#PETER STEELE TYPE O NEGATIVE FULL#
It was as if he knew full well how bad things in his life were, but wanted to joke about it as if to convince himself and others that everything was OK.Īs Steele said, it was hard to really weigh each Type O release against another. In both songs and interviews, Steele was a master of cynical, morbid hilarity. The band’s greatest hits album was called ‘The Least Worst of Type O Negative,” they recorded a fake ‘live album” where the audience boos them after every song and the concert abruptly halts due to a bomb threat and Steele told one interviewer, ‘I think all recent music sucks, and that includes Type O Negative.” They also enjoyed deprecating themselves.
They started one of their albums with the sound of a scratched disc repeating itself, and they ended another one of their albums by telling fans they hoped the music ‘wasn’t too disappointing ” they had self-explanatory songs like ‘Kill All the White People,” ‘We Hate Everyone” and ‘My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend.” The morbid material of Type O’s music became such a trademark that it was easy to overlook how funny the band often was. The humor of Type O Negative also added a lot to their appeal. I felt like I was getting life lessons from someone much wiser than me even after listening to the same songs years later, it still felt that way. But as far as my memory is concerned, it goes like this: I spent all my time listening to music just for amusement, and then Type O Negative came along and opened up my mind to deeper possibilities.Īlthough it would be a few years before I actually understood the emotions Type O Negative’s music dealt with before I had any serious heartbreak or sadness that I knew only beloved music could help with I was fascinated by simply hearing such things discussed so openly in song. Of course, it’s not like my mom tried Baby Type O Negative on me when I was in the womb I was probably about 12 or 13 when my sister finally introduced them to me. Besides Nirvana, Type O Negative is the only band I can say I’ve been listening to ‘all my life.” For me, becoming an avid fan of Type O Negative was that moment. He just went and addressed those issues in a confessional, almost ranting form, as if he couldn’t stand the idea of hiding his thoughts from his music.Įvery serious music fan has a moment of realization that songs aren’t just enjoyable to listen to, but actually have meanings that relate to his or her life and emotions.
When Steele wanted to write a song about his cocaine addiction, the numerous friends and family members he recently lost or considering suicide after his girlfriend cheated on him, he didn’t worry about making it poetic or letting the listener ‘make their own interpretation.”
Steele, born Peter Ratajczyk, was once asked which Type O Negative album was his favorite, and he said it was impossible to choose, because each release ‘was a reflection of where I was at the time.” It was a very accurate answer: Life seemed to never stop throwing shit at Steele during his Type O tenure, and he dealt with it all in a courageously blunt manner. Every musician likes to think that his or her work is good self-expression, but few artists have communicated their full identity as fully and unabashedly as Peter Steele did in his 21 years of fronting Type O Negative. I’m sure almost every devout Type O fan felt the exact same way, since anyone that seriously followed the band knew that they were being affected by more than just great music.
Celebrity deaths hardly ever have a real effect on me, but when it was announced on April 14 that Peter Steele, the singer, bassist and songwriter for Brooklyn Gothic metal band Type O Negative, suddenly died at the age of 48 from heart failure, I actually felt like I had lost an old friend.
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