Peter Steele, of Heavy Metal Band Type O Negative, Dies at 48

VH1 ^ | April 19, 2010

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

Peter Steele, the singer, bassist and chief songwriter for the heavy metal band Type O Negative, died on Wednesday. He was 48.

His death was announced on the band’s Web site (typeonegative.net). The announcement said that the cause had not yet been officially determined but appeared to be heart failure; it did not say where he died.

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

This news is a little old, but I hadn't seen it posted yet. I have been a Type O Negative fan since I was 14, and had seen them in concert twice. Steele had been a self-professed atheist for years, but had found Christianity a few years ago; makes you wonder if he knew he didn't have much time left.

[thecabal]

Wow, haven't heard that name in a long time. This makes me feel old! That dude had a very unique voice and style.

A bit of a tangent, but I miss goth chicks. Today's emo kids suck. :D

[Rome2000]

You spend your life on welfare lines
Or looking for handouts
Why don’t you go find a job
You birth more kids to up your checks
So you can buy more drugs
Cash in food stamps and get drunk

[Chorus:]
Uncle Sam takes half my pay
So you can live for free
I got a family and bills to pay
No one hands money to me
You can go to school for nothing
Got that government grant
Get money in advance
When you’re sick from shooting up
Medicaid pays full portion
When little Maria gets knocked up
She gets a free abortion

[Chorus]

How come it’s minorities who cry
Things are too tough
On TV with their gold chains
Claim they don’t have enough
I say make them clean the sewers
Don’t take no resistance
If they don’t like it go to hell
And cut their public assistance

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

Around the mid-nineties were when they hit it big. They kept releasing albums, but never had the same kind of success. He had found religion and supposedly had been sober for quite awhile. I wonder if he relapsed or if this was just due to his previous drug use

[Rome2000]

A bomb hits the city all life instantly vaporized

but I’m not so fortunate burning right before my eyes

stumbling I trip over pieces of descending flesh

leaving a pile of smoldering humanoid mess

radiation

coming in waves

leading me to

a nuclear grave

Are you ready

will you be

will you fight WW III

are you ready

are you sure

will you fight WW IV

Humanity somehow stood up on its mutated feet

reeling with pride man just would not accept his defeat

into the missiles deadly disease and poison gas

launching them off terracidal journey kills the last

vomiting blood

I choke on my tongue

the gas from above is filling my lungs

Chorus

Silence and darkness the species of man is extinct

the boiling oceans into which the continents sink

gravity gone the moon collides with a dead earth

flaming world out of orbit flying into deep space

pray for your death

if you survive

you’ll die in pain

in world war V

Chorus

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

Steele was supposedly getting Carnivore back together. Although in other articles I’ve read it says he was getting ready to start writing lyrics for a new TON album. I would have liked to hear some new Carnivore.

[Rome2000]

Those were some great shows when the original Carnivore was together.

They were a great band,Steele wrote a lot of the lyrics and Louie Beatto played drums on AF’s “Cause For Alarm” album, I was on that tour with AF and GBH back in 86, we had a blast.

[humblegunner]

Type O Ping.

[Salamander]

Check my page.

[Salamander]

Major bummer.

Now I'm stuck looking at a dead guy between my legs until next spring.

[winter is when you paint bikes, damn the luck]

[Salamander]

His mother dying kicked his knees out from under him.
He’s never been the same, since.

I was very happy to hear that he’d cleaned up and become a vocal Christian.

His last album, “Dead Again” features a very strong anti-abortion song.

Some of his fans wandered away after he “got religion” but I was overjoyed.

For the last 2 years, he just hasn’t looked well.

The likely cause was his size.
He was 6’ 8”, no longer working out and had put on an unhealthy amount of weight.
I think that all of that simply put too much of a strain on his heart and it failed.

[he’d undergone previous tests for an “undisclosed health issue” several years back...probably his heart even back then, I suspect]

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

It does seem that his mothers death really hit him hard. You can tell just how much he cared about her in the song ‘Nettie’, which he wrote about her.

