by Whitney Z. GomesIn the past, Type O Negative dared the listener to sit through aural jokes to weed out the four or five cuts of ghoulish greatness only these Brooklyn boys could devise. At this point, slab number six, everyone knows what to expect from the drab four, and they now know how to deliver it consistently. Ultimately, Life Is Killing Me breaks no new ground, but engages throughout, always touching on the Type O oeuvre. "I Don't Wanna Be Me" easily qualifies as one of the band's best singles. Like the medley on World Coming Down, "Less Than Zero" conjures the Beatles. In fact, the classic rock analogy is apt, because Type O have become so adroit at their goth metal broth they're now true connoisseurs and Life Is Killing Me slickly serves up a specialized feast. Guitarist Kenny Hickey's passages have grown increasingly melodic, and the keys of Josh Silver possess a timeless melancholy, meaning no matter how bleak or odd the lyrical proceedings get, as on the euthanasia of the title track, the playing keeps the songs soaring, even while each dwells six feet under. They mock the '80s in "We Were Electrocute" but then use new romantic influences to solidify their sound. Sure, the famous puerile sense of humor remains ("I Like Goils," "Angry Inch" redux [both left off the clean version], and the cartoon chick litany of "How Could She"), but the surrounding music structures stand so rock solid the lyric sheet is better left behind. Though they never seem sincere, Type O do care. The quartet may profess to hate everybody, but Type O deliver to the fans on this record. Like Sabbath Bloody Sabbath or Agents of Fortune, all the pieces fit; and though Life Is Killing Me may not make great steps forward, for now the ugly universe it unleashes is a great place to be.