Type-O Negative often gets lumped in with gothic titans like Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees, but metal historians love them for their prototypical foray into doom-laden riffage. Slow, Hard and Deep, released on June 11th, 1991 perfectly exemplifies the juxtaposition of these two styles seasoned with blistering hardcore. The song “Xero Tolerance” demonstrates this in an almost arrogant display of cross-over splendor. It’s as if a Hot Topic store was distilled to its purest essence and mainlined directly into the jugular.
Frontman Peter Steele descends into emotional depravity, fusing doom-laden riffs with hard-core punk and gothic despair. The result is musically abrasive at times, but emotionally impactful always. It plays like a suicide note written in blood and sarcasm. This album likely didn’t change the game in a meaningful way, but it has a sound so distinctly 1991 that it yearns for black lipstick, dark eyeliner and fishnet stockings.