thats this darling
Peter Thomas Ratajczyk[4] (January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010), known professionally as
Peter Steele, was an American musician. He was best known as the lead vocalist, bassist and composer of the
gothic metal band
Type O Negative.
[5] Before forming Type O Negative, Steele had created the
heavy metal group
Fallout and the
thrash metal band
Carnivore.
[6]
As the frontman for Type O Negative, Steele was known for his
vampiric appearance,
[7][8] 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) stature,
[9] rich
bass vocals,
[10][11][12] and a dark, often
self-deprecating sense of humor.
[13][14] His lyrics have been described as "often intensely personal, dealing with subjects including love, loss and addiction."
[13] Steele credited
Black Sabbath and
the Beatles as his key musical influences. He has been listed among the "66 Best Hard Rock and Metal Frontmen of All Time" by
Loudwire.
[5]
Early life[edit]
Steele was born on January 4, 1962, in
Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York City,
[4] to a
Catholic family,
[15] and attended
Edward R. Murrow High School in the
Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn. His father (1921–1995) was of Polish and Ukrainian descent and his mother (1922–2005) of Scottish-Irish, Norwegian, and Icelandic ancestry. He was raised in the
Bensonhurst and
Brighton Beach neighborhoods of Brooklyn.
[16][17][18] Steele was the youngest of six children, with five older sisters.
[19] His father fought in
World War II[15] and later worked at a
shipyard.
[20] Steele started taking guitar lessons at age 12, before moving on to bass six months later.
[19]
Though Steele was naturally left-handed, he played right-handed bass guitars throughout his career. This came about when one of his earliest bands, Aggression (also featuring
Josh Silver), for which Steele played left-handed rhythm guitar, threatened to kick him out unless he switched to bass guitar. As a left-handed bass guitar proved to be too expensive at the time, Steele purchased a right-handed bass and taught himself how to play it.
[21]