Before Type O Negative, there was really no such thing as goth metal. And the group that hails from the bowels of Brooklyn (not Transylvania, as some assume) is still at it, on their sixth studio album overall -- and first for the SPV label -- 2007's Dead Again. Unbelievably heavy sludge riffs are still a main ingredient, as well as singer Pete Steele's ongoing "Kill me, I'm in agony" lyrics, and vocals that sometimes sound quite Bela Lugosi-esque. The album-opening title track may very well be the most melodic song the band has ever recorded, but the Type O we all know and love is lurking right around the bend, especially on such tracks as "The Profits of Doom" (the album's original working title), "She Burned Me Down," and "An Ode to Locksmiths," the latter of which contains a guitar riff so Tony Iommi-esque that it sounds straight off of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. With Dead Again, Type O Negative delivers another album of dark tales and even darker riffs, and will reassure morose metalheads that they can still count on Steele to spread the misery. ~ Greg Prato