Editor’s note: While I was quite late to jump on the Type O bandwagon, I must admit, Dead Again has been one of my most oft listened to albums since I first laid ears on it. Peter Steele’s passing is truly disheartening… here, Mark takes a moment to give his perspective.

There’s no way this post does the justice it intends to, but while listening to the Type O Negative catalog on repeat after Thursday’s events, I realized how much I will miss Peter Steele. Like most fans, I got into Type O by listening to the legendary Bloody Kisses album, but it wasn’t “Black No. 1” or “Christian Woman” that drew me in, it was “We Hate Everyone“. Featuring yodeling, an intro full of vigorous double bass and a crushing, industrial breakdown all culminating into one of the slickest bridges ever, it was my indoctrination to Brooklyn’s “Drab Four”. I was hooked, and I followed their path ever since, seeing them live twice and buying all their albums and DVDs (In fact, the last CD I purchased in a store [and probably ever] was Dead Again in 2007). In high school, Kisses and October Rust were the ONLY metal albums you could play if the planets aligned and you were able to convince some girls to hang out with you. And when you did play them, they were always intrigued by the baritone crooner that sang about how messed up the relationships between men and women (and sometimes another woman) can be.

It’s ironic that my favorite album from the band is also the one that they hated the most: 1999’s World Coming Down. The band and Steele said they disagreed on the direction of the album and were ultimately unhappy with it, but it captured the frontman at his darkest time and offered an intensely personal viewpoint of a moment where he struggled mightily with relationships and addiction. The album is by far the darkest and most depressing of all of the Type O offerings, yet the writing, the flow of the songs, the melody and it’s execution remain fundamentally beautiful. As an artist, this is what Steele really did best; he was the master at creating the “heavy-metal pop” song. He often said his two biggest influences were The Beatles and Black Sabbath, and by combining the sonic layers and vocal melodies of Lennon and McCarthy with the dark tones and phrasing of a young Ozzy, he created a unique metal sound expertly tailored to his vocal style and the message Type O wanted to convey. He was obviously a man who fought many demons, and he poured all of his emotions and experiences into the words and music of the band. It is sad to think that just as he was getting those demons under control, his life ended.

Rest in peace Peter, you will be sorely missed.

Type O Negative: Too Late/Frozen

Type O Negative – We Hate Everyone:

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