Niki N. Phaser

          Yeah, this time it was for real, Peter Steele, iconic frontman of metal band Type O Negative has really died. It happened two weeks ago, but we all know that with Lord Steele we have to wait a little bit and be sure that we are not supposed to laugh at yet another dark joke of his. It is only appropriate that we should remember Type O’s Everything Dies, from 1999′s World Coming Down, a perfect song to qualify them as more than a metal band, but an alternative (and loud) way to deal with universal themes of death and love and fear of all that these two can bring. Still, this is not what you would call a mainstream track, but you can definitely spot a genuine ballad behind all the grunting from the intro, combined with something which sounds like a Hitlerjunge convention. It was just like Type O Negative to go for weird mixing choices, but this is one of those songs that you have to listen with one hand on the volume. That haunting piano from the verse is so addictive that you just have to hear it better and then the chorus kicks in, loud and celebratory, as if hailing death as the one thing in life that is certain — the grounds on which you can build your existence. RIP P.S.

Everything Dies here

               Alice Cooper is best known for… almost everything he does, his name being one of the quintessential pillars of heavy-metal. His 1991 album, Hey Stoopid  (the title refers to drug addiction), didn’t receive as much attention as his 80′s work, probably because of the grungy circumstances of those days. But, when you draw the bottom line, you realize that the album contains some of the master’s most recognizable hits, like the title track, Feed My Frankenstein or the symphy Might As Well Be On Mars.

                The horror-like intro (phasy pads, high piano keys, door effects), the classic whiny guitar solos suitable for hair metal ballads, they extend the song to a seven minutes length, but it all goes so fast, as if you are listening to a three minutes no.1 pop hit. Might As Well Be On Mars is what you would call a classic heavy ballad: it’s about love, heartbreak, alienation (as the title suggests), but from that ‘tough guy with long hair’ perspective: “You’ve, turned my world into a dark and lonely place, Like a planet lost in space”. It’s torch song for biker chicks, yes, but of the best quality. If you are familiar with Cooper’s Poison, you can expect the same kind of big loud, but romantic chorus, that anchors the track in mainstream and makes it appealing to non-rockers.

MIGHT AS WELL LISTEN TO IT