Tag: In This Day in History

On This Day in History, April 14th Remembering Peter Steele Of Type O Negative

Type O Negative vocalist/bassist Peter Steele died ten years ago on Apr. 14 and, although criminally underrated, they still left a lasting impression both music and horror fans.

Metal, regardless of which subgenre your more familiar with, goes remarkably well with horror movies — there’s no disputing that. It doesn’t matter if it’s a slasher film, creature features, ghost or zombie flicks, whatever it is. Unsurprisingly, certain metal groups appear on multiple soundtracks throughout their careers. One band that was very unique in their approach to convey emotion, sensuality and dark humor with depth was Type O Negative.

I first got into Type O Negative after a friend recommended them to me and I promptly bought the October Rust CD. I remember being overwhelmed and totally impressed with each and every song. Soon after I bought Bloody Kisses and from there I did a deep dive and bought all their albums while impatiently awaiting future releases.

Below is a list of movies featuring the “Drab Four” on their soundtrack.

1) I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

Off their 1993 album, “Bloody Kisses,” Type O Negative released this Seals and Crofts cover. It’s featured in the opening of the Kevin Williamson ’90s hit, I Know What You Did Last Summer. The camera is moving over a body of water to its destination and slowly the song transitions to the film’s score by John Debney. It’s a strong mood setter, especially with the sound effects added in.

Something about their cover of Summer Breeze is perfect for this opening. It feels sarcastic, insincere and perhaps a tad dangerous. Either way you look at it, it’s a huge departure from what the 1972 original’s vibe is like.

Noteworthy in the band’s history: “Bloody Kisses” earned them recognition from the Recording Industry Association of America. Also noteworthy, drummer Sal Abruscato quit the band shortly after and was replaced by their drum technician, Johnny Kelly.

2) Nosferatu (1922 silent film, released in 1998)

Courtesy of Arrow Videos and DigiView Entertainment, the original 1922 silent film was re-released in 1998 with music taken from 1991’s Slow, Deep and Hard, 1993’s Bloody Kisses and 1996’s October Rust. If interested, you can watch it in full on YouTube, but if you’d prefer a DVD copy, check here. The song I’ll choose to highlight comes off October Rust. Green man is an earthy, tranquil song that suits any season and any purpose.

3) Bride of Chucky (1998)

The song, “Love You to Death,” appears as track number six on the official soundtrack, however, it doesn’t appear in the movie. It’s interesting because the album cover reads, “Music from and inspired by the Motion Picture”, but the song came out in 1996; so if it’s neither featured in the film, nor inspired by it, why is it listed?

I just wished they actually used it somewhere in the movie. It’s a sexy, goth romance song that’s as beautiful and overwhelming as it is passionately played and mellifluously sung.

4) The Blair Witch Project (1999)

The Blair Witch Project — Courtesy of Lionsgate

Say what you will about this found footage flick, but the soundtrack isn’t half bad. Included on it, is the 1996 track, Haunted. It’s ethereal, otherworldly, tragic and effective in every sense. While none of the songs on the soundtrack actually made it to the film, the idea was to market the hell out of it by releasing a mixed CD the character Josh had in his car before disappearing. It’s funny to note that, if memory serves, the film takes place in 1994, despite being released in 1999. “Haunted” was not released until 1996. The film was shot in late October of 1997 and became a hit two years later during its festival run.

5) Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

“(We Were) Electrocute” is one of many awesome tracks on the film’s official soundtrack. It’s a mournful yet celebratory track of heavy riffs complimenting reflective lyrics softly albeit passionately sung. The track is off Type O Negative’s 2003 album, “Life is Killing Me.” The album would be their last with Roadrunner records. Although not the first, Freddy vs. Jason is certainly one of the greater horror soundtracks offering a variety of different types of metal.

Type O Negative disbanded shortly after Peter Steele died on Apr. 14, 2010. His death was from an aortic aneurysm. Since then, Keyboardist Josh Silver has become a certified EMT in New York, while guitarist and vocalist Kenny Hickey has help positions in several bands, including Danzig and Seventh Void along with drummer Johnny Kelly, who also plays in A Pale Horse Named Death with Type O’s original drummer, Sal Abruscato on vocals.

I strongly feel as though, all these years later, Type O Negative still isn’t given nearly the credit they deserve. Not only has the band become a source of inspiration, but their music has helped me through some rough times. I was even fortunate enough to see them in concert.

If you haven’t heard of the band before, I highly recommend you check them out. Especially if you’re a fan of any of the aforementioned horror movies. How many of the songs and movies are you familiar with?

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On This Day in History Remembering Layne Staley

Layne Thomas Staley born Layne Rutherford Staley, August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002 was an American musician best known as the original lead singer and co-songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to international fame in the early 1990s as part of Seattle’s grunge movement, becoming known for Staley’s distinct vocal style and tenor voice as well as the harmonized vocals between him and guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell. Staley was also a member of the glam metal bands Sleze and Alice N’ Chains, and the supergroups Mad Season and Class of ’99.

Few rock vocalists created such a dark and eerie body of work as Alice in Chains’ Layne Staley. Born in Kirkland, WA, on August 22, 1967, Staley showed musical talent at an early age, and took up the drums. But upon joining garage bands and discovering rock music as a teenager (Black Sabbath, the Doors, etc.), Staley switched to singing. He met guitarist Jerry Cantrell shortly thereafter, and both formed a band.

From mid-1996 onwards, Staley was out of the public spotlight, never to perform live again. Staley struggled for much of his adult life with depression and drug addiction, which resulted in his death from a speedball overdose at the age of 34 on April 5, 2002.

