Life Is Killing Me

Life Is Killing Me is the sixth studio album by gothic metal band Type O Negative. It was released on June 16, 2003, and was their final studio album released through record label Roadrunner.

Life Is Killing Me
Studio album by
Type O Negative
ReleasedJune 17, 2003
StudioSystems Two, Brooklyn, New York
Genre
Length74:30
LabelRoadrunner
Producer
Type O Negative chronology
World Coming Down
(1999)		 Life Is Killing Me
(2003)		 Dead Again
(2007)
Singles from Life Is Killing Me
  1. "I Don't Wanna Be Me"
    Released: 2003

The album's themes loosely refer to frontman Peter Steele's dissatisfied life outlook and experiences with mental illness at the time of writing and production, with lyrics concerning relationship problems and the illness and death of his parents.

The album reached No. 39 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and received positive reviews from music critics, who noted a more melodic sound in comparison to previous records. "I Don't Wanna Be Me" was released as a promotional single, for which a music video was produced.

Recording

Life Is Killing Me was recorded at Systems Two Recording Studio in Brooklyn, New York.[1]

Vocalist and bassist Peter Steele used a custom Fernandes Tremor bass guitar for the recording of the album, an instrument which was built to his exact specifications under his sponsorship with the company.

This is the last album by the band to make use of programmed drums, which had previously been used on October Rust and World Coming Down; the band's next and final studio album, Dead Again, would feature only studio drums.[2]

Content

Describing the inspiration behind the title and theme of the record, Steele responded in an interview: "I guess I am going through some sort of midlife crisis being 41 years old now. And all the things I took for granted, my health, my life, people I love dying, people I loved walking away. I was with a girlfriend for 10 years but she left. It is like my dreams are dead."[3] The album's title was originally going to be The Dream Is Dead.[4]

The album contains a cover of the song "Angry Inch" from the off-Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The track "Thir13teen" is a cover of music featured in the TV show The Munsters.

Lyrical themes

Billboard described the record's lyrical themes as "infidelity, death and depression".[5]

"Todd's Ship Gods (Above All Things)" was written by Steele about his father.[6]

"I Like Goils" is described by Steele as "poking fun at PC" (political correctness),[5] with lyrics centred on Steele's frustration with having homosexual men make sexual advances towards him following his 1995 Playgirl photoshoot, which, at the time, Steele agreed to pose for unaware that women made up only a minority of the readership.[7]

The album's title track further references Steele's father's death, while "Nettie" was written about his mother.[5][6]

Musical style

AllMusic wrote "guitarist Kenny Hickey's passages have grown increasingly melodic, and the keys of Josh Silver possess a timeless melancholy" despite "how bleak or odd the lyrical proceedings get".[8] Loudwire described it as "the most uplifting sounding album of their career".[9]

Release
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Chronicles of Chaos8/10[10]
Drowned in Sound6/10[11]
Exclaim!favorable[12]

Life Is Killing Me was leaked onto the internet before release, upsetting keyboard player Josh Silver to the point that he released a message online complaining that the leak essentially took revenue from the band.[13] The album was officially released on June 17, 2003 on CD as well as cassette in some regions. In Europe, the album was also released with a bonus CD.

The album reached No. 39 on the US Billboard 200 chart.[14]

The album was favorably received by music critics. Exclaim! wrote "Life Is Killing Me pays tongue-in-cheek homage to the world and the women that have screwed Steele over so badly. But musically, the disc is pure pop-rock bliss."[12]

"(We Were) Electrocute" was featured on the soundtrack to the 2003 horror film Freddy vs. Jason.

