Peter started his career, apparently, in the metal band Fallout, but then moved on to start the slightly better known post-apocalytic NYHC band Carnivore . Though they seemed awfully racist and sexist, Carnivore lyrics were heavily padded with irony, as evidenced by the song titles, “Jack Daniels and Pizza,” “Angry Neurotic Catholics,” “Thermonuclear Warrior,” and “World Wars III and IV.”

He then moved on to start Type O Negative – a name he chose because of a tattoo he and the rest of the band had already gotten. The band was originally called New Minority, but changed to Repulsion, and then SubZero. At this point the band members, thinking they had found a permanent name, got their trademark tattoos – a green minus sign inside a circle, which was originally meant to be a zero. However, they soon found that the name was already being used by another band. Peter then came up with the name Type O Negative at least in part to match the tattoos they had already gotten.

Though their first two albums, Slow, Deep, and Hard, and the mock-live record The Origin of the Feces, sold very poorly, their third full-length, Bloody Kisses, was the first gold record ever released by their label, Roadrunner Records. Follow-up albums include: October Rust, World Coming Down, Life is Killing Me, and their final record, Dead Again.

Pete stood 6’7”, which gave him a towering stage presence, and once appeared in Playgirl Magazine. Which is hilarious. Pete later claimed that he didn’t know the magazine had a mostly gay readership, and that he regretted doing the shoot. Musically, Pete was known for: his distinctive bass (both voice and guitar), his obsession with The Beatles and Black Sabbath, his ironic-goth lyrics, and his desire to be dead. Apparently, someone got around to hooking him up with that.

Though BlueZer0 has at times been critical of Pete, he will be missed. RIP Pete Steele. Or Petrus or whatever.

Look for more obituaries here, at Bluezer0.net!