View source for World Coming Down

{{For|the song by Billy Idol|Devil's Playground (album)}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2010}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = World Coming Down
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Type O Negative]]
| cover      = worldcomingdown.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = September 21, 1999
| recorded   =
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = {{hlist|[[Gothic metal]]|[[doom metal]]}}
| length     = 73:58
| label      = [[Roadrunner Records|Roadrunner]]
| producer   = [[Peter Steele]] and [[Josh Silver]]
| prev_title = [[October Rust]]
| prev_year  = 1996
| next_title = [[The Least Worst Of]]
| next_year  = 2000
| misc       = {{Singles
 | name        = World Coming Down
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Everything Dies]]
 | single1date = November 1999<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/greatrockdiscogr0000stro_r9o1/page/1574/mode/2up|title=Great Rock Discography, 2004 edition|page=1575}}</ref>
}}
}}

'''''World Coming Down''''' is the fifth studio album by the American [[gothic metal]] band [[Type O Negative]]. Released on September 21, 1999, it is considered to be the darkest of the band's releases,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metalsucks.net/2015/09/22/remembering-world-coming-fall-type-o-negative/|title=Remembering World Coming Down: The Fall of Type O Negative|first=Metal|last=Matt|date=September 22, 2015|publisher=MetalSucks}}</ref> having been written after a series of deaths in frontman [[Peter Steele]]'s family, combined with the desire to break away from the sexually charged themes of the previous albums.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://typeonegative.rockmetal.art.pl/wyw/eng/enwpeteroutburn.html |title=Archived copy |website=typeonegative.rockmetal.art.pl |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831165517/http://typeonegative.rockmetal.art.pl/wyw/eng/enwpeteroutburn.html |archive-date=31 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It was also the band's first album to reach the Top 40 on the [[Billboard 200]].

==Music and lyrics==
As with the band's previous album, ''[[October Rust]]'', this album also has a 'joke intro': in this case, "Skip It", 11 seconds of staccato band noise meant to sound as if the listener's CD player is skipping, followed by the band's guitarist, [[Kenny Hickey]], shouting "Sucker!" On the 2019 and 2021 vinyl reissues of the album, this is instead replaced with 11 seconds of the first song, "White Slavery" skipping, as if the record is scratched, before Hickey yells "Sucker!". Contrary to popular belief, cassette versions contained the same intro as the CD version.

"White Slavery" itself deals with [[cocaine]] addiction. Discussing his dalliance with the drug and inspiration behind the song in a 1999 ''[[Kerrang!]]'' interview, Steele recalled: "There were a handful of times that were fucking horrible, but one night in particular was really bad, and that's when I stopped doing it. I was really depressed and homesick, and the worst part is when you're coming down from it. It's five in the morning and there's no one to talk to, you're on a tour bus doing 80mph and you look out the window and it looks like you're on Mars. All I could think about was jumping out of the bus while it was moving, but that would have made too many people happy."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Travers |first1=Paul |title=Kerrang! |date=4 September 1999 |publisher=BBC Frontline |location=London |page=21|edition=766}}</ref>

Two other songs, "Everyone I Love Is Dead" and "Everything Dies", touch on the difficulties of watching family members and loved ones die. Another track, "Who Will Save the Sane?", which deals with mental illness and psychiatry, incorporates Steele reciting the number [[pi]] to 9 decimal places (3.141592653).

The album contains three "soundscape" tracks, which are named after [[internal organ]]s, as segues between songs. Each of these songs is intended to suggest the possibilities of the deaths the members of the band may have suffered at the time: "Sinus" as death from [[cocaine]] use, "Liver" as death through alcohol abuse and "Lung" as death from smoking. In an ironic foreboding, Steele once told a close friend that he could not bear to listen to "Sinus" after it was mixed and completed, because the sound of the heartbeat escalating to its furious pace after the cocaine-snorting sound effect actually drove him to the point of an anxiety attack because of its realism.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

Also included at the end of the album is a cover song, a medley of three [[Beatles]] songs. In the liner notes to the album's 2020 vinyl reissue, Hickey stated "All four of us are Beatles freaks" but added ruefully: "Being four idiots and not knowing anything, we didn't realise that The Beatles charge $35,000 per song. They were the most expensive songs in the music industry that you could get rights to for a cover - and we did a medley, so it was three songs! It came out great, but the record company was like, 'This is gonna cost $75,000! You guys are outta your minds! Who's gonna pay it? Not us!'" Keyboardist and producer [[Josh Silver]] eventually convinced the label to foot the bill.<ref>''World Coming Down'' liner notes, Run Out Groove Records, March 2020.</ref>