Legacy

"I Don't Wanna Be Me" was covered by European death metal band Meridian Dawn for their debut 2014 release The Mixtape. The song was later covered by Trivium.[15]

The opening two seconds of guitar feedback and drum startup on "I Don't Wanna Be Me" is sampled and heard frequently on the Liberty Rock Radio station in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Peter Steele, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Thir13teen"Jack Marshall1:07
2."I Don't Wanna Be Me" 5:09
3."Less Than Zero (<0)" 5:25
4."Todd's Ship Gods (Above All Things)" 4:11
5."I Like Goils" 2:35
6."...A Dish Best Served Coldly" 7:13
7."How Could She?" 7:35
8."Life Is Killing Me" 6:35
9."Nettie" 4:46
10."(We Were) Electrocute" 6:39
11."IYDKMIGTHTKY (Gimme That)" 6:20
12."Angry Inch"Stephen Trask3:39
13."Anesthesia" 6:41
14."Drunk in Paris" 1:27
15."The Dream Is Dead" 5:07
Europe bonus disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Out of the Fire (Kane's Theme)"James A. Johnston3:24
2."Christian Woman (Butt-Kissing Sell-Out Version)" 4:27
3."Suspended in Dusk" 8:39
4."Blood & Fire (Out of the Ashes Mix)" 4:36
5."Black Sabbath"Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward7:47
6."Cinnamon Girl (Extended Depression Mix)"Neil Young3:53
7."Haunted (Per Version)" 11:47

Credits

Type O Negative

  • Peter Steele – lead vocals, bass guitar, additional guitars, keyboards
  • Kenny Hickey – guitars, backing vocals, co-lead vocals (on "...A Dish Best Served Coldly", "How Could She?" and "Angry Inch")
  • Josh Silver – keyboards, backing vocals, sound effects, drum programming
  • Johnny Kelly – live drums, backing vocals

Additional personnel

  • The Bensonhoist Lesbian Choir (actually the band members themselves) – backing vocals
  • Paul Bento – sitar (on "Less Than Zero (<0)"), tamboura, drum machine (on "Less Than Zero (<0)", "Electrocute (We Were)" and "Anesthesia"), lead guitar (on "How Could She?")
  • Pandit Kinnar K. Seen – tabla (on "Less Than Zero (<0)")
  • Sal Abruscato – backing vocals (on "I Like Goils")

Technical personnel

  • Mike Marciano – engineering, mixing
  • George Marino – mastering
  • Rebecca Waterfall – sleeve design
  • Daniel Moss – sleeve photography

Charts
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] 51
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 46
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[18] 5
French Albums (SNEP)[19] 97
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 51
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 98
UK Albums (OCC)[23] 87
US Billboard 200[24] 39

References
  1. Life Is Killing Me (CD booklet). Type O Negative. 2003.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. "Type O Negative Remember Dimebag Darrell On 'Positive' New LP". Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  3. "Type O Negative Interview 2003". mariskaroerdink.nl. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  4. "Type O Negative Interview (10/2003) – Metal Storm". Metal Storm. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  5. Titus, Christa (June 21, 2003). "Type O Negative's 'Life' Style". Billboard.
  6. "Type O Negative Josh Interview (11/00)". typeonegative.rockmetal.art.pl. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  7. Worley, Gail (October 21, 2003). "The Power of Negative Thinking". Ink 19. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  8. Gomes, Whitney Z. "Life Is Killing Me – Type O Negative | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  9. Divita, Joe (August 9, 2016). "Type O Negative Albums Ranked". Loudwire. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  10. Kalis, Quentin (August 28, 2003). "CoC : Type O Negative – Life Is Killing Me : Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  11. Lancaster, Nick (August 6, 2003). "Album Review: Type O Negative – Life Is Killing Me / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  12. Green, Stuart (January 1, 2006). "Type O Negative Life Is Killing Me". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  13. "Type O Negative Post New MP3, Address Illegal Music Downloading – Blabbermouth.net". Blabbermouth.net. April 11, 2003. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  14. "Type O Negative's 'Life Is Killing Me' Enters Billboard Chart at No. 39 – Blabbermouth.net". Blabbermouth.net. June 23, 2003. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  15. Divita, Joe (April 26, 2019). "Trivium Faithfully Cover Type O Negative's 'I Don't Wanna Be Me'". Loudwire. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  16. "Austriancharts.at – Type O Negative – Life Is Killing Me" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Type O Negative – Life Is Killing Me" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  18. "Type O Negative: Life Is Killing Me" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  19. "Lescharts.com – Type O Negative – Life Is Killing Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Type O Negative – Life Is Killing Me" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  21. "Swedishcharts.com – Type O Negative – Life Is Killing Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  22. "Swisscharts.com – Type O Negative – Life Is Killing Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  23. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  24. "Type O Negative Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
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