However, Staley’s body wasn’t discovered immediately. It wasn’t until April 19, after no one had heard from him for two weeks, that the police were called in to break down the door to his Seattle apartment. Surrounded, in squalor, by drugs and drug paraphernalia, was Staley. His 6′ 1″ frame had been reduced to 86 pounds, and in his hand was a syringe loaded with another dose of heroin. The autopsy and toxicology report placed the date of his death, which was ruled as accidental, at April 5.

Alice in Chains had been mostly inactive since the summer of 1996, when they opened up for Kiss on a handful of dates. There were two new songs — “Get Born Again” and “Died” — recorded in late 1998 that were recorded for the Music Bank box set, and Staley and other ’90s alt-rock stars, calling themselves Class of ’99, covered Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” for the soundtrack to The Faculty.

Staley was without a paternal figure during his formative years after his father left the family when Layne was just 8 years old. When his dad found a picture of Staley in a magazine, the two wound up reconnecting and would even do drugs together as both were known addicts.

At the age of 12, his passion for music was expressed through percussion. He would go on to play drums for some glam-rock acts in his teens.

When Staley did find a passion for singing in his teenage years, he started belting out tunes for an adolescent glam rock band called Sleze. The group also played on stage in full on drag, and later changed it’s name to Alice N’ Chains.

Staley asked Jerry Cantrell to join a funk band, and in exchange agreed to sing in Cantrell’s band with drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Starr. The funk band would break up, but the latter band would go on to become Alice in Chains.

A tattoo of a mystery man whose eyes are sewn shut was located on the right side of Staley’s upper back. The tattoo has a striking resemblance to the hooded figure that appears in the ‘Man in the Box’ video.

Just before Alice in Chains kicked off their tour opening for Ozzy Osbourne as the singer was supporting the ‘No More Tears’ record, Layne broke his foot in an ATV accident. As a result, the singer had to prop himself up onstage using crutches.

Prior to branding themselves as Mad Season, Staley’s side project had been named The Gacy Bunch, combining the name of serial killer John Wayne Gacy and the hit ‘70s sitcom, ‘The Brady Bunch.’ Mad Season is less subtle about its nature, taken from the term attributed to when psilocybin mushrooms are in bloom.

In his last known interview, Staley told reporter Adriano Rubio that he knew his time on Earth was running out. “I know I’m near death,” he said. “I did crack and heroin for years. I never wanted to end my life this way. I know I have no chance. It’s too late.”

In an eerie coincidence, Staley died eight years to the day that Kurt Cobain, whose success with Nirvana began the Seattle-dominated grunge movement off the early ’90s, took his own life with a shotgun.

Bassist Mike Starr is believed to be the last person to see Staley alive, visiting him the day before he died, which was his birthday. Their relationship ended on a strained note as Starr left Staley’s apartment after the two engaged in an argument. The singer is said to have cried out, “Not like this, don’t leave like this.”
Starr later claimed to be the last person to see him alive. “I wish I hadn’t been high on benzodiazepine [that night],” Starr said on Celebrity Rehab. “I wouldn’t have just walked out the door.”

Coincidentally Mike Starr, the original bassist for Alice in Chains who struggled with drug addiction during much of his tenure in the band died March 8, 2011 of a prescription drug overdose.

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On This Day in History

Written By Braddon S. Williams aka “The Concert Critic”

On this date in history, 7/11/2019, I saw Alice Cooper for the 10th time. The show took place at the prestigious Honeywell Center in Wabash, IN.

It is challenging to do these reviews after seeing some of my favorite artists so many times. Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, and Slayer are all similar situations. On the one hand, I keep going back because these artists are ingrained in my musical consciousness and I have absolute passion for everything they do and all they stand for. A simpler reason is that they continue to play incredible shows.

Alice Cooper hit the stage with a brand new set (a haunted castle…quite amazing to behold) and dug deep into his treasure chest of songs and pulled out some gems I had never heard him perform before. The song My Stars from 1972’s School’s Out album was terrific, as was the title track from 1973’s Muscle Of Love. Not only did these songs bring some new energy to the show, they provided some exciting riffs for Alice’s all-star band to add their magical touches to.

Another deep cut that got a particularly hard rocking makeover was Roses On White Lace from 1987’s Raise Your Fist And Yell, providing a fast metallic riff for the shredding of Nita Strauss, one third of Alice’s assassination squad of lead guitar aces. Each of these three got plenty of space to shine, and each have their own distinctive style that suits different facets of Cooper’s career.

During one early song, Cooper displayed some tasty blues harmonica, accompanied by Wabash native Tommy Henriksen, who played some back and forth lead guitar with the bosses harp licks.

Ryan Roxie, the longest tenured of the trio, played lots of melodic and soaring lead lines from some of the most classic songs.

Once again, drummer Glen Sobel delivered an absolutely jaw dropping drum solo on the capacity crowd, accompanied by bass playing muscle man, Chuck Garric (who has been a mainstay since 2002).

As admittedly superb as the musicians are (and they are the top of the line, each and every one), no Cooper show is based solely on music, and this was no exception. The theatrics were all in place, from the giant Frankenstein monster who made a brief appearance during the opening Feed My Frankenstein, and a full rampage later on Teenage Frankenstein, to a truly spectacular larger than life evil baby (looking a bit like the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man with Alice Cooper makeup!). This baby took place in the onstage “execution” of Alice by guillotine. Although the guillotine had a malfunction, the old gag still provides a great bit of suspense and entertainment. Alice did his straitjacket appearance while singing Steven from the magnificent Welcome To My Nightmare album (1975), and segued into Dead Babies from Killer (1971).

Cooper’s wife Sheryl played the part of the evil nurse with sadistic glee. So, this was the 10th time for me, but I’m not done yet! Going back for more in November, when Alice brings the show back to the Murat Theatre at The Old National Centre…to be continued!

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