Review by Jeger on November 5, 2024.

Type O Negative worship? Yes, please! USA’s Neon Nightmare - the solo project of one Nate Garrett (Spirit Adrift) - a spirited adaptation of Peter Steele and the legendary Type O brand of gothic / doom metal. Even the cover art of his brand-new Faded Dream LP is reminiscent of those glorious days of Drab Four legend. When Peter died, it left a void that no artist or band has dared to fill until now, and this worthy tribute hits the spot in ways that only albums like “Bloody Kisses” and “October Rust” can. A carbon copy? Yes, sir, and a remarkable one if I do say so myself: those low-dragging bass lines, enchanting keyboard overlays, and Nate’s deep baritone vocals? A more-than-valiant emulation of one of the greatest gothic metal vocalists of our time. On November 1, 2024, Neon Nightmare and The Bensonhoist Lesbian Choir released Faded Dream via 20 Buck Spin. 

Like myself, Nate Garrett has obviously spent a fuck-ton of time listening to Type O Negative and Faded Dream will snatch out your soul and transport it back to ‘96 and Type O’s aforementioned/famed “October Rust” and unforgettable tracks: “Be My Druidess” and “Love You To Death”. Is there any better place to be? What a way to start off my Saturday; like a teenager discovering Green Man for the very first time. Red lipstick-stained Merlot glasses, rose petal baths, black painted fingernails, and cigarettes all over again! Faded Dream is a welcomed blast from the past for those of us who were born before ‘83 and who actually experienced the ’90s at the perfect age when the discovery of heavy music, sex, and drugs were all that mattered. And Peter Steele was our muse - that clever self-deprecating wit and such intelligently crafted music - a spirited romp through the realm of dark elegance, but also romance and infatuation. 

Take this one in by candlelight! Drink wine straight from the bottle and maybe even blow a line or two in honor of the greatest; a precious life taken from us WAY too soon. Underneath his vampire brute persona, Peter Steele was a gentle soul. He enjoyed lifting weights in solitary, working on his car, and even expressed a desire to get back into his catholic faith before he passed. He no longer wanted to live believing that life is all for nothing. Such is the plight of middle age and Type O’s “Life Is Killing Me” was a rare peek into the soul of the Green Man, just as Neon Nightmare and Faded Dream are a lens into what made Type O Negative the unique band they were. 

Seven tracks, just over 40 minutes worth of pure, unfiltered worship. Some idiots will undoubtedly admonish Faded Dream as a copycat record, but those of us who’ve missed Peter so will welcome it like the warm embrace of an old friend. After all, that’s what Peter was to many of us. You didn’t have to meet him in order to feel close to him. He let us in through Type O Negative’s music: into his darkly jesting and sarcastic way of life, into his heart of gold… Faded Dream - just what you’ve been looking for since the despairing year of 2010 when Peter passed. Just what we need now in this, is the Autumnal season of Hallowed eves, hearth-lit basements, and Vampiric romance. A passageway into the heart of the night we once knew when youthful fires blazed through barren trees into crisp moonlight and the frenzy of uninhibited rebellion reigned to the sweet sound of the mystifying gothic metal done the Brooklyn way. Enjoy.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10