An additional song recorded during the album sessions, "12 Black Rainbows," was issued as the B-side for the "Everything Dies" single;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/Type-O-Negative-Everything-Dies/master/27580 |title="Type O Negative – Everything Dies at Discogs" |date=1999 |publisher=Discogs |accessdate=August 25, 2016}}</ref> later, it was included on the compilation album ''[[The Least Worst Of]]'' with two other unreleased tracks from the same sessions ("It's Never Enough" and "Stay Out of My Dreams").<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/Type-O-Negative-The-Least-Worst-Of/release/3323010 |title="Type O Negative – The Least Worst Of (CD) at Discogs" |date=October 31, 2000 |publisher=Discogs |accessdate=August 25, 2016}}</ref>

The reversed vocal technique of [[backmasking]] is used in several places on the album; some segments are more audibly apparent than others. In particular, backmasking during the intro section of "Creepy Green Light", which was originally titled "Spooky Green Light", refers to a third-person "spell" of a friend's intention to be reunited with a dead spouse.

Following its release the members of Type O Negative had mixed opinions about the music on ''World Coming Down''. Keyboardist and producer [[Josh Silver]] felt that the music was strong, while Steele said the songs were too strongly connected to an uncomfortable period in his life.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} Live shows performed since the initial tour to support ''World Coming Down'' usually had very few, if any, selections from the album in the set list. However, the band often played the song "World Coming Down" in its entirety during the ''[[Dead Again (Type O Negative album)|Dead Again]]'' tour.

The album cover features a photo of the [[Brooklyn Bridge]].

==Critical reception==
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name=AllMusic>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r429285|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic review]</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s|Christgau's Consumer Guide]]''
| rev2score = {{Rating-Christgau|cut}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=type%20o%20negative|title=Robert Christgau: CG: type o negative|last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Chronicles of Chaos (webzine)|Chronicles of Chaos]]''
| rev3Score = 10/10<ref name=CoC>{{cite web|url=http://www.chroniclesofchaos.com/reviews/albums/2-1462_type_o_negative_world_coming_down.aspx|title=CoC : Type O Negative – World Coming Down : Review|work=[[Chronicles of Chaos (webzine)|Chronicles of Chaos]] |last=Wasylyk |first=Adam |date=December 9, 1999}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Martin Popoff|Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal]]''
| rev4score = 8/10<ref>{{cite book |last1=Popoff |first1=Martin |author-link1=Martin Popoff |title=The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties |publisher=[[Collector's Guide Publishing]] |year=2007 |location=[[Burlington, Ontario]], [[Canada]] |isbn=978-1-894959-62-9 |page=464}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''The Daily Vault''
| rev5Score = B<ref name=TheDailyVault>{{cite web|url=http://dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=3961|title=Type O Negative: World Coming Down – Daily Vault|work=The Daily Vault |last=Thelen |first=Christopher |date=September 29, 1999}}</ref>
}}

''World Coming Down'' received mostly positive reviews. [[AllMusic]] critic Steve Huey gave the album a 4-out-of-5 star rating.<ref name=AllMusic /> Adam Wasylyk of ''Chronicles of Chaos'' gave ''World Coming Down'' a very positive review: "An album that won't be ignored, it's my favourite album of 1999. Hands down."<ref name=CoC /> Christopher Thelen of ''The Daily Vault'' called the album "a great listen" and wrote that "for the most part", ''World Coming Down'' "suggests that" Type O Negative "is doing things right".<ref name=TheDailyVault />

