A giant in metal music has left this earth. Besides literally being a giant at more than 2 metres tall, Type O Negative's frontman Peter Steele had a huge influence on metal musicians and fans all over the world. He died age 48, april 14th 2010.
Discovering Type O when they released the album 'October Rust', I belong to the second wave of fans - discovering the previous 'Slow, Deep and Hard' and 'Bloody Kisses' only after literally playing October Rust until the tape was literally destroyed.
As a 16-year old with a taste for the macabre, Peter Steele and his comrads provided me with a great soundtrack for evenings spent with my friends or while reading Anne Rice's vampire novels. There was a time I didn't leave the house for a night in the pub without listening to 'My Girlfriends' Girlfriend' first.
Til this day, no one has managed to sound as distinctly sombre as Type O does. Many bands have been audibly influenced by the Drab Four, such as HIM and Lacrimas Profundere, but nevertheless their musical style remains unique.
I got a text message from my friend L. yesterday. "Peter Steele is dead. No joke." My boyfriend called me, too. Since the news hit the internet yesterday, my friends have been posting their memories of Peter and Type O, their favorite songs and generally just reactions of disbelief on Facebook, Twitter and Hyves. As Mistress Juliya put it: it's the end of an era.
