Since the dawn of humanity, people have been making music. After all this time, how is it possible artists are still coming up with new material? Inspiration drives innovation in all fields, but it’s particularly noticeable in the music industry. Auditory processing is just one of the many natural strengths of the human brain, the ear working tirelessly to deliver your favorite tunes to your nerves. Pattern recognition is another prominent strength featured in humans, creating an unfathomable amount of connections and inferences based on inputs, whether that be in regards to learning language, making decisions, engaging in pareidolia or drawing parallels between two bands you like the sound of and can’t help but compare.
Several weeks ago, following an extensive night of contemplation and restless sleep, I awoke to find Spotify serenading my ears with a song I’d completely forgotten that I’d liked several months prior, but adored in the moment, thinking of it as one of the most unique and beautiful sounds I’d ever heard. (In retrospect, I enjoy the song, however my sleep-addled state may have something to do with my arguably extreme love for the song and its unique sound. Would I say it’s necessarily the best song I’ve ever heard? I’m not sure.)
The aforementioned song was “Everyone I Love Is Dead” by Type O Negative. I believe it was initially suggested to me completely unprompted by a Starbucks employee, which is not relevant, but mildly interesting. As I recall, I found myself inexplicably drawn to the sound and promptly spent the next hour or so listening to the Type O Negative (TON) discography. I quickly discovered the two following things: 1) I very much enjoy this style of music, and 2) god these songs are long.
If I’m perfectly honest, I think my judgment of whether music is “niche” or not is based solely on how many listens a given song has on my streaming platform of choice. Does TON fit into this arbitrary, overused category of “niche”? I have no idea. Does it matter if it does? Not in the slightest.
In any case, a band I know that is most definitely not niche is Pink Floyd. Everyone and their mother has at least seen the cover for Pink Floyd’s 1973 album, “The Dark Side Of The Moon,” and they are arguably the most influential rock band of all time. One would be hard pressed to produce a modern rock band that does not draw some influence from Pink Floyd in some way shape or form, and TON is no exception to this phenomenon.
As I mentioned, one of my first realizations looking through the discography of TON was the sheer length of their pieces. I believe this was the initial red string on my pinboard connecting Pink Floyd and TON. The average Type O Negative song ranges anywhere from 5-11 minutes long, a notable breakaway from the short term content modern audiences are used to with music catered to radios and social media usage that tend to stray away from any songs longer than four minutes in length. Pink Floyd is notorious for their extensive song lengths and concept albums, 99% of which are most definitely not fit for radio usage, a drift away from conventional music artistry, particularly pre-internet.
I think it can oftentimes be difficult to restrict music to a particular genre, especially when the definitions for those genres are so loose and adaptable, and any given song may cover a variety of musical categories. Pink Floyd and TON are both decidedly rock bands, but where I think they differ from other music groups, and find similarities with each other, is their presence in the “experimental/art rock genre” specifically. Both bands are heavily stylized in their sound, creating a relatively identifiable tone with innovative uses of genre blending. Additionally, both bands engage in extensive musical interludes, creating poignant breadths between lyrics and producing slower, sometimes sluggish (in a good way) sounds.
The use of synthesizers is nearly a given in modern music, creating sounds otherwise difficult or near impossible to produce on traditional existing instruments. Synth was used and adapted extensively by both Pink Floyd and TON, potentially leading to their similar sounds in that respect.
Lyrical similarities rarely constitute a major similarity between two bands, but when taking all other aspects into consideration, I believe it’s worth looking into. Both TON and Pink Floyd explore topics relating to death, sex, religion, addiction and mental health in the lyrics of their music. I think it’s fair to assign nurture as having an influence on the types of music the bands were producing over their runs, shaping the lyrics and styles of play. Despite coming from slightly different eras, (TON really taking the stage in the early ‘90s with heavy gothic influences, and Pink Floyd writing through the late ‘60s and ‘70s during periods of significant global conflict and the rise of progressive rock music) there are some real similarities between the contents of songs written by both groups. The topic of drugs and addiction is probably the easiest parallel to draw, as numerous songs from both bands reference the topic heavily: “Comfortably Numb,” the entirety of “The Wall” (Pink Floyd), “IYDKMIGTHTKY” and “Sinus” (TON), just to give two examples from each.
One of the connections, admittedly weaker, I came up with between the two groups was the loss of a major, formative contributor. The loss of a band member can result in a number of different responses from their remaining participants, actions often dependent on the reason for departure. Replacement or disbandment are common, each being the case for Pink Floyd and TON respectively. Following the departures of Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd in 1968 due to deterioration of mental health and Peter Steele from Type O Negative in 2010 due to untimely passing, I personally found it interesting how each group elected to honor the memory of their departed members. Being lead vocalist for Type O Negative, the band ceased touring and song production immediately following Steele’s death. In an interview with Loudwire back in 2022, TON drummer Johnny Kelly said, “Peter, his musicianship, his character — without him there, you can’t call it Type O Negative,” on the topic of a possible resurgence of the band.
Though Syd Barrett could be argued as “not as important” to Pink Floyd as Steele was to Type O Negative, his departure from the group was felt as a lyricist, composer and vocalist, influencing future creative decisions and inspiring the song set “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” famously written for him. While these two scenarios don’t have much in common superficially, I think they’re worth bringing up to show the impact founding members may have on a band once they have left the group, and how love, appreciation and respect can manifest itself in different manners.
