Bloody Kisses

Bloody Kisses is the third studio album by the American band Type O Negative and the last recording with the band's original line-up, as the drummer, Sal Abruscato, left in late 1993. The album includes one of their best known songs, "Black No. 1", which earned the band a considerable cult following. The album further established recurring motifs of the band's music, such as including cover songs recorded in the gothic metal style, sample-heavy soundscapes in between songs, and lyrics replete with dry, satirical humour. It is now considered a classic of both the early-1990s alternative metal movement and gothic metal.

Bloody Kisses
Studio album by
Type O Negative
ReleasedAugust 17, 1993
RecordedSystems Two, Brooklyn
Genre
Length73:28
LabelRoadrunner
ProducerPeter Steele, Josh Silver
Type O Negative chronology
The Origin of the Feces
(1992)		 Bloody Kisses
(1993)		 October Rust
(1996)
Singles from Bloody Kisses
  1. "Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)"
    Released: 1993
  2. "Christian Woman"
    Released: 1993
  3. "Summer Breeze"
    Released: 1994

Bloody Kisses is notable for being the first album released on Roadrunner Records to achieve gold and platinum certification.[3]

Music and lyrics

Considered a standout album in the gothic metal genre,[4] Bloody Kisses is "saturated with complex patterns of sound" with content concerning sexual symbolism and humor.[5]

Bloody Kisses has a cover version of Seals & Crofts' song "Summer Breeze".[4] Originally, Type O Negative's version was going to be called "Summer Girl" with different lyrics, but made a normal cover after Seals & Crofts found the lyrics to "Summer Girl" distasteful.[6] According to Decibel, Bloody Kisses "featured infectious doom-pop epics (“Black No. 1,” “Christian Woman”), sarcastic hardcore screeds (“Kill All the White People,” “We Hate Everyone”)" and "bizarre noise interludes (“Fay Wray Come Out and Play,” “Dark Side of the Womb,” “3.0.I.F”)".[7] "Black No. 1" is "a sarcastic ode to goth girls (the title coming from a hair dye tone) based on a narcissistic ex-girlfriend of singer Peter Steele".[8]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Pitchfork8.7/10[9]
Record Collector[10]
Rock Hard10/10[11]
Rolling Stone[12]

Bloody Kisses received mostly positive reviews. Steve Huey of AllMusic gave the album a 4.5 out of 5 and wrote that "though it sounds like a funeral, Bloody Kisses' airy melodicism and '90s-style irony actually breathed new life into the flagging goth metal genre".[4] Rock Hard gave the album a 10 out of 10 rating.[11]

Accolades

In 2005, Bloody Kisses was ranked number 365 in Rock Hard's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[13] Loudwire called Bloody Kisses the best album of 1993,[14] in addition to ranking it at number 42 on its Top 90 Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Albums of the 90s.[15] Rolling Stone placed Bloody Kisses at number 53 on its Top 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time list, citing memorable songs such as "Christian Woman", "Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)", their cover version of "Summer Breeze", and "Black No. 1". The latter was cited by the author J. D. Considine as the band's signature song.[16]

Track listing

All lyrics and music written by Peter Steele unless otherwise noted.

Original release
No.TitleLength
1."Machine Screw"0:41
2."Christian Woman"8:58
3."Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)"11:15
4."Fay Wray Come Out and Play"1:03
5."Kill All the White People"3:24
6."Summer Breeze" (Seals & Crofts cover)4:49
7."Set Me on Fire"3:29
8."Dark Side of the Womb"0:28
9."We Hate Everyone"6:51
10."Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)"10:56
11."3.0.I.F."2:06
12."Too Late: Frozen"7:50
13."Blood & Fire"5:32
14."Can't Lose You"6:06

Digipak re-release

A digipak version was later released that removed two tracks, the intro and the interludes (at the band's request), and added one new song.

No.TitleLength
1."Christian Woman"8:54
2."Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)"10:56
3."Too Late: Frozen"7:51
4."Blood & Fire"5:33
5."Can't Lose You"6:06
6."Summer Breeze" (Seals & Crofts cover)4:49
7."Set Me on Fire"3:30
8."Suspended in Dusk"8:37
9."Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)"11:16

This version contains an amended booklet that reflects the re-ordering of the tracks. The lyric sheet prints parody lyrics for "Summer Breeze" such as "Kenny Hickey lying on the sidewalk, Devil music from the house next door". The recorded song is unchanged.

This version of the song, originally titled "Summer Girl", was recorded but remains unreleased, though it has circulated on the Internet and appears on a promotional release for Bloody Kisses simply titled "?".

"Top Shelf" edition (2009 re-release)

Roadrunner Records re-released Bloody Kisses on May 5, 2009, with a bonus CD of rarities and B-sides.

Disc One
No.TitleLength
1."Machine Screw"0:39
2."Christian Woman"8:57
3."Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)"11:14
4."Fay Wray Come Out and Play"1:02
5."Kill All the White People"3:23
6."Summer Breeze" (Seals & Crofts cover)4:49
7."Set Me on Fire"3:29
8."Dark Side of the Womb"0:27
9."We Hate Everyone"6:50
10."Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)"10:55
11."3.0.I.F."2:05
12."Too Late: Frozen"7:50
13."Blood & Fire"5:32
14."Can't Lose You"6:05
Disc Two
No.TitleLength
1."Suspended in Dusk"8:45
2."Black Sabbath" (Black Sabbath cover)7:56
3."Black Sabbath (From the Satanic Perspective)"7:53
4."Christian Woman" (Edit)4:33
5."Christian Woman" (Butt-Kissing, sell-out version)4:33
6."Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)" (Edit)4:44
7."Blood & Fire" (Out of the Ashes mix)4:42
8."Summer Breeze" (Rick Rubin Mix)5:02

Credits

Additional personnel

Production
  • George Marino - mastering
  • John Wadsworth - photography
  • Jeff Kitts - portrait photography

Charts

Album
Year Chart Position
1993 German Album Charts[17] 60
1995 The Billboard 200 166

References
  1. Rivadavia, Eduardo (January 3, 2018). "The Best Metal Album From 40 Subgenres". Loudwire. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  2. DiVita, Joe (September 13, 2017). "Top 25 Doom Metal Albums of All Time". Loudwire. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  3. https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=Type+o+negative#search_section
  4. Huey, Steve. "Bloody Kisses – Type O Negative". AllMusic. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  5. Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 1,113. ISBN 9781843531050.
  6. Kennelty, Greg (August 29, 2016). "Type O Negative's 1993 Demos For Bloody Kisses Have Surfaced". Metal Injection. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  7. "Type O Negative - "Bloody Kisses"". Decibel. June 14, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  8. Ladouceur, Liisa (2011). Encyclopedia Gothica. ECW Press. p. 23. ISBN 9781770410244.
  9. O'Connell, Chris (February 23, 2020). "Type O Negative: Bloody Kisses". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  10. McIver, Joel (July 2009). "Type O Negative – Bloody Kisses". Record Collector. No. 364. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  11. Albrecht, Frank (August 27, 1993). "Type O Negative – Bloody Kisses". Rock Hard (in German). No. 76. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  12. Szabo, Julia (February 23, 1995). "Type O Negative: Bloody Kisses". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  13. [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 64. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. "1993: Type O Negative, 'Bloody Kisses'". Loudwire. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  15. "42. Type O Negative, 'Bloody Kisses'". Loudwire. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  16. "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time: 53. Type O Negative, 'Bloody Kisses' (1993)". Rolling Stone. June 21, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  17. "charts.de". Retrieved May 25, 2013.
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