None More Negative: In praise of Peter Steele

On the anniversary of the death of the enigmatic force behind gothic-doom metal pioneers Type O Negative, Peter Steele. We take a look back of the unparalleled career of the innovative front-man and composer.

It always seemed apparent that the time that Brooklyn born Petrus T. Ratajczyk - better known to fans of Goth Metal as the basso perfecto frontman of Type O Negative, Peter Steele - last felt truly free was while working for the New York Parks Department. At this time his 80’s Hardcore/Thrash Metal band Carnivore had come to an apathetic demise after just two albums, and the thought of starting a new band was the last thing on his mind. Instead he’d occupy himself raking leaves, mending fences, and thinking up new euphemisms for maggots ("dancing rice" being a popular one among his colleagues).

Then it all went wrong. He broke up with his long-time girlfriend, attempted suicide, and wrote an album that saw him signed back to his old record label. The album was 1991’s ‘Slow, Deep and Hard’ a Hardcore/Doom Metal crossover about infidelity, self-loathing, and everything that pissed off and depressed the six-foot-six-inch tall Steele in the previous year. The album was loved by some, and hated by others (including Steele).

“… it was only supposed to be a demo. I was drunk and pissed and I wrote the whole thing in 4 hours. Little did I know that demo would be pressed into an album. So we were pretty much trapped into something I wrote in a span of a few hours […] If I had to do it over, Bloody Kisses would be the first album.” - Rock Out Censorship 

The band were initially condemned by domestic audiences as communists and homosexuals for Steele’s Russo-Icelandic heritage and sensitive lyrics. Internationally they feared little better, with most of their inaugural European tour cancelled due to anti-fascist groups labelling them a Nazi band (despite keyboardist Josh Silver being Jewish).

The disastrous tour was immortalised by the band when Roadrunner Records gave them money to fund the recording of a live album. The band instead spent the money and recorded a fake live album in a basement with their friend’s heckling them with the now familiar “You Suck” chant as an overdub. The album 'Origin of the Faeces: Not Live at Brighton Beach', became a cult hit for its dry humorous take on a Type O Negative live show as well as their cover of Jimi Hendrix‘s ‘Hey Joe’ (re-dubbed ‘Hey Peter’). Their label, however, did not see the funny side of it. The album, despite being reworked tracks from their début, displayed a different approach to the song writing. Under Steele’s direction, Silver’s keyboards were mixed higher and became more ambient and gothic in sound.

This stylistic change of face carried over onto the band's 1994 sophomore album ‘Bloody Kisses’. This time the anger was running second fiddle to elaborate gothic hymns to female stereotypes (‘Black No.1’ and ‘Christian Woman’), as well as misery and heartache (‘Too Late: Frozen’ and ‘Bloody Kisses - A Death in the Family’). The album was originally released with many instrumental and humorous tracks, but after the videos for ‘Black No.1’ and ‘Christian Woman’ received airplay on MTV, a re-edit and re-release of just the core tracks propelled the album to gold status. A first for the band and their record label. 

With the band’s stock rising internationally and domestically they crafted a dramatic stage presence on tour with bands such as Mötley Crüe and Nine Inch Nails, with Steele’s vampiric persona and trademark red wine consumption dominating reviews. The label eager to capitalise on the band’s success pushed Steele for a follow-up.

“I don't know what drugs they were on. I guess they wanted to make another remake of Bloody Kisses, Bloody Kisses II or something like that. They didn't get it.” - NY Rock 

The album that Peter wrote instead was a milestone in what came to be known as “Goth Metal”. Part gothic rock, part psychedelic, and filtered through Black Sabbath style doom metal guitars - 1996’s ‘October Rust’ turned Type O Negative into an international force. The band embarked on tours with Pantera, Ozzy Osbourne, and headlined festivals in the USA and Europe. MTV once again came calling and the romantic and playful videos for ‘Love You To Death’ and ‘My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend’ turned Steele into a reluctant sex symbol. 





This new-found status even lead to Steele appearing on mainstream talk shows such as Jerry Springer and Riki Lake as an example of the definitive “Metal Male”. It wasn’t before long that Playgirl Magazine invited Steele to do a spread - though Steele was said to be embarrassed after finding out that most of the magazine’s subscribers were in fact men. Steele would later look back on the incident with self-deprecating humour, though the publicity certainly didn't do the band any harm.

