Type O Negative: The Drab Four

Before Marilyn Manson's rise to MTV, before the birth of Hot Topic, and before black trench coats, black fishnets and black fingernails swallowed the suburban mall scene, Type O Negative had already performed an unusual marriage of sounds blending Black Sabbath with a touch of the Beatles.

As strange as that combination sounds, it's one that has helped the Brooklyn-based metal band create not only a loyal legion of underground followers, but also a reputation for being one of the only "real" goth rock bands on the scene. Known jokingly as "The Drab Four" (an obvious play on the Beatles' "Fab Four") Type O Negative seethes and rolls with hard-edged dreariness, but is always intertwined with a tragic tenderness that sometimes shouts but usually whispers. Dark, vampiric and dreamy, the songs seem to ooze the same eerie greenness that graces every one of the band's album covers.

Although there has been some evolution since the band's early, more punk-infused albums, a few things likely will never change their penchant for creating melodies and sounds drowning in gloom and their ability to slip in touches of tongue-in-cheek, wink-at-your-fans humor.

That started long before even the first album had been released. In fact, the band's name is a bit tongue-in-cheek. "Type O Negative" was chosen after all four members had tattooed a large zero with a "minus" sign inside of it symbolizing not "Type O Negative," but the band's original name, "Sub Zero." Once that name was deemed unacceptable, they picked the only name that would keep the permanent publicity stunt from being a jab-in-the-ribs joke.

Founded by lead singer Peter Steele in 1991 from the remnants of such bands as Fallout and Carnivore, Type O Negative's original lineup consisted of Steele, keyboardist Josh Silver, drummer Sal Abruscato, and guitarist Kenny Hickey. Abruscato left following the band's first release, "Slow, Deep and Hard," and was replaced by current drummer Johnny Kelly who had been the band's drum tech.