14 DAY TRIAL // He was the rocker who always spoke fondly of his time as a sanitation worker in Brooklyn, where he was born and resided until his final day. He rose to fame in the ‘90s as the frontman for Type O Negative and continued making music with the band until a while ago. Today, Geeks of Doom has confirmation from several sources that Peter Steele has passed away. He was just 48 years old.
It’s a known fact that Steele suffered from depression in the ‘90s, which was only accentuated by his incredible rise to fame. He had also had issues with drug abuse, but he eventually managed to overcome those, it is being said. Rumor of his death first emerged on Twitter and Facebook yesterday, with many hoping it was just another publicity stunt, like back in 2005, when Steele himself was behind it. Sadly, this was not the case.
“Rumors of Steele’s death first arose late Wednesday night on Facebook from posts by friends of the musician’s family who had been notified. Just before midnight, Fused TV VJ Juliya Chernetsky, aka Mistress Juliya, posted to her Twitter account confirming that the 48-year-old musician had died. ‘He passed of heart failure today. Just spoke to Kenny,’ Chernetsky wrote, presumably referring to Steele’s Type O bandmate guitarist Kenny Hickey. As of 2AM EST, no other information has surfaced and no official statements released,” writes the aforementioned e-zine.
Confirmation came a bit later, from Blabbermouth, which is owned by Roadrunner Records, where Steele’s band was signed in 2006. “The website for rock radio station KNAC.com is reporting that they have been able to confirm ‘according to a source from within the band’ that Peter Steele has indeed passed away from heart failure at age 48. They add that the singer was apparently ill for a few days prior to his death. […] While fans of Steele are left to mourn his passing, those of us here in Brooklyn are shocked and saddened by the news, as we have lost one of our own. He will be greatly missed, but never forgotten,” Geeks of Doom further writes.
An official statement is pending. Keep an eye on this space for when it comes.