“After I did it, I thought, "Oh my God, what did I do?" It was more than upsetting that so many guys had it. Girls, OK, but there just seemed to be at least as many guys. Not that I'm homophobic, but it was certainly irritating.” - NY Rock 

Though it was the band’s most successful period it was one of the hardest in Steele’s personal life. The heights of success inevitably opened the doors to chemical influences taking hold of the front man and personal tragedies sent him into another spiral of depression. At this time, burnt out from two solid years of touring, Steele dreaded the phone calls from the label asking to write and even more successful record than '… Kisses' or '… Rust'. Though an album was finally finished it was evident that Steele was writing to exorcise his demons, not to sell records. 

1999’s ‘World Coming Down’ returned to the melancholic dirges of ‘Bloody Kisses’ sans the humour. The album was the darkest since the band’s début with songs like ‘Everyone I Love is Dead’, Everything Dies’, and ‘World Coming Down’ dominating the track listing. The album wasn’t as well received as previous efforts, but it still fed the hungry waves of fans and the resulting tour saw Steele motivated and attempting to clean up his act. An interim best of album called ‘The Least Worst of Type O Negative’ was released while Steele focused on himself.

“What asshole starts to drink and use drugs every day when they are 36 or 37? It’s a real F**king disgrace. I’m kind of shocked at myself, I’m embarrassed […] That slump of doing too much drinking and cocaine is becoming a thing of the past and I’m starting to get myself back a little bit.” - Terrorizer Magazine 

The band’s next album ‘Life is Killing Me’ showed that Steel was indeed getting back to his old self. Though dark, the album had the most humorous and playful feel than any album since ‘Origin…’ and ‘Bloody Kisses’, it even included a cover of ‘Angry Inch’ from the musical 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch'. The supporting video for ‘I Don’t Wanna Be Me’ made a modest impact on radio and TV play lists, but ultimately the band was left to tour to promote the album. This proved to be the last album released by Roadrunner under the contract Steele had signed back in the 80’s with Carnivore. The band parted ways with the label, and soon after European competitors SPV signed them to release the bands next album.

However, another spell of silence befell Steele and co. With the band’s webpage proclaiming “Peter Steele: 1962-2005” creating a stir of wild speculation that the imposing figure had suddenly died. It turned out to be a joke, if not an eerily prophetic one. On the interim live DVD ‘Symphony For The Devil’ and other interviews Steele explained that the length between releases was down to his incarceration in Riker's Island and "the psych ward at Kings County Hospital" at the hands of his family for his psychological and drug problems.

“I violated probation because you know due to drugs and alcohol and just having a case of like all I had to do was like show up once a month and put my hand into a fuckin machine […] I didn't show up for like six months and then I'm like so, let them come and get me and you know what? Bang! Bang! Bang! Is Peter there? Housekeeping!" - MK Magazine 

But an album did materialise on SPV records soon after the DVD release. ‘Dead Again’ saw Steele once again working through his feelings, this time regarding drug addiction and betrayal (‘Tripping a Blind Man’), as well as his conversion/reversion to Catholicism (‘Ode to Locksmiths’), and opinions on abortion (‘These Three Things’). Unlike ‘World Coming Down’ however, Steele maintained his sense of humour and the album received a positive run with one of the highest chart positions since ‘October Rust’ as well as good radio and TV coverage of the band’s singles ‘Profit of Doom’ and ‘September Sun’. The subsequent tour received positive reviews for the newly sober Steele, and the band continued on supporting the album, in 2009 signing up for the Jaegermeister tour with fellow New Yorkers Hatebreed and 3 Inches Of Blood.

“Apparently, when you’re drunk you don’t realise how badly you’re playing and how badly you’re singing. People have told me that I sound much better and I’m playing much better. I don’t really see it as much as other people do because I was drunk. But I realise that I was primarily responsible for almost destroying this band. The last five years of tours have been full of coke and alcohol and I didn’t think the thing was apparent […] If I’m fucked up, half the band’s fucked up […] So I’m trying to rectify the damage that I’ve done by just doing the best job that I can…” - Hardtimes.ca 

Tragically though, Steele’s new sense of optimism was unfortunately cut short on the 14th of April 2010. The cause was widely reported as heart failure. Rumours of the front man’s death had flooded the internet but were initially met with scepticism after the infamous 2005 prank. However, the news that Steele had died aged only 48 years, was later confirmed by the other members of Type O Negative and soon tributes flooded in from friends, bands and fans.

