Bloody Kisses
Bloody Kisses makes heavy music strikingly melodic. Type O Negative combine slow, distorted guitars with keyboards and choruses that sit closer to pop than the dark presentation suggests. Peter Steele sings deeply and emphatically. His delivery gives the album its own character, mixing sadness, exaggeration and dry humour.
Christian Woman shows how much this approach can offer. The song takes its time, separating heavier sections with a quiet middle passage. Strong melodies keep the long structure easy to follow. The band make the music grand, but also provide softer areas that give the next heavy entrance more impact.
Black No. 1 finds similar strength in familiarity and excess. It can rely heavily on its choruses while Steele's voice holds the performance together. The joke goes beyond the words. The band's emphatic way of presenting their gloomy style adds a knowing smile to the music itself.
Summer Breeze makes that relationship even clearer. The originally gentle pop song receives a much darker sound without losing its melody. The transition into Set Me on Fire preserves that tuneful side, with keyboards giving the guitars another colour. Heavy music and a strong pop instinct prove comfortable partners here.
The album is too long, though, and not every interruption helps. Short sound pieces break the momentum, while some extended songs continue beyond what their ideas can support. Nevertheless, Bloody Kisses contains enough strong melodies to balance its untidy side. The combination of a heavy sound and approachable writing convinces. This is an album that makes its sadness larger than life while still being able to laugh at it.
