Peter Steele, along with his friend Sal Abruscato (drums), founded the group we know to be Type O Negative out of the remnants of the now extinct project, Carnivore.   They were "Harsh speed-metal with hardcore tendencies, like Anthrax gone mad." - John Book, All Music Guide.

Carnivore had two releases.
  1985 Carnivore: Carnivore - 11 tracks.
  1987 Carnivore: Retaliation - 15 tracks.

Then in 1991 Roadrunner records re-released a compilation of the two.

I suspect that Peter (a.k.a. Petrus) was already rolling around the concept of the Negative ones during Carnivore's final days.   During an October 1990 performance at L'Amour's in Brooklyn, NY, he wore a shirt with a logo that was very similar to the logo now synonymous with Type O Negative.   I wasn't there, I've seen a bootlegged video of the show.

1991:
Roadrunner records re-released a compilation of two previous Carnivore works.   Then six weeks at Systems Two studios in Brooklyn, NY, brought forth Type O's debut album, Slow, Deep And Hard.   While I don't always agree with the critics and their reviews, I have to say sometimes they stumble on brilliance by accident.   A critic from CMJ New Music Report said while he didn't agree with everything the group had to say, "they are what most anal-ists would call a 'product of the environment' (in a bowl full of plastic images, sincerity is something to be commended, I guess).   Musically, the band incorporates keyboards with heavy industrial-esque samples, crushing rhythms, cyborg bass tones and powerful lung-rot vocals to form what is best described as Brooklyn's ultimate thug opera.   All said, this record is quite a dangerous piece for radio, and should be carefully screened before airplay in any format.   Built to annoy, destroy and provoke, Type O Negative succeed in all aspects."   In November, Type O Negative began touring sandwiched between Biohazard and British cartoon punks, the Exploited.   It was kind of like "Slayer opening for the Banana Splits" and what Roadrunner records called the basis of Type O's "shit sundae."   Shortly after that jaunt wrapped, Type O headed off to Europe where the Nazi-rumor mill was in full swing.   Peter was being pinned with such names as "misogynist scumbag" and "Nazi bastard," despite the fact that he has a family with five sisters and demanded that a "nice" Jewish boy, Josh Silver, be in his band.   Just to prove that people fear what they don't understand, an angry protester smashed a jar of acid (we're talking the eat through your skin kind) on the door to a German venue.   I sure hope that protester has seen the light or at least the inside of a cell by now.

1992:
Roadrunner told Peter that Type O must ride the waves of the bad press, and the best way to do that (according to them anyway) was to rush release a live album.   So... the band decided "to fake a live album by playing their set poorly under one microphone in the studio, while overdubbing pseudo-crowd noises generated by neighborhood."   The record, Origin Of The Feces, was initially released with a cover photo that turned out to be a close-up of Steele's anus.   So as you can imagine, it got pulled and was released with the cover seen here.

1993:
Type O Negative recorded their second studio LP, Bloody Kisses.   This album represented what most critics called a major step forward for the band, as it was the first real showcase of the goth-rock-metal sound the group has become known for.   "The quantum leap in songwriting is what really drives the album, but it also coincides with a new found sense of subtlety.   Aside from a couple of smart-aleck rants, Peter Steele's dark, melodramatic songs address heartbreak and loneliness in what sounds at first like deadly serious overkill.   But not far beneath the surface, he's also satirizing his own emotional excesses, and those of goth-rock in general.   Steele's lyrics gleefully wallow in goth clichés -- sex, death, Christianity, vampires, more sex and death -- and he even sings most of the album in an intentionally vampiric croon straight from the depths of an ancient crypt." (Steve Huey - All Music Guide)   Ironically, Peter was unsure about continuing with Type O and the indecision about touring behind Bloody Kisses became a source of frustration to Sal Abruscato, and in response, Sal resigned from Type O to join Life of Agony.   Then in the summer, Type O Negative decided to go out on tour with Johnny Kelly in the drummer's seat.   The tour lasted about two years and they shared stages with the likes of Danzig, Queensryche, Godflesh, Nine Inch Nails, Pantera and Motley Crue.

1994:
Type O was on their way, as they "became the gothadelic industrimetal equivalent to James Brown as the hardest working Brooklyn dirtboxes in show biz."   They accepted an invitation to appear on the Black Sabbath tribute album, Nativity In Black.   Roadrunner then asked Peter to remix and oversee new artwork for a special digipak edition of the Bloody Kisses album.   As any true artist would, he decided to make sonic changes as well, replacing the Al Sharpton-inspired tracks "Kill All The White People" and "We Hate Everyone" with the moodier "Suspended In Dusk."   The result... it scored Type O their first gold album!!!

1995:
Peter, whose rugged sexuality has not gone unnoticed, accepted an offer to appear in the pages of Playgirl magazine.   Amidst the many jokes about seeing another side of the man of Steele, if you actually read the interview you could catch a glimpse of his sarcastic sense of humor as well as his respect for women in general.   Peter also appeared on the cover of Alternative Press's "Slaughtered by Love!!!" issue.   Soon afterwards, Type O Negative began preparing a version of "Blood and Fire" for the soundtrack to TVT's Mortal Kombat.   Much of the year was spent writing and recording.

