Text written by WikiBrother Gabriel Brandino , from @moshinhell
Type O Negative was one of the greatest gothic metal in history, and its vocalist, Peter Steele , is arguably the greatest vocalist of that style of all time.
With a low baritone range, Steele's vocals were unmistakable and wonderful.
And it's about one of the band's great classics that I'll be talking about today, "Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)".
First of all, it's worth remembering that, even though the band was gothic/doom metal, styles marked by sad and melancholic compositions, Peter Steele was always a sarcastic guy who loved acidic humor, making that clear in practically all his lyrics, and "Black No. 1" is no different.
At the time he wrote the song, Steele, in addition to being the band's vocalist, worked as a garbage truck driver.
He said in an interview that he was waiting for hours to dump human waste at the Maritime Transfer Station in Brooklyn, and began to "write" the entire song in his head.
The lyrics sarcastically detail a relationship Steele once had with a narcissistic girl, which caused him suffering for a while.
So much so that the song begins in the following way.
"I went looking for trouble, and boy, did I find it...
She's in love with herself."
Steele uses several ironic references in the song, mainly talking about Halloween and also mentioning Nosferatu.
Furthermore, he compares her to Lily Munster , a fictional character from an old American sitcom called The Munsters , in which she plays a vampire with a fiery temper who gets angry frequently.
"She has a midnight date
with Nosferatu.
Oh, darling, Lilly Monster
doesn't even come close to you."
The song title “Black No. 1” comes from the number referring to the hair dye shade, implying that this girl supposedly had dark hair.
In the middle of the song there's a totally nostalgic keyboard part, with a touch of The Addams Family.
And it ends like this.
“Loving you […]
was like loving the dead.”
READ ALSO: The Death song that sounds like an autobiographical work by Chuck Schuldiner
