Type O Negative’s October Rust was released in August of 1996, making it their 4th album, and their first album in which Johnny Kelly is credited as the band’s drummer. Type O Negative has a lot of 80s-era influences, which is still prominent in October Rust. This entire album, while lacking in dynamism, is romantically chilling. October Rust is a heavy, instrumentally focused, gothic album.

The first song, after two introductory tracks, “Love You to Death”, is currently their third most popular song on Spotify, and for good reason. “Love You to Death” is a 7-minute-long masterpiece in which you’re introduced to their vocalist, Peter Steele’s, wistful vocals and the band’s overall longing sound. “Love You to Death” is followed by twelve 80s-esque songs with a gothic twist. While this is an enjoyable album, it lacks interest and gets repetitive at times.

Another track to note on this album is “Wolf Moon (Including Zoanthropic Paranoia)”. The transition between the verses and choruses in this song is nothing short of captivating. “Wolf Moon” isn’t anything special instrumentally, but the way the droning guitars pair with Steele’s vocals is absolutely spellbinding (as mentioned in the song).

The last song to mention is “Be My Druidess.” You can really hear the 80s inspiration in the introduction to this song and it contrasts the most out of all the songs on the album. This track is honestly one of my favorites, even though its lyrics are painfully unserious. It’s a pretty upbeat song for Type O Negative, but it still keeps that same “burning leaves,” “future corpse,” ghostly feeling.

Overall, the album is extremely one-note and keeps the same feel throughout its entirety, which makes for an extremely enjoyable listening experience. While October Rust might not be Type O Negative’s best album, it’s definitely not one to overlook and is a wonderful candidate for your October soundtrack.