R.I.P. Peter Steele

I found out about the passing of one of my favorite musicians yesterday morning.

Peter Steele was the front-man and bass guitar player for Type O Negative, what I believe to be one of the greatest goth/metal bands of all time. I had seen them on numerous occasions back in the mid to late 90s when I was in college. They were, by all accounts, very tongue-in-cheek in their approach to most songs they did - as evidenced with there one and only charted song "Black No. 1".

Throughout his career with the band, Steele always exuded a sense of passion and understanding for topics like death, love, loss, and mythological stories. He also had a very dry and bizarre sense of humor and was often known to be quite off-putting in interviews, though his intent was to keep this persona alive when he was away from the band.

I don't want to speculate too much on what it was that drove Peter to use drugs or what drugs he did take, but one has to wonder what it's like to have all these thoughts in your head, pouring them out onto paper, creating such razor sharp compositions - themselves a continuous reminder of who you are and where you came from.

Seeing Type O Negative live is something that it difficult to describe in words, given the proper venue and tone of the evening. The times I saw them I was consistently up front and center. Standing well 6-1/2 feet tall, Steele was an imposing figure on stage and most nights would have a bottle of red wine sitting on a pedestal next to him. And when the band played, it was literally a transformational experience.

Steele's voice, whether speaking or intoning about unrequited love, was like a black angel screaming downward toward the mortals below him. And that is one of the primary reasons that he is irreplaceable. I think it's safe to say that his bandmates know this as well.

Rather than post one of Type O's official videos, I've opted for live versions of my two favorite tracks from what I believe was their seminal LP - October Rust. Peter was a true original and a man that followed his passions unlike most. It is unfortunate, however, that it was that same passion that would be his undoing. In some morbid way, Peter Steele's death almost seems fitting, considering the themes that were intertwined in the music he created. I hasten to say that Steele was destined to die like this, but it does make sense in that peculiar sort of way.

*LOVE YOU TO DEATH*




*IN PRAISE OF BACCHUS*