In the case of Type O Negative, Peter Steele Johnny Kelly, a fellow bandmate, reflects on the subject ten years later

“I miss him,” Johnny Kelly adds. “I miss him.” On the other hand, it seems as though he has never left in many respects. He continues to be a participant in the discussion. Every time, his name is spoken. Despite the fact that I am happy that I am still connected to him in that way, ten years ago, I never would have imagined that people would remember the name “Type O Negative.”

Back in his hometown close to Dallas, where he relocated a few years ago, Kelly is remembering Peter Steele, his buddy and bandmate in the Brooklyn-born goth metal quintet Type O Negative. Steele passed away on April 14, 2010, at the age of 48, as a result of an aortic aneurysm.

Furthermore, Kelly continues, “It is strange to attempt to articulate because he has passed away.” It’s like the impression that stays with you forever, and the fact that you’re still in a band, that you’re still playing, and that you’re always meeting people who are fans of Type O.

Although Steele was born Petrus Thomas Ratajczyk in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn on January 4, 1962, he was raised in Bensonhurst. Steele has been in bands with Josh Silver, a boyhood buddy who would later become a keyboardist and producer for Type O, since they were teenagers. At the beginning of the 1980s, Steele had already put together the politically wrong album Carnivore, which continued its thrash metal trajectory until 1987. Immediately following the conclusion of Carnivore, Steele rejoined with Silver and his lifelong friends Kenny Hickey (guitars) and Sal Abruscato (drums), resulting in the formation of Type O Negative in 1929. Abruscato was succeeded by Kelly in the year 1993.

Steele’s dark baritone, towering stature (he stands at nearly 6 feet 8 inches), and vampiric good looks led Type O through the New York circuit, from regular local shows at the now-defunct L’Amour nightclub in Brooklyn and the Ritz in the East Village to worldwide tours. Steele’s charismatic good looks earned him a centerfold in Playgirl magazine in 1995. It was in 1991 when the band made its debut with the album Slow, Deep, and Hard. The following year, in 1992, they released The Origin of the Feces. Bloody Kisses, which was released in 1993, was a game-changer, garnering platinum status and a deep cult following with the doom-y enthrals of the 11-plus-minute tracks “Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)” and “Christian Woman.” Despite reaching its highest position on the Billboard 200 at No. 166, Bloody Kisses was a game-changer.

In addition to bursting through the new wave of goth culture that emerged in the 1990s, Bloody Kisses also veered into the lanes of thrash (“Kill All the White People”), hardcore, and industrial music. This album was the band’s zenith, and it offered a more melodious and cinematic type of music. From the euphoric opening track “Machine Screw” to the hallucinatory instrumentation of “Can’t Lose You,” Bloody Kisses left a lasting influence on the metal genre. It was crafted as if it were the ideal soundtrack for a highly sexualized film inspired by Nosferatu.

October Rust, released in 1996, World Coming Down, released in 1999, Life Is Killing Me, released in 2003, and Dead Again, released in 2007, were the albums that helped the band sustain their popularity on a global scale up until 2007. In the United States, Type O Negative has not only accumulated 98.4 million streams but has also sold 2.5 million albums, as reported by Nielsen Music/MRC Data. However, the vocalist and bassist continued to work his day job, which consisted of driving steamrollers, snow plows, garbage trucks, and dump trucks for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, until the year 1994, when the band was requested to join Motley Crue and King’s X on tour.

Because of Steele’s addicted mentality, the band was left wondering what the next step would be throughout the course of the years. According to Kelly, there came a period in time when Steele had caused himself so much harm that the band was unable to prepare too far in advance. Nobody was sure if he would still be around when he was at his worst, when he was struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction.

“There were times when we were like, ‘We don’t know if he’s going to live,'” according to Kelly, who recalls the situation. When you reach that point, you no longer have the ability to plan anything for the future because you are preoccupied with the question, “Is he going to make it?” As a result, Steele was able to achieve sobriety and remained clean for almost a year until he passed away. “He was able to triumph over everything. The location was where he was. According to our initial thoughts, “This guy is going to be around forever.”