"I Don't Wanna Be Me" is a song by American

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy met ...

band

Type O Negative Type O Negative were an American gothic metal band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1989 by Peter Steele (bass, lead vocals), Kenny Hickey (guitar, co-lead vocals), Josh Silver (keyboards, backing vocals), and Sal Abruscato (drums, percussi ...

. It is the second track on the band's sixth studio album, ''

Life Is Killing Me ''Life Is Killing Me'' is the sixth studio album by gothic metal band Type O Negative. It was released on June 17, 2003, and was their final studio album released through record label Roadrunner Records. The album's title and content refers prim ...

'' (2003), and was released as a

promo single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

the same year. Contrary to the gothic metal and

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

style of the band's other songs, "I Don't Wanna Be Me" is often considered a punk rock song.

Content

The song has been described using multiple genres, but mostly described as mainly punk rock. ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' described the song as "a highly-energised, sarcastic paean to self-hatred, waving a middle finger in their own faces as much as anyone else’s", noticing an influence of "old school catchy punk rock ..At times, it even recalls the glorious heads down

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attack of Peter’s previous band, the controversial

Carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

". ''Loudwire'' described the song as On the song's lyrics, guitarist Kenny Hickey claims frontman

Peter Steele Petrus Thomas Ratajczyk (January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010), known professionally as Peter Steele, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead vocalist, bassist and composer of the gothic metal band Type O N ...

's lyrics for the song were autobiographical: "At the time, Peter ..wasn’t really doing too well, health-wise. He was getting sick of addictions and sick of life, hence the title, I Don't Wanna Be Me. He didn't wanna be Pete anymore." Hickey also noted that the song - an unusually simple, fast song by the band's standards - was written in response to his frustration with Steele's usual complex, multi-part arrangements.

Track listing

Music video

The music video for the song features actor

Dan Fogler Daniel Kevin Fogler (born October 20, 1976) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He has appeared in films including '' Balls of Fury'', '' Good Luck Chuck'', ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'', '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Gr ...

, who dresses up as numerous different celebrities, including

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

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, as well as frontman Steele himself.

Release

"Life Is Killing Me" reached No. 38 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'''s Active Rock chart.

Legacy

"I Don't Wanna Be Me" was covered by European

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

band

Meridian Dawn Meridian Dawn is an international heavy metal band. History The band was conceived by vocalist Antony Hämäläinen (Armageddon, Nightrage), drummer Johan Nunez (Kamelot, Nightrage, Firewind, Marty Friedman), guitarist Brandon Johnson, bassis ...

for their debut 2014 release '' The Mixtape''. The song was later covered by

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, and was released as a 7" split single with Type O Negative's original recording for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

2018. In 2018 metal magazine ''Kerrang!'' ranked the song at No. 4 in its retrospective list of the band's top 13 songs, describing it as "probably the finest of all the fast-paced songs in their arsenal". The opening two seconds of guitar feedback and drum startup on "I Don't Wanna Be Me" is sampled and heard frequently on the Liberty Rock Radio station in the video game ''

Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{Type O Negative Type O Negative songs 2003 songs 2003 singles Roadrunner Records singles American punk rock songs