Part of why the synthwave movement is so attractive to metalheads is that it automatically smacks of the ’80s, and specifically of ’80s horror movies. Sure, you can make synthwave that’s more laser malls than George Romero’s Day of the Dead, but most of the time the style comes off as an obvious throwback to the works of directors like John Carpenter, Lucio Fulci, and Dario Argento. So while one might not have instantly considered Type O Negative‘s goth-metal anthem “Black No. 1” ripe for synthwavization, the fact that it works so damn beautifully should come as no surprise.
This reimagining is brought to you by Ten Second Songs, metal Internet’s current champion of This Artist In The Style of That Artist. The synthwave artist he’s specifically referencing here is Silent Knife, which happens to be the synthwave project of the guy behind this mash-up (nice promo there). While the track certainly loses some of the original’s doominess, it makes up for things in the pulsing, cinematic creepy-crawl that lives at the core its electronic throwback sounds. Interestingly enough, this version dropped on Halloween of 2020, but seems to be only making the rounds now (which is fine by us — we’ll take Halloween any time of the year).
Check out “Black No. 1” circa 1983 below:
Every metalhead knows that Type O Negative are the perfect Halloween music — in fact, Bloody Kisses, the album from which “Black No. 1” comes, landed at an impressive #4 on our list of the 31 spookiest albums of all time.
“October Rust may have the goth club hit, and World Coming Down may have the song about Halloween, but no Type O Negative album goes as hard in the total goth overload as Bloody Kisses,” wrote The Pit’s own Chris Krovatin. “Between the song about wanting to smash Jesus (“Christian Woman”), the organ-driven doom track about committing suicide to join your lost love (“Bloody Kisses”), or the goth empowerment anthem with a French spoken-word bridge (“Blood & Fire”), this album is totally dedicated to its spooky side. Of course, this is all wrapped together by “Black No. 1,” a massive, throbbing anthem dedicated to those girls who live and die for the month of October. Lily Munster ain’t got nothing on you.”