Peter Steele was buried in Saint Charles Cemetary, Farmingdale alongside his parents. His legacy and influence has continually been paid tribute in the years since his death with many bands still citing Type O Negative as a major influence on their own songwriting. 

Steele's talent was a multifaceted one hidden behind a shy and sensitive shell. His vocal range is one of the greatest in modern music, his song-craft, composition and ear for melodies was beyond comparison. And his single-minded determination to create something unique in the form of Type O Negative took the band to international acclaim. Though he struggled with his demons, his body of work is one of the most consistent and genuine output of any artist around. And it is an output that will withstand the test of time.  

“Well, that's it, that's all we have. I hope it wasn't too disappointing…” - October Rust, 1996 

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Editorial: April, 2017

Whoops! OK, so I'm even later with this month's editorial. Once again, life and the days seem to be flying by quicker than I can get through my to-do list. So apologies if you actually read this and were wondering what the hell I've been up to (I doubt it but it is nice to believe sometimes).

As usual I'm going to start by once again thanking everyone who has downloaded our latest compilation so far, and give double thanks to those who have donated some money for it. If you have already downloaded it please recommend it to your friends. If you haven't got round to downloading it yet (and if you haven't where have you been so far?) and can just spare a £1 donation, it will all go towards kicking blood cancer's ass! If you can't donate, that's fine too, but please do make sure you check out more from the awesome band's that made this possible!

But what is my topic of conversation this month. Well I think it has to be a brief look back at the tour de force that was Peter Steele seven years on (Good Friday to be exact) from his untimely passing.


Everyone has a band that speaks to them. That one band that you ‘Get’, that has never released an album you didn’t like, that has a song for every mood you’ve ever had or will have. Type O Negative were that band for me. A band to be a little fanatical for.

As I’m writing this I’m on my third rotation of 'October Rust'. Ask any genuine metal fans though, and there will be nods of agreement amongst them that this album was the bands finest moment alongside their breakthrough 'Bloody Kisses', and it ensured their place in the annals of music. For me it was the first album I genuinely and whole-heartedly loved. In the eighteen years since buying it, whenever I need motivation, a pick me up, or something cathartic to help put my mind at ease – this album has been the soundtrack.

When the news first broke of Peter Steele's death in 2010, I suppose like a lot of people I was sceptical at the news at first. The band famously made a bad joke about Peter’s death in 2005 on their website, when in fact he was at the time detained in a psych ward due to his substance abuse. But the second time around, it felt different, the outpouring of grief from people was so immediate and all too genuine.

It was later confirmed by the band to be true and in the weeks/months that followed it was confirmed that heart failure, possibly linked to Peter’s well documented years of substance abuse, was the cause of his untimely death. A cruel twist due to his newly found sobriety and at what would have been at the start of the next album writing cycle for the band.

Type O’s musical legacy is one fuelled by Steele’s personal demons. From substance abuse, bad break-ups, and family tragedies they all went into creating a palette to draw from. But it was also one that drew from his passions and humour too. Songs like ‘We Hate Everybody’, ‘Kill All The White People’ and covers such as ‘Angry Inch’ showed that it wasn’t always doom and gloom, even if the humour was a little black. Instead the band , with Peter at the helm, created a unique sound that bridged alien influences such as The Beatles, Black Sabbath, and The Sisters of Mercy and moulded them to suit.

But that was Type O Negative and Peter Steele - unique, contradictory, brilliant, and genuine.
In other news, we're on the hunt for a few new regular contributors to add to our staff. If you're interested in doing some reviews or even just a monthly column, please contact us at intravenousmagazine@gmail.com and we'll take it from there. What kind of person are we looking for? Well we're after people who are motivated, committed and eager to take the time to build up a list of PR and label contacts.

For more information on writing for IVM please visit HERE.

Finally in other news, I'd like to again extend the invitation to established scene DJs, artists, and bands to contribute guest DJ mixes that we will host on Mixcloud. What we're thinking is a series of hour-long mixes showing off new and classic acts which we will feature on Mixcloud as well as the Intravenous Magazine website. If anyone is interested, please contact us at the above email address.

And as always make sure you have these links in your favourites:

http://www.intravenousmag.co.uk

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PS: The new logo is nearly finished...

