Life in Peter Steele and Type O Negative's world was certainly not the happiest. Throughout their illustrious career, their songs of love, lust, death, rejection and more, mostly along other depressive lines made for some dark, uneasy but ultimately incredible listening that made Type O one of metal's most unique and interesting bands. Years of alcohol and drug abuse eventually caught up with Steele and despite getting clean, a heart attack took him in April 2010 and robbed the world of any future gloom from the enigmatic frontman.
A good proportion of Type O Negative's songs dealt with personal themes, and 'Red Water (Christmas Mourning)' was no different. It was written about Steele’s dead father at the time, but as we will explore, goes far beyond his personal loss. Songs such as 'Black No.1', 'Christian Woman' and 'Everything Dies' are unquestionably among their greatest anthems but 'Red Water' ought to be considered as great as any of those and despite its title, isn't just a song for Christmas. The album it came from, 'October Rust', yielded 'Love You to Death' and 'My Girlfriend's Girlfriend' as its main singles, as well as a cracking cover of Neil Young's 'Cinnamon Girl', so it isn't really a surprise that 'Red Water' is often overlooked as one of Type O's greatest. Type O apparently insisted they would never play it live, likely due to the subject matter of the song, But in my book, 'Red Water' is simply one of their most incredible to listen to and an absolute must-listen, whether the lyrics resonate powerful with you or not.
A good proportion of Type O Negative's songs dealt with personal themes, and 'Red Water (Christmas Mourning)' was no different. It was written about Steele’s dead father at the time, but as we will explore, goes far beyond his personal loss. Songs such as 'Black No.1', 'Christian Woman' and 'Everything Dies' are unquestionably among their greatest anthems but 'Red Water' ought to be considered as great as any of those and despite its title, isn't just a song for Christmas. The album it came from, 'October Rust', yielded 'Love You to Death' and 'My Girlfriend's Girlfriend' as its main singles, as well as a cracking cover of Neil Young's 'Cinnamon Girl', so it isn't really a surprise that 'Red Water' is often overlooked as one of Type O's greatest. Type O apparently insisted they would never play it live, likely due to the subject matter of the song, But in my book, 'Red Water' is simply one of their most incredible to listen to and an absolute must-listen, whether the lyrics resonate powerful with you or not.
