It's unfortunately another LNMC obituary this evening -- cult icon Peter Steele, the towering frontman of Type O Negative, died of heart failure yesterday at 48.
Type O Negative certainly aren't for everyone, but when the totally silly yet totally awesome "Black No. 1" stormed hard rock radio in 1993, goth was suddenly fun -- Type O combined dark and cheeky better than anyone. The band built and maintained massive amounts of cult cred that lasted long after their one chart success, and while it feels a bit cheap to commemorate Steele with their singular hit when they had such a deep catalog, "Black" was an instant classic that you either pretended you hated or openly loved. Every over-eyelinered, black-jacketed, and pierced-lipped youth should pour a little of their absinthe out for Mr. Steele for giving goth-rock its best band and a sense of humor, and those less decorated among us owe a salute to a great and inventive musician who wrote and performed with gusto deserving of far more than subgenre heroism.
