Peter Steele, also known as Peter Thomas Ratajczyk, began his musical career in 1979 with the formation of Fallout. However, it wasn’t his first band since he had previously played in garage-band projects when he was getting started. Fallout’s exhilarating trash sound became the backbone for his ‘harder’ projects, like Type O Negative, later in life.
After forming Type O Negative and rolling out successful albums one after the other, the frontman was established as the Godfather of Goth Metal by many. Although he lived a life that had ups and downs, the vocalist became an icon for future generations. Let’s look at the life of the artist who inspired many and encouraged others to pursue their dreams.
The Music Career That Made Peter Steele The Godfather Of Goth Metal
After the initial success of Fallout, disco had started to take over the scene, but Steele was into the heavier sounds, so he and Louie entered the metal world with Carnivore. Peter, known to have a wild imagination, incorporated ideas like thermo-nuclear war, cannibalism, and post-apocalyptic warfare into their songs. Even in the glory days of the ’80s music industry, extremism, hardcore, and thrash crossover bands had to scrape harder to succeed and float above water. However, Carnivore’s lack of touring resulted in a shorter life span for them as a band.
Fallout’s separation caused the band members to return to their real lives. However, everything changed when Sal Abruscato approached Peter to create one of the 1990s’ most distinctive and successful metal bands, Type O Negative. The songs on their debut album ‘Slow, Deep, And Hard,’ had lyrics inspired by Peter’s personal life, which resonated with fans more than Carnivore. By the third album’ Bloody Kisses’ they had made it in the industry as the album was certified gold by the RIAA.
Their follow-up ‘October Rust’ doubled down on the gothic elements and was also received well by critics and fans. The success surrounding the band made them commercially successful, and for some, Peter Steele had become the Godfather of Goth Metal. However, not everything was going smoothly as when they started their next record, ‘World Coming Down,’ the frontman was struggling with loss, grief, and drug addiction.
The ‘Life Is Killing Me’ and ‘Dead Again’ eras were also full of ups and downs, especially regarding the band’s relationship with their longtime record label Roadrunner. Type O Negative bid farewell with a bang as their last album, ‘Dead Again,’ became Type O’s highest-charting album after its release in the US, climbing to No.27 on the Billboard 200 charts.
Peter Steele’s Unfortunate End
The Godfather of Goth Metal’s journey in the industry was one for the books, especially his time with Type O Negative. However, that was also the period when the frontman attempted suicide, overdosed, and even faked his death in 2005. Rumors regarding Steele’s passing started circulating after the band’s website posted an image of a tombstone with his name and the dates 1962–2005. However, it was later confirmed that Steele was not dead, and the gag was related to showing off their new record label SPV Records.
Because of his attitude towards death and the dark lyrics he wrote, it was hard to imagine the hulk-like frontman ever passing away. However, on April 14, 2010, Steele, who had been sick in bed for several days with the flu, died at 48. Previously reported as an aortic aneurysm, his death was later confirmed due to sepsis caused by diverticulitis.
Peter was known for his battle against drug and alcohol addiction, so several people claimed that he was in the hospital due to an overdose. However, that wasn’t the case, as the vocalist was proud of finally being clean and sober after a life filled with struggle.