''[[The Washington Post]]''{{'}}s Mark Jenkins wrote that Type O Negative "...shows some unexpected warmth" on the album, adding that "Much of the album thuds and growls, but the refrain of "Pyretta Blaze" is genuinely catchy."<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1999/10/22/type-o-negative-world-coming-down-roadrunner/7eb747c0-81c9-4bda-9df6-d3f9710f450f/ |title=Type O Negative "World Coming Down" Roadrunner |last=Jenkins |first=Mark |date=1999-10-22 |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=2017-09-25 |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Writing for the [[Daily Herald (Arlington Heights)|''Daily Herald'' (Arlington Heights)]], Jeff Pizek awarded the album three-and-a-half stars out of a possible four, asserting that with the album “the self-proclaimed Drab Four have found a dour medium between tenebrous melody and Sabbathy bad vibes.” Pizek paid special attention to a number of songs; he described “White Slavery” and “All Hallow’s Eve” as perfect bookends for the record and as “definitive Type O Negative songs, [that encompass] all the gloom, rage and tranquillity of their paradigm." He goes further, writing that “Pyretta Blaze” and “Creepy Green Light” showcase the varying sides of the band's personality by boasting crushing doom riffs and poppier sensibilities akin to [[October Rust]], respectively. Pizek later added in his review that “In a just world, this would be the album that breaks Type O Negative, but that remains to be seen.”<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pizek |first1=Jeff |title=Album Reviews [Type O Negative, "World Coming Down" (Roadrunner) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/13399395/?terms=%22peter%2Bsteele%22 |website=newspapers.com |publisher=Ancestry |accessdate=28 October 2019}}</ref>

In 2021, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 1999 by ''[[Metal Hammer]]'' magazine.<ref name="MHtop2099">{{cite web |title=The Top 20 best metal albums of 1999 |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-top-20-best-metal-albums-of-1999/2 |website=[[Metal Hammer]] |publisher=[[Future plc]] |access-date=6 March 2021 |date=21 January 2021}}</ref>

==Track listing==
All songs written by [[Peter Steele]], except where noted.
{{tracklist
| title1     = Skip It
| length1    = 0:11
| title2     = White Slavery
| length2    = 8:22
| title3     = Sinus
| length3    = 0:53
| title4     = Everyone I Love Is Dead
| length4    = 6:11
| title5     = Who Will Save the Sane?
| length5    = 6:41
| title6     = Liver
| length6    = 1:42
| title7     = World Coming Down
| length7    = 11:10
| title8     = Creepy Green Light
| length8    = 7:00
| title9     = [[Everything Dies]]
| length9    = 7:44
| title10     = Lung
| length10    = 1:36
| title11     = Pyretta Blaze
| length11    = 7:01
| title12     = All Hallows Eve
| length12    = 8:36
| title13     = Day Tripper (Medley)
| note13      = [[The Beatles]] [[cover version|cover]])
*I. [[Day Tripper]] ([[John Lennon]], [[Paul McCartney]])
*II. [[If I Needed Someone]] ([[George Harrison]])
*III. [[Day Tripper]] (Reprise)
*IV. [[I Want You (She's So Heavy)]] ([[Lennon–McCartney|Lennon, McCartney]]
| length13    = 7:02
| total_length = 73:58
}}

==Credits==
*[[Peter Steele]] – lead vocals, bass, additional guitars and keyboards
*[[Kenny Hickey]] – guitars, backing vocals, co-lead vocals (on "World Coming Down" and "All Hallows Eve")
*[[Josh Silver]] – keyboards, synthesizers, sound effects, electronic and drum programming, backing vocals
*[[Johnny Kelly]] – drums, percussion, backing vocals

===Additional Musicians===
*Paul Bento – [[sitar]], [[Tanpura (instrument)|tamboura]] (on "World Coming Down" and "Day Tripper (Medley)")
*[[Richard Termini]] – additional keyboards (on "Pyretta Blaze")

===Production===
*Michael Marciano – recording engineer
*George Marino – mastering
*Vincent Soyez – photography
*Mike Curry – design
*Noel Wiggins – design

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1999–2013)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|Austria|17|artist=Type O Negative|album=World Coming Down|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 26, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|Netherlands|25|artist=Type O Negative|album=World Coming Down|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 26, 2020}}
|-
!scope="row"|Europe ([[European Top 100 Albums]])<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1999/MM-1999-10-09.pdf|title=Eurochart Top 100 Albums - October 09, 1999|magazine=[[Music & Media]]|volume=16|issue=41|page=12|date=October 9, 1999|access-date=December 8, 2021}}</ref>
|8
|-
{{album chart|Finland|3|artist=Type O Negative|album=World Coming Down|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 26, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|Germany4|3|id=9437|artist=Type O Negative|album=World Coming Down|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 26, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|Norway|16|artist=Type O Negative|album=World Coming Down|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 26, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|Sweden|17|artist=Type O Negative|album=World Coming Down|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 26, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|UK2|49|date=19990926|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 26, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|39|artist=Type O Negative|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 26, 2020}}
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Type O Negative}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1999 albums]]
[[Category:Roadrunner Records albums]]
[[Category:Type O Negative albums]]