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Review: Various Artists – 'This Man Of Steele'

VARIOUS ARTISTS
'This Man Of Steele'
DARK ITALIA

This year marked five years since the world lost one it's most enigmatic and thoroughly under-appreciated artists in Peter Steele of Type O Negative. But his legacy lives on in the many bands that his band inspired, whether they are rock, metal, darkwave, or electronic – the Type O formula contained so many elements that you could always find something in there to latch on to no matter what your personal preferences. With this in mind, Dark Italia have released a tribute album to the gothic metal maestro in the form of 'This Man Of Steele' that sees darkwave, post punk, batcave, gothic, neofolk, and synthpop artists tackle the band's best know hits.

This isn't the first Steele tribute album to be released since his death. MetalUnderground.com in fact released a brilliant rock/metal orientated album in 'All For None, None For All: A Tribute To Peter Steele' a year after his death that featured some stunning renditions. But not to be outdone, 'This Man Of Steele' has a lot to offer as well.

The strongest tracks on offer vary wildly in their approach but the execution is always original and clever with the doomy synths rock of Magnuss, the new wave of Dade City Days, the acoustic pop of Lenz, the synthpop of TourDeForce, the doomy neofolk of Furvus, the gothic rock of Dim Arcana, the straight mournful neofolk of Vanity, and the acoustic strains of Spiritual Front.

Some tracks of course don't work as well as others, but as with all tribute albums it is in the ear of the beholder and up to their personal genre preferences as to what will grab them the most. But on the whole this is a good display of talents and genres.

The album doesn't suffer from that lack of mastering that many free digital compilations tend to do. Instead all the levels sound right and while there are variances in the quality of the recordings due to each bands' recording set ups, it still sounds like a cohesive whole.

This is a strong, and heartfelt album that displays some genuinely inspired covers. Not everything will be to everyone’s cup of tea, and if you're expecting a lot of rock and metal you may be disappointed. But as far as tribute albums go, this is pretty damn good.

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Book Review: Jeff Wagner – 'Soul On Fire: The Life And Music Of Peter Steele'

JEFF WAGNER
'Soul On Fire: The Life And Music Of Peter Steele'
FYIPRESS 

The long awaited biography of the enigmatic Type O Negative leader Peter Steele is finally upon us. Having been held back from it's original launch date due to expanding the books contents it has been the the subject of speculation in the TON fan community... but it's here (at least in ebook form if you have pre-ordered a physical copy), and it was worth the wait.

Penned by 20-year-veteran of music journalism and author of,‘Mean Deviation – Four Decades of Heavy Metal’ (Bazillion Points) Jeff Wagner, the book carefully charts the life of Peter Steele (born Peter Ratajczyk) from his earliest years in his native Brooklyn, through to the height of his fame with Type O Negative, before finally lifting the veil on the final days of the musician's life. Told in a fittingly journalistic style, the book mixes old press interviews with anecdotes from family, colleagues, ex-band mates, and friends to demystify and analyse the man behind the music. It is direct and always engaging as it attempts to get to the core of Steele as a human being as well as a musician.

The book has a feel that it has been written by a fan, for the fans and displays a lot of empathy in its attempt to explain elements of Steele's life and behaviour. But it is still a detailed and in-depth look into the private life of a man who was thrust into the public eye against his will. Leaving no stone unturned the late musician's relationships and motivations are examined alongside his development from a bassist in a local cover band to platinum selling artist. Before detailing a harrowing descent into drug addiction, depression and ultimately an untimely death.

As rock / metal biographies go this is one is one of the best of recent years. It easily holds its own alongside the likes of Mick Wall's 'When Giants Walked The Earth' and 'Black Sabbath: Symptom Of The Universe', as well as 'The Beatles' by Hunter Davies, and 'Strange Fascination' by David Buckley. It is nicely laid out and designed with pull quotes and extra graphics adding to the visual appeal of the book.

Complete with rare photographs, fan submissions, out-takes, and alternative album art it is a tantalising but brief glimpse into the Type O Negative archive. It asks the questions that fans have long wanted to know the answers to, and exposes the highs and lows of the music industry through the story of its protagonist. It is a compelling read that elicits an emotional reaction in the reader and as a result is hard to put down.

In stripping back the myth and public persona of Peter Steele by graphically charting his many personal demons and the toll they took on his life and health the book successfully brings Steele down to Earth, revealing him to be a gifted but fragile human being. His story is handled with respect both to Steele and his surviving loved ones. But it doesn't pull its punches either. The result is a well rounded portrait of the subject that shows him with all of his genius and failings exposed without judgement.

Those who are fans of Type O Negative will undoubtedly clamour for this, but beyond the immediate audience of Steele it is a strong rock biography that is a great example of the genre.  

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