TYPE O NEGATIVE Frontman Peter Steele Dies Aged 48
April 14th, 2010
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Peter Steele, vocalist and bassist of Brooklyn, New York-based gothic metal group Type O Negative, died of an aortic aneurysm on April 14th, 2010 at the age of 48.
Steele was born Petrus Thomas Ratajczyk on January 4th, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York.
Under his birth name, Steele formed the metal ensemble Fallout in 1979, who issued a seven-inch single entitled ‘Rock Hard’ in 1981 through Silver Records – limited to 500 copies. Fallout disbanded in 1982, Steele immediately forming thrash metal concern Carnivore. Carnivore issued two full-lengths, specifically the 1985 record of the same name and 1987 follow-up Retaliation. Albeit disbanding in 1987, Carnivore performed reunion shows intermittently over the years, notably at the 1996 Milwaukee Metalfest and 2006 Wacken Open Air.
Steele went on to form gothic metal assortment Type O Negative, which included Kenny Hickey on guitars, Sal Abruscato stepping behind the drumkit, and friend and former Fallout member Josh Silver on keyboards.
Debut Slow, Deep And Hard arrived in 1991, its follow-up The Origin Of The Feces surfacing a year later.
1993 effort Bloody Kisses achieved platinum certification, and sported the staple tracks ‘Black No. 1’ and ‘Christian Woman’, not to mention a cover rendition of Seals And Crofts’ ‘Summer Breeze’. 1996’s October Rust achieved gold certification, meanwhile, and included a cover version of Neil Young’s ‘Cinnamon Girl’. World Coming Down (1999) and Life Is Killing Me (2003) followed, with seventh studio outing Dead Again drawing Type O Negative’s studio output to a close in 2007.
In addition, Steele posed for the August 1995 issue of Playgirl magazine, and appeared on an episode of The Jerry Springer Show to discuss groupies.