[Salamander]

The song that *really* drives it home is “It’s Never Enough”.

[from “The Least Worst Of” album, a previously unreleased song from the recording sessions of “World Coming Down”]

I don’t know what she had, but she was chronically ill for a long time, suffering and very afraid.

Heart breaking.

[Salamander]

*sigh*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ3aiM8K6D0

[Salamander]

Most recent video and most recent photo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfzOqZ9f4Jg

A prophet, indeed..

[Salamander]

Clickable

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfzOqZ9f4Jg

[Doc Savage]

Geeze and I never got to see him perform live. Am I bummed! Duh?

[Ueriah]

I listened to Bloody Kisses all through college.

The guy had “the” right voice for his music.

[Salamander]

YouTube is full of live performances.

There are also 2 DVDs.

“After Dark” and “Symphony For The Devil”.

There are quite a few decent bootleg DVDs out there, too.

[not that I would know anything about them, of course]

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

Here's another article about Steele.

http://www.examiner.com/x-20084-Boston-Rock-Music-Examiner~y2010m4d22-Rock-giant-dead-at-48-remembered

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

Ever since I heard about his death I have been listening to all of my TON Cd's and the two DVDs. I need to check out more of those youtube videos. There's probably a lot of stuff out there I haven't seen before.

[VampireStateNY]

I’ve been a fan since high school as well. One of the best times of my life was seeing these guys at L’Amours in Brooklyn a few years ago. Nice to know there’s other fans here on FR.

[Salamander]

There are TONS [pun intended] of raw and live footage you haven’t seen.

I sometimes spend a few hours looking at some of it and I know I’ve not gotten anywhere near the end of it all, yet.

I’m sure even more will be uploaded, now.

For myself, I haven’t been able to deal with listening to them, right now.

I tried last week and when “I Don’t Wanna Be Me” came on, this verse was a kick in the gut:

Two steps forward, three steps back
Without warning, heart attack
He fell asleep in the snow
Never woke up
Died alone

Turned off the iPod and drove the rest of the way home in silence.

We took the bikes out for a short ride to test my new motor and I spent the whole time studiously *not* looking at my tank.

I’m not sure what to do about that.

Keep it and hope it stops bugging me or repaint it and get over the guilt of just “erasing” him?

[Rome2000]

Awesome ride

[Salamander]

Thanks.

Yeah, it *was*.....:-\

[happinesswithoutpeace]

Crooklyn, Lamours, and all that, all that

RIP BIG MAN.

At last you have departed and gone to the Unseen.

What marvelous route did you take from this world?
Beating your wings and feathers,
you broke free from this cage.

Rising up to the sky
you attained the world of the soul.

You were a prized falcon trapped by an Old Woman.

Then you heard the drummer’s call
and flew beyond space and time.

As a lovesick nightingale, you flew among the owls.

Then came the scent of the rose garden
and you flew off to meet the Rose.

The wine of this fleeting world
caused your head to ache.

Finally you joined the tavern of Eternity.

Like an arrow, you sped from the bow
and went straight for the bull’s eye of bliss.

This phantom world gave you false signs
But you turned from the illusion
and journeyed to the land of truth.

You are now the Sun -
what need have you for a crown?
You have vanished from this world -
what need have you to tie your robe?
I’ve heard that you can barely see your soul.

But why look at all? -
yours is now the Soul of Souls!
O heart, what a wonderful bird you are.

Seeking divine heights,
Flapping your wings,
you smashed the pointed spears of your enemy.

The flowers flee from Autumn, but not you -
You are the fearless rose
that grows amidst the freezing wind.

Pouring down like the rain of heaven
you fell upon the rooftop of this world.

Then you ran in every direction
and escaped through the drain spout . . .

Now the words are over
and the pain they bring is gone.

Now you have gone to rest
in the arms of the Beloved.

some rumi up in here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4oeDZMfxS0

[Grizzled Bear]

Metal Ping!

[RockinRight]

Sad news. A great singer and a guy who seemed to “get it” when you listened to some of his lyrics.