This interesting greatest hits CD of New York Goth band Type O Negative is a great starting point for new converts. Led by gigantic front man Peter Steele, towering over six feet with a voice that would crack a castle door, TON has been touring and recording long enough to impress even the most conservative of rock critics. These guys, including Kenny Hickey, Josh Silver and Johnny Kelly, love their craft. But that's just a small part of the allure of this extremely unique quartet.

One of the greatest Goth bands in history, TON pounds through one hit after another including "Black," "Everyone I Love is Dead," "Christian Woman," "Love You to Death," "Everything Dies" (my favorite) and of course, the David Leanian anthem, "Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity." Their confident skill comes only from a band having toured for well over a decade.

When watching these guys live, all eyes are on Steele. Call it mesmerizing intimidation. Put an ax in his hand and a helmet on his head and, by God, you have the mutant son of Thor and Satan. I suppose I have a peculiar fascination with this talented group. Songs last 10 to 12 minutes. Choruses change in mid-verse, riffs slow down at unexpected moments. A silhouetted Steele tells stories into the insanely tall microphone. It's not easy to understand just what inspires this foursome to write such unusual songs played for us mere hobbits.

Type O Negative is not really jamming during their endless numbers more than they just perform indefinable productions within their brooding heads. They are an acquired taste, requiring great concentration before finally reaching the foggy climatic plateau where Christopher Lee crouches and Alice Cooper hides. Once within their wax museum nightmare, welcome to a lost paradise.

"The Least Worst" CD has most of the songs that put these guys on the map. These cuts will never compare to seeing their live performances, but it gives a clue to the fruitful career of a dedicated and immensely talented Goth rock band. For those unknowing, this purchase is well worth your time.

Type O Negative have been around for ten years and now bless us with a "Greatest Hits" record. But wait, that's not all. Not only does it include all the popular songs, but rare, unreleased and remixed tracks as well. What a bargain! The three "new" songs; 12 Black Rainbows, Stay out of my Dreams, and It's Never Enough, are faster and less doomy than most of the songs off World Coming Down--their last album--thus proving some relief from the otherwise morbid songs on this album. Stand out tracks also include the studio version of "Hey Pete", the remix of "Cinnamon Girl" and the Trash Metal-Thug Opera-Mini Epic "Unsuccessfully Coping With the Natural Beauty of Infidelity". In short, this is a welcome addition whether you a casual or die hard Type O Negative fan.

First of all, (the) track list is misleading, it's for the edited version. On the 'explicit' version, it has "It's Never Enough", which is a new track. Plus, it contains "Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity" instead of "Gravitional Constant". This is virtually a flawless collection. Track 1 really has no purpose except being a trivial prank. 2 is an radio edit of Everyone I Love is Dead, which is a great song if that uses upbeat riffs to keep the lyrics from being too depressing (Type O does that a lot). 3 is an extremely condensed version of Black No.1, and I don't mind edits except they took out an entire verse of the song to eleven minutes down to four and a half. Still a good song, but I would've preferred to at least half all three verses in. 4 is a new track called "It's Never Enough". Some people will not like some of the comments Peter makes towards God, but if they can get past that, it's a wonderful song about how a man can never satisfy truly satisfy a woman (which is often but not always true). 5 is a radio edit of "Love You to Death". This was a bigger hit in Europe than America, but it's one of their best. It's a unique love song that focuses on the eroticism of lover-subordination. Although I prefer the original version, this is a good edit. It doesn't lose the original feel, and for people that just aren't patient enough to listen to a seven minute song can look at this one. 6 appears as an alternate version of their cover of "Black Sabbath (from the Satanic Perspective)". The one of the Black Sabbath tribute album "Nativity in Black" is just a cover. This version has Peter's original (and somewhat devious) lyrics. A good song with quite enjoyable lyrics if you have a dark sense of humor like mine. 7 is the first part of "Christian Woman". It's completely unchanged except it doesn't the b or c parts to it. It's original is a)Body of Christ, b)Know her God, c)J.C. Looks Like Me. This one just has a). They probably did it for room on the disk, but they should have kept it intact. 8 is the song "12 Black Rainbows". The booklet will tell you it's a new track but it's not. It appeared on the European single "Everything Dies", but this is it's first appearance on an LP. It's a straight song in a neo-Sabbath style. Great lyrics and music. 9 is "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend". It says 'Cheese Organ Mix' on the package, but the intro is the only change. It's the same song, but just as awesome. It's M.G.G. Need I say more? 10 is a 'studio' version of "Hey Pete" (called 'Peter's Ego Trip Version). The original version was pseudo-live to begin with, but the song is really funy (in a sarcastically sadistic way) and any Type O fan will love it. 11 is a radio edit of "Everything Dies". A great song, a should have been a bigger hit than it was. It's pretty riffs and sentimental beat should make anyone feel good. It sounds depressing, but don't get too fooled. It's a beautiful sentiment. 12 is "Cinnamon Girl (Depressed Mode Mix)". This a dance mix by Charlie Clouser (one of my favorites). It is a Neil Young cover, but completely different from Type O's original version, but, like I said, absolutely awesome. 13 is "Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity", brought in its entirety from the album it appeared on. A head forth rocker, irresistable, sarcastic and hilarious. 14 is the new song "Stay Out of My Dreams". Words cannot describe this song, it is just flawless. The music, the darkness of the lyrics are all just impecible. An instant favorite, the whole collection is worth the price just for this song if nothing else. There you have it, a great collection from a great band. Get it, you will not regret it. This band, mainstream or not, deserved a greatest hits package.

I was hesitant to buy this album at first being that I had most of these tracks on earlier Typ O Negative CD's. Eventually, I caved and got it. My only regret is that I didn't get this CD earlier! Listening to it once, I knew it was my new favorite. It's a great mix of their earlier albums. I also have to say that "12 Black Rainbows" is simply a phenominal song. This CD is for any Type O fan. It's great for someone new to their music, because it has a great variety of their tracks, old and new. It really lets you get a feel for their style. On the other end of the spectrum are the veteran listeners like myself. It's great to listen to this album and hear the different versions of the previously released tracks. You can see how their music has evolved over the years and is still as original and powerful as it was in the beginning. The only criticism I could even imaginge for this album is that I like the "Origin Of The Feces" version of Unsuccessfully Coping With the Natural Beauty Of Infadelity better that the "Slow Deep and Hard" version that appears on this album. But [heck], that's just personal opinion. I still have to give this album 5 stars and say it is a must have. Buy it, you wil not regret it! ~MT~

The music is of course excellent and it looks to me like the some lay out is excellent, so i bought it thinking that this was a good way to hear most of my favorite type o songs without changing CDs. then i poped it in and was slapped in the face with horribly different versions of songs many of them much shorter. i would imagine that most of the people who are looking at this collection have at least a couple type o cds or ast least know a couple people who do, so my advice to you is to take the songs that you love and build your own "greatest hits"