Type O’s been at it for a long while now. I’ll skip the history lesson suffice to say that the last two albums, 1999’s World Coming Down and 2003’s Life is Killing Me were two high quality slabs of punk-sludge doom that enhanced the band’s unique sound and a must listen for people who were into Bloody Kisses and October Rust back in the day.

Dead Again is the band’s seventh studio album and the first after their split from long time record label Roadrunner. While World Coming Down was a stripped down somber and almost mournful affair, the band regained its sense of humour on the next album.

Dead Again is pretty much the perfect combination of the last two albums with a few new touches to keep things interesting. The album opens with the slow doomy riff of the title song before mutating into Misfits inspired punk and some sort of heavy metal punk crossover that’s about impossible to describe. The perfect album opener and sets the tone. What follows are two of the best songs the band has ever written. Tripping a Blind Man is epic doom with Beatles like vocal melodies and is equal parts melancholic and amusing while The Profits of Doom is pure Sabbath worship with a crawling lurching riff and Pete Steele sounding pissed off before the song takes off into some catchy riffing, and finally ending up sounding like epic and completely over the top doom.

September Sun is a superb piano led doom ballad, while Halloween in Heaven is an infectious rocker that should get most people jumping around with its Misfits/ Carnivore/ Sabbath approach and some pretty cool vocals from guest Tara Vanflower. These Three Things is the album’s piece de resistance. A staggering monstrous song that clocks in at just under fifteen minutes with an ominous dark doom vibe fighting for supremacy with a catchy-as-fuck Sisters of Mercy vibe. This is truly awesome stuff.

The band doesn’t put a foot wrong right through this album, and while the songs are a bit lengthy, they grab hold of you and don’t let go. This is the band’s finest album to date with zero filler material. If you’ve always hated Type O, then don’t think this album will change your mind, but if you’re one of those people who liked the old stuff and then lost touch with the band, then Dead Again will definitely surprise you.

Label - SPV
Year of Release - 2007