Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare All) – Type O Negative

Once again, apologies for the late post.

In all honesty, this song would’ve been much more appropriate for the month of October rather than December, but hey. Type O Negative was a band that I had always heard the name of but never really listened to, in a similar vein as my relationship with The Misfits. I did however know who Peter Steele was. He passed away when I was 10 or so, right around the time I was making a crucial journey from out of the wholesome umbrella of The Beatles into a darker, but just as beautiful world featuring the likes of Nirvana and Soundgarden. It would be a lot longer before I really got into the heavy stuff; (by a lot of people’s standards, I’m sure Type O Negative isn’t even “heavy”) but I do remember thinking “this must be a gimmick” the first time I saw a picture of Steele. Standing at all of 6’7 and absolutely yoked, I assumed he had some sort of prosthetics or was on stilts, but nope, he might have actually just been Nosferatu incarnate. Peter was 48 when he died, officially due to diverticulitis. From what I can gather, he’s remembered for being a really sweet guy, and his extreme kindness towards fans and fellow musicians as much as he is for his music.

To “get” this song, I don’t think you can take it too seriously. It almost feels like something Danzig or The Misfits would’ve put out, with lyrics that feature Halloween, vampires, and the Munsters. Essentially a lighthearted but genuine ode to women who maintain the goth persona or look. The song itself is over 11 minutes long, but to me doesn’t really feel like it at all, I think in part to the switch-ups in style of instrumentation and the infectious and very chant-able chorus of “Loving you was like loving the dead“. I’m really looking forward to diving a bit deeper into Type O, and wish I would’ve had the chance to listen to some of their stuff before Peter’s passing.

Link to audio – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmijMVT3x-0

Link to live – (holy hell listen to that scream when the song picks up) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G1d0XoFdh0