Link (http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=138519)

TYPE O NEGATIVE keyboardist Josh Silver has confirmed to BLABBERMOUTH.NET that the band's frontman, Peter Steele, passed away yesterday (Wednesday, April 14) at the age of 48. No official cause of death has yet been released, but it is believed that Steele died of heart failure.

Mistress Juliya (a.k.a. Juliya Chernetsky) of Fuse TV broke the news on her Twitter page last night, stating that she spoke to TYPE O NEGATIVE guitarist Kenny Hickey just before midnight New York time, and that Kenny confirmed that the rumors were true.

Back in 2005, many people were shocked when they logged on to the TYPE O NEGATIVE web site and saw a gravestone with the words "[P]eter Steele - 1962 - 2005 .... Free At Last" carved on it. According to Epinions.com, there were rumors at the time that Steele was sick (with anything from cancer to AIDS), was on his deathbed, attempted suicide ... and the list goes on. Needless to say, it turned out that Steele was very much alive and the gravestone was merely a joke, albeit one the wasn't viewed as being in particularly good taste.

Steele was born Petrus T. Ratajczyk on January 4, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York. He stood 6' 7" (201 cm) tall, and had a low, bass-heavy voice, which was one of the most recognizable features in TYPE O NEGATIVE's music.

Before forming TYPE O NEGATIVE, Steele played for the metal group FALLOUT and the thrash band CARNIVORE.

:rip:

:rip: Peter Steele

Oh wow. I'm not really a fan of the, I guess, it can be called "goth" type of metal that Type O Negative played. I was familiar with them and Peter Steele through my brother, and just last week Metal Mania showed their "Black No.1" video, a video I had not seen in a really long time!!

:rip:Peter

Peter Steele had a very distinctive deep voice and persona. He was also a very tall man, and had some serious brushes with the law. I did like Type O Negative with songs such as "Black No. 1", "Christian Woman" (a big favorite of mine), "Everyone I Love Is Dead", "Love You To Death" (another favorite),
and others. He also did covers of Seals & Crofts' "Summer Breeze", Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl", and Black Sabbath's "Black Sabbath". It's very sad about his passing. Interestingly, some years ago, he posted a tombstone which announced his death, that had many believing that he had in fact died.
It was a prank, but sadly, his death now is no joke.

He served time in prison for threatening assault on one person, and his incarceration became a point of personal soul-searching and re-evaluation of his life. He embraced his Christian faith during this time and mellowed out during this time.

A bizarre note about his previous band Carnivore: the seminal thrash band ran afoul of many in Europe who felt he and the band were sympathetic to Nazi causes, which he denied, due to their lyrics. Their songs were a little too extreme for many, but not to be taken too seriously.


RIP, Peter Steele. :rip:

Robyn used to be friends with him and said he was a really nice guy and is really upset by this...


:rip:

Robyn used to be friends with him and said he was a really nice guy and is really upset by this...


:rip:

I was reading from a website on Facebook about Peter's death, and people could post their comments. From what I read, he was friends with alot of people, and they all had nothing but praise for Peter.