Slow, Deep and Hard

Slow, Deep and Hard
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 11, 1991
Recorded1989
StudioSystems Two (Brooklyn, New York City)[1]
Genre
Length58:31
LabelRoadrunner
ProducerType O Negative[1]
Type O Negative chronology
Slow, Deep and Hard
(1991)
The Origin of the Feces
(1992)
Singles from Slow, Deep and Hard
  1. "Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity"
    Released: 1991
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(choice cut)[4]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal5/10[5]
Kerrang![6]
Metal.de9/10[7]
Raw[8]

Slow, Deep and Hard is the debut studio album by the American gothic metal band Type O Negative, released on June 11, 1991, through Roadrunner Records.[9] The album was originally titled None More Negative, and released in 1990 as a demo under the group's former name Repulsion.

Production

[edit]

Keyboardist and producer Josh Silver convinced his parents to lend him $6,000 so the band could record the album.[10]

Composition

[edit]

Revolver said that the album was "noisy and angry" and "a far cry from the hooky choruses and doom-out goth of their 1993 breakout, Bloody Kisses," having more in common with the New York hardcore sound of Peter Steele's previous band, Carnivore.[10] The lyrics were intended to be sarcastic,[10] though several songs, like "Unsuccessfully Coping With the Natural Beauty of Infidelity," "Prelude to Agony" and "Der Untermensch", led to accusations of misogyny, bigotry and Nazism in part due to Untermensch (German "sub-human") being a blanket term used by the Nazis to refer to non-Aryans.[10] Keyboardist Josh Silver, who is Jewish, recalled, "They just invented a bunch of shit and said we were Nazis. Meanwhile, there were bands playing right down the block that are sieg-heiling the audience, and nobody's bothering with them. But it was a good and bad thing. As a Jew, I obviously never wanna be labeled as a Nazi. But at the same time, go ahead and make us famous. That's fine."[10] Silver said, regarding the album's lyrics, "I think Peter was at the height of his lyrical powers".[10] However, they did not translate well to non-English speaking countries, where lyrics intended as being sarcastic were directly translated and taken literally.[10] "Unsuccessfully Coping With the Natural Beauty of Infidelity" used the chord structure of Simple Minds' song "Don't You (Forget About Me)".[10] "The Misinterpretation of Silence and Its Disastrous Consequences" consists of hiss from a blank audio cassette tape; Silver explained, "We actually just ran a blank tape. We were hoping people would think it was fucked up and turn their stereos up really loud. Then the next song would kick in."[10] The main riff of "Gravitational Constant" was inspired by the theme song for the sitcom The Munsters.[10]

Release

[edit]

The recordings on the album initially appeared on a demo called None More Negative, released under the band name Repulsion. After the band found out that there was another band using this name, they changed their name to Type O Negative.[10][11] The cover image was taken from a pornographic magazine, a close-up of a penis entering a vagina during sexual intercourse.[10]

Track listing

[edit]

All lyrics and music by Peter Steele, unless noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity"
  • I. "Anorganic Transmutogenesis (Synthetic Division)"
  • II. "Coitus Interruptus"
  • III. "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else"
12:39
  • 2:58
  • 2:25
  • 7:16
  • 2."Der Untermensch"
  • I. "Socioparasite"
  • II. "Waste of Life"
  • 8:54
  • 2:47
  • 6:07
  • 3."Xero Tolerance
  • I. "Type 'A' Personality Disorder"
  • II. "Kill You Tonight"
  • III. "Love You to Death" (includes samples from J. S. Bach)
  • 7:45
  • 1:56
  • 4:59
  • 0:50
  • 4."Prelude to Agony"
  • I. "The Truth"
  • II. "God Love Fire Woman Death"
  • III. "Jackhammerape"
  • IV. "Pain (Is Irrelevant)"
  • 12:14
  • 2:06
  • 4:10
  • 2:06
  • 3:52
  • 5."Glass Walls of Limbo (Dance Mix)"6:41
    6."The Misinterpretation of Silence and Its Disastrous Consequences"1:04
    7."Gravitational Constant: G = 6.67 × 10−8 cm−3 gm−1 sec−2"
  • I. "Unjustifiable Existence"
  • II. "Acceleration (Due to Gravity) = 980cm⁻² sec"
  • III. "Antimatter: Electromechanical Psychedelicosis"
  • IV. "Requiem for a Soulless Man"
  • 9:14
  • 2:18
  • 2:36
  • 1:06
  • 3:14
  • Total length:58:31

    Personnel

    [edit]

    Production

    [edit]
    • Michael Marciano – engineering[1]
    • Michael Sarsfield – mastering[1]

    Charts

    [edit]
    Chart performance for Slow, Deep and Hard
    Chart (2021–2024) Peak
    position
    German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 53
    Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[13] 14

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ a b c d e f g h Huey, Steve. "Slow, Deep and Hard". AllMusic. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
    2. ^ a b O'Shea, Mick (July 2014). Cemetery Gates: Saints and Survivors of the Heavy Metal Scene. Plexus Publishing Limited. ISBN 9780859658904. Melding Carnivoresque thrash with dragging, dirge-heavy riffs more typical of the doom genre, Type O Negative's debut Slow, Deep and Hard, was released in 1991.
    3. ^ Slessor, Dan. "The spellbinding story of Type O Negative, album by album". Kerrang!. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
    4. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Type O Negative". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
    5. ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 463. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
    6. ^ Gitter, Mike (May 25, 1991). "Rekordz". Kerrang!. No. 342. EMAP. p. 22.
    7. ^ "Type O Negative - Slow, Deep And Hard" (in German). metal.de. April 1, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
    8. ^ Evans, Liz (May 29, 1991). "Albums". Raw. No. 72. EMAP. p. 46.
    9. ^ "Type O Negative - Slow, Deep and Hard - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives". www.metal-archives.com. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
    10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Bennett, J (June 17, 2021). "TYPE O NEGATIVE 'SLOW, DEEP AND HARD': 10 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT 1991 DEBUT". Revolver. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
    11. ^ Garry Sharpe-Young (2007). Metal: The Definitive Guide. p. 293.
    12. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Type O Negative – Slow, Deep and Hard" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
    13. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2024. 41. hét". MAHASZ. Retrieved October 16, 2024.