For many it feels like today’s date is March 44th based on the current state of affairs in the world with the devastating effects of this Coronavirus Pandemic. It’s actually April 10th and it’s a day that marks a very sad anniversary in the minds of so many Metal fans as that was the day that the inimitable Peter Steele, founder of the Brooklyn-based Heavy Metal group Type O Negative passed away. I remember hearing rumbling of the news not long after he had apparently passed and initially a part of me had to laugh at the notion that Peter had fooled us all once again with the same trick that he did some years before. Sadly, when I took notice of people who would be “in the know” about the band making posts to their socials about getting some terrible news that they were hoping against hope would be untrue a chill ran through my bones. It was true. He was gone. The world at large had lost the Green Man, Peter Steele was dead and he was only 48 years old.
It’s been a year since the sad news about Peter Steele’s passing hit the Metal Republic and I have to say that it seemed to be the kick off to a number of other bad turns of events. While none of the musical deaths that preceded Peter’s were any less important, his own passing set off a shock wave in the underground Metal scene where Type O Negative were kings and really left a lot of fans shocked and dismayed. The band was obviously over and done with now that the principal song writer was dead and while members Hickey and Kelly would continue on with their side project Seventh Void, the chapter on Type O Negative was one that had apparently closed in the book of Metal music history. Research had found that no unreleased music was left lying around, but perhaps some historically relevant video would surface for the fans to enjoy.
The Man Of Steele: Click Photo For Original Memorial Thoughts
A little over a month after Peter had passed away the world would lose the mighty Ronnie James Dio but thoughts about his passing are better discussed in the narrative that is dedicated to his illustrious career. When Peter was gone and the word was confirmed as truth instead of another cruel jest; a memorial posting was made in the Official PiercingMetal.com blog. With the First Anniversary of his passing being today I wanted to revisit those thoughts which can be read by clicking the photo above. Comments about The Man are continually welcome by those who enjoyed his music as much as we did but we ask that you please leave them on the original memorial posting as opposed to here for greater impact. We miss ya Peter and hope you are rocking with the likes of Hendrix, Bonham and many, many more.
Peter Steele’s Bass at Hard Rock Cafe Times Square
Peter’s Alembic bass guitar is now a part of Hard Rock Cafe historic pieces and at the time of this first anniversary could be viewed in one of the establishments windows. When I learned that it was at this location I made sure to snap a couple of photos for proper use in these thoughts.
Peter Steele’s Hard Rock Cafe Placard
The words they showcased seemed to hit the nail on the head for me, so I was happy with how they were presented. Don’t mind any spots on the image as there was a torrential rainstorm happening around me when I did this.
Peter Steele’s Thundering Bass Guitar Of Gloom
Kudos to the Hard Rock Cafe brand for realizing that Peter Steele and Type O Negative are worthy of inclusion among your legendary ranks of artifacts. While the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will likely remain forever clueless and leave a band like this one out of its “honors”, its great to see that some others actually understand and appreciate such a vital musician. I thank you as a decades deep fan of Steele’s music.
Note: Please know that the means to comment on this post have been turned off and we ask that any reflection thoughts or toasts about Peter Steele that you wish to share be left on our first Memorial posting that can be found HERE. Thank you.
It is with incredible sadness that I try to wrap my head around the loss of Type O Negative’s Peter Steele who passed away last night 4/14/2010 at around 6pm. The news broke rather quickly thanks to the likes of Twitter, Facebook & MySpace, but in the early stages of the information there was a strong belief that the rumors of his death were highly exaggerated. This mindset was initially in place based on the fact that the singer had been reported dead back in 2005 but after a few days the world realized that they had been punked. Sadly there would be no sigh of relief this time around and when very reliable sources in his camp confirmed it all to be true we would learn the brutal fact that in the end it was heart failure that took this giant of the Metal scene away from us. He was 48 years old.
