The songs on World Coming Down are so powerful and dark because they are blunt and honest. We've always tried to be honest. And the problem with that... well, actually it's not even a problem. Because when you're honest, at least you know who your friends are and who your enemies are, or if they don't like your opinion about things. The truth hurts... I guess we're just here to hurt you.
Peter Steele / Type O Negative interview, Unknown, 2001
TYPE O NEGATIVE released their fifth album on this day in 1999.
We've been home for about two years, and my father passed away about four years ago. It actually didn't hit me until I got home, and I had all this time to think. I'm not going to say that I am obsessed with his death, but I still live in the same house that we all lived in. I live downstairs, my parents live upstairs, and my sister lives above. So there's a lot of ghosts in the house, figuratively of course. I just lost interest in everything...sex, working out, food. I could not stop seeing his face everywhere. After that, I lost an aunt and uncle. This is what happens when you come from a large family. I happened to be one of its youngest members, so I've seen a lot of people go. I guess my father's death was the straw that broke the camel's back. That's why there's so much death on the album.
...the songs, especially "Everyone I Love is Death" and "Everything Dies", are really personal. I have a hard time executing them live, because I have to disassociate myself. Hell, I never thought that I would have to sing these songs live. It's really funny how people misconstrue song titles... someone asked me if "Everyone I Love is Death" is about necrophilia. We actually recorded about thirteen or fourteen songs for this album, and due to time limitations, we had to leave off three or four. I really thought that these songs were thrown away ones that just going to be dumped. It became that "Everything Dies" is not only the first single, but we just recorded a video for it as well. That was also very difficult. My father was a ship yard supervisor, and I chose to do the video where he worked... so I have stabbed myself, and then I just had to go and twist the knife.
Peter Steele / Type O Negative interview, 2001