Metal Overview - Carnivore/A Pale Horse Named Death

Today’s overview is an odd one, fellow Otaku & Metalheads.

Last April was the 5th year anniversary of the death of Pete Steele, iconic lead singer of the equally iconic Type-O Negative. In my overview of the band, I spoke in brief of the group that he was in before, Carnivore. I didn’t get into much detail on Carnivore, since I only just got into them in 2015. I also just recently got into a band created in the aftermath of Pete’s passing, known simply as A Pale Horse Named Death. To knock off two birds with one stone, I felt that it was necessary to cover both of these bands at the same time. So without further delay, here’s my overview on Carnivore & A Pale Horse Named Death. Enjoy!

Carnivore (1985)

Long before the gloom & dark beauty of Type-O Negative, Pete Steele was the youthful leader of Carnivore. Inspired by the Brooklyn music scene of the time, Peter, along with his friends Keith Alexander (Guitar) & Louie Beato (Drums), were equal parts Thrash & Speed Metal, along with a healthy dose of hardcore punk that was popular in the city at the time. To add character to the band, the trio became barbarians of a post-nuclear wasteland, after the nations of the world waged war with one another. Donning fearsome & exotic names (Pete - Lord Petrus Steele/Louie - Louis Beateaux/Keith - Same Name), the three carved a bloody path through the city with their music, and giving the middle finger to anyone who looked at them in the wrong way.

Best Track? You simply cannot go wrong with the title track. Carnivore speaks to the bloodthirsty behemoth in us all, whether you’re man or woman. While the opening track Predator might be imbued with this spirit even more, Carnivore stirs up a primal essence within humanity that has been lost to the mists of time. If you don’t hear this song when you’re devouring a  hamburger or a great steak, you truly can’t be called a Barbarian (or a Valkyrie).

Carnivore

Worst Track? Legion of Doom, but even then this song isn’t bad. The only reason I consider this tune to be the worst is because of it’s connection to the album’s theme. A tune about a group of badass bikers riding around, drinking booze & taking names. Compared to everything else on here, Legion of Doom follows the post-apocalyptic theme of Carnivore much more loosely than everything else, to the point where it really doesn’t fit the album’s theme at all. Still a great track, but potentially disappointing due to it’s lack of flavor.

Legion of Doom

Carnivore. A fine record to start a career. While it might sound dated, there’s still a raw intensity that most metal bands can’t even begin to harness. Next album!

Retaliation (1987)

After the success of their first album, Carnivore experienced a change of the guard. Due to differences with the band, guitarist Keith Alexander left the band. His replacement came in the form of Marc Piovanetti, another fellow Brooklynite. Peter & Louie also decided to change other aspects of the band as well, forgoing the post-apocalyptic theme that the band, and embrace a more punkish/blue-collar look. Then in September of 1987, Carnivore’s second album Retaliation, was released. If you think that because of the removal of the previous album’s they wouldn’t have any sting, you’d be wrong! Peter & the boys still have just as much bite & venom as their 1st album contained, maybe even more so. The themes of war, violence, & sex are stronger in Retaliation, and the intensity comes at you with the force of a hundred angry Brooklyn natives!

Best Track? Like I said last year during my Type-O Negative overview, Technophobia is the best track of the album. A tale of technology taking over the planet, Pete really drives home the fear that this song conveys, and Marc & Louie add to the tensions with their drumming & guitar work. If you’re paranoid about robots taking over the world (You know who you’re are), this might be the song for you.

Technophobia

Worst Track? Jack Daniels & Pizza. Like I said back in my overview last year on Type-O Negative, I considered this a disgusting track & a waste of space. However, upon reading Soul on Fire (See my top 10 books list), I discovered some surprising facts about this song. It wasn’t Pete Steele actually puking as I & most other listeners thought, but instead was a bunch of soup cans dropped into a bathtub, accompanied by the slamming of a door. I still consider this track to be weak filler, but I give Jack Daniels & Pizza a little more respect, because of the cleverness of what when into this.

Jack Daniels & Pizza

Retaliation. Simultaneously it’s own record & a extension of what came before it, Retaliation is an album that’s just perfect for the angry soul within us all. Definitely recommended!

And thus ends the look at Carnivore, the band that was, is, and will be. As well all know, the band broke up after the release of their second album, and a few years later, Pete Steele would form a band that would last throughout the ages. Now it’s time to leave the before, and see what the after has to offer. It’s time to look.....at A Pale Horse Named Death.

And Hell Will Follow Me (2011)

After Pete Steele’s death in April of 2010, the Goth Metal world lost one of it’s most iconic figureheads. To this day, there are Type-O Negative fans that still miss the green giant. However, fate is a strange creature, and a band can fill in the cracks. That band happens to be A Pale Horse Named Death, and their first release was And Hell Will Follow Me. Released on June 14th of 2011, the band was formed by original Type-O Negative members Sal Abruscato & John Kelly, along with artist Sam Shearon, background vocalist Keith Caputo, Lou Reed's saxophonist Ulrich Krieger, and Biohazard guitarist Bobby Hambel. The end result can only be described as a spiritual successor to Type-O Negative: dark, gloomy, but with just a hint of beauty.

Best Track? To Die In Your Arms is a dark love song. Doomy & gothic, with a healthy touch of dark sensuality, To Die In Your Arms is the kind of track you listen to on Valentine’s Day if you don’t want something sickly sweet. You & your gothic sweetheart will absolutely enjoy it!

To Die In Your Arms

Worst Track? I honestly can’t pick a song on here to be called worst or bad. And Hell Will Follow Me’s only real flaw is that it’s missing something, but I’ll talk about that in the next album. If you want some great goth metal, then this is a nice album to start at!

Lay My Soul To Waste (2013)

With the arrival of 2013, A Pale Horse Named Death announced their second album. The sophomore release of the group, Lay My Soul To Waste was released on May 21, 2013 to thunderous applause. As Sal Abruscato said on the band’s website:

“I can't express in words how proud I am of our accomplishment. To finally complete our sophomore album, sit back and listen to what we have done is a great feeling. From our performances to Matt Brown's mixes and finally having the album blessed by engineer and mastering great Ted Jensen, this album sounds bigger than the Grand Canyon. This album will surpass all expectations; it will be a privilege and an honor to present this album to all the fans.”

Best Track? Day Of The Storm, hand down! This a song that the apocalypse would put on it’s personal soundtrack: dark, depressive, gothic, yet contains such a fury that it can only be expressed through a more lo-fi manner. The Doom Metal elements complement the heavier aspects of the song, and it turn creates a great & bleak musical environment.

Day Of The Storm

Worst Track? While they’re aren’t any band songs.......you get the lingering feeling that the music on here was made for Type-O Negative, not necessarily this group. From the atmosphere, to the instrumentation, to even the vocal style, it feels like Type-O Negative 2.0, but there’s something missing. Something nagging you in the back of your mind, and you can’t quite place your finger on it. Regardless, Lay My Soul To Waste is a great album. The green ghost of Pete Steele has come back to Earth, and has bessed a group of musicians to carry on his cause. I definitely recommend giving this a listen to!

When The World Becomes Undone (2019)

Update Coming Soon......

So this was my look at the before & after of Type-O Negative. The band that laid the foundation, and the band that finished construction. Even shorter than my overview for Turmion Kätilöt, this one is definitely bittersweet, but it’s one that most certainly brings back some fond memories for some of you. For me, I regret getting into Carnivore & A Pale Horse Named Death this late in the game. I’ll see you all next week, but in the meantime, feed your inner beast!


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If you want to take a look at my overview for Type-O Negative, click on the link below.

Metal Overview: Type-O Negative