listen to it with some high quality headphones to pick up on all the background effects.

“Don’t be afraid as she pulled down the shade
Said there’s nothing to fear but the monster is here
So just tell me the time, be it quarter of nine
Since the sun’s gone away, now the creature will play”

The video that is tucked away on this single is the standard version of “Everything Dies”. Since MTV pretty much blacklists anything from the group, it’s rare that you see anything about the group. VH1 would never dare to play anything this ‘dark’ so getting the single is one way to get a copy of it outside of downloading it online. The video marks one of the first public displays from group member Kenny Hickey. There’s a lot of symbolism to the video but you have to watch it a couple of times to really absorb all that it offers the viewer. I really like the scenes where the guys are in suits and the dirt is dropping on them; ashes to ashes, dust to dust ...

The Bottom Line

I picked this up for $5.00 from my local video game store; they deal with a lot of used material for video games, CD’s and DVD’s and from time to time they get singles like this in brand spanking new. To be completely honest, even if this has a $10.00 price tag on it’s I’d still buy it because I am a huge fan of the group. If you are a casual fan then I’d recommend sticking with The Least Worst of Type O Negative since it has the full length versions of “Everything Dies” and "12 Black Rainbows” but if you are a fan / fanatic that has to have everything the group releases then this makes for one hell of a find. You get a total of three tracks and the video, the liner notes aren’t plentiful but you do get x-rays of the guys skulls [at least that’s what Josh says about them]. Consider this a must have for hard core fans - others can make due with the Least Worst CD and find the video online.


As always, thanks for the read!

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2005 Freak369


Singles
Black No. 1, Summer Breeze, Love You To Death, Christian Woman, My Girlfriend's Girlfriend, Everything Dies, Cinnamon Girl

CD's
October Rust, Bloody Kisses, Life Is Killing Me, World Coming Down, Slow, Deep And Hard, The Least Worst of Type O Negative, Life Is Killing Me – Import Version

Video
Type O Negative: After Dark
Symphony For The Devil

Editorial
Blood. Sex. Fire. Lust & Immortality
The Best of Type O: Peter Steele Naked








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