1996:
Roadrunner released Type O Negative's third album, October Rust.   The record was launched with the release of the single, "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend," which was further propelled by a provocative video filmed by NYC filmmaker, Richard Kern.   More extensive touring surrounded the release, including dates with Ozzy Ozzborne and Sepultura, and a show in Cleveland where Marilyn Manson was in the audience admiring the band's use of onstage snow to simulate a nuclear winter.   Some say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.   Manson later used a similar look in one of his videos, "The Nobodies."

1997:
After another bout of touring, Type O leapt into the movie soundtrack scene.   They did a cover of Status Quo's biggest hit, "Pictures Of Matchstick Men," for Howard Stern's Private Parts.   Then another cover, "Summer Breeze", by the 70's hippies Seals And Crofts appeared on the soundtrack of I Know What You Did Last Summer.   Also, a gothic and industrial style compilation album, The Darkest Hour, was release in July under the Hypnotic label, which included the Type O song, "Paranoid."

1998:
Peter was the voice of Ian Nottingham for Kat Bjelland's (founder of Babes in Toyland) concept album based on the Top Cow comic series, Witchblade.   The After Dark video, which contains six videos, casual dialogue and a ton of sarcasm, was released.   For those who love the classic vampire, F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent horror classic Nosferatu was updated, remastered, and rescored to include music by Type O Negative.   Murnau's Nosferatu is an unauthorized adaptation of Braum Stoker's Dracula and was one of the first treatments of the vampire on film.   Then just in time for Christmas, 15 December 1998, Dressed to Kill, a UK label released Metal Millennium, a two-disc collection of various artists, which included Type O's, "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else."

1999:
The feature-film The Blair Witch Project took America by storm with some actually believing it was a true documentary of horror.   Type O Negative's "Haunted" was included in the film's soundtrack.   The band also contributed tracks to the Carrie 2: The Rage ("Die With Me") and Bride Of Chucky ("Love You To Death") soundtracks.   But none of these projects could compare to the release of Type O's fourth album, World Coming Down.   "The fourth full-length album from Brooklyn, New York's Type O Negative is packed with exactly what fans of the band love: long, slow, doom-encrusted, gothic epics of bad love, prolonged death, and gradual insanity, all sung in Peter Steele's distinctive, stentorian rumble while the band masses a dense, claustrophobic wall of music behind him." (Don Kaye - CDNow)

2000:
Type O hit the road again on a tour featuring Coal Chamber, Full Devil Jacket, and the Deadlights.   That summer, their previous release, October Rust, went gold and the label compiled The Least Worst Of Type O Negative, a remarkably cohesive overview of the band's career.   It contains Type O classics like "Unsuccessfully Coping...", "Black No. 1", and "Everything Dies", along with previously unreleased tracks like "Stay Out Of My Dreams", "12 Black Rainbows", "It's Never Enough", and a studio version of "Hey Pete."   Peter also did some work with Tony Iommi.   The song, Just Say No to Love, featuring Peter is included on Iommi's self-titled release, Iommi.

2001:
The majority of this year was spent in the writing process.   Type O recorded a track for the WWF titled "Out of the Fire," which is the theme song for the wrestler Kane.   It is a cover version of his intro song.   Then the group set out on their usual Halloween tour covering mostly East Coast venues.

2002:
Peter is featured in a duet called "Descent" with german rocker, Doro Pesch, on her latest release Fight.   With a time out for Kenny and his wife Bonnie to bring another little angle into the world and Johnny playing with his Led Zeppelin Cover Band - Earl's Court, Type O has been spending their time in the studio again this year.

2003:
Life is Killing Me, formerly known as The Dream is Dead, was released on June 17 and the band started touring Europe almost immediately.   The track "(We were) Electrocute" was included on the Freddy vs. Jason soundtrack and Life is Killing Me debuted on Billboard.com at #39.   If you haven't already gotten a copy, go get one!

2004:
Type O completed their contract with RoadRunner and signed with SPV.

2005:
The RoadRunner All Stars CD, on which Josh contributed, was released in August.   And for the vampire movie lovers, you won't want to miss this duo terrorizing New Orleans: Peter was set to play the role of Viktor Baine, a vampire who sires Midael (played by Steve Blaze), in the movie Tao of M which was set to premier Halloween of this year and then came the hurricanes.   Not sure of the current status on the project or if Peter will still be involved.

2006:
A new DVD, Symphony for the Devil, was released in March of this year.   If you haven't already gotten yours, what are you waiting for?   The DVD includes live footage and an interview among other goodies.   While Type O puts the finishing touches on their upcoming release (Dead Again -- expected out early 2007), Peter has decided to reincarnate Carnivore.   Carnivore performed at the Wacken Open Air festival August 4 in Wacken, Germany.   Their 2006 lineup included:
    Peter Steele (TYPE O NEGATIVE) - Vocals, Bass
    Paul Bento (METAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION) - Guitar, Vocals
    Joey Zampela (LIFE OF AGONY) - Guitar, Vocals
    Steve Tobin (METAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION, ex-DUST TO DUST) - Drums, Vocals)

2007:
Dead Again is scheduled for release on March 13 in the USA/Canada, March 16 in Germany, and March 19 in Europe.   It will include a guest appearance by vocalist, Tara VanFlower.

2008:
Type O hit the road to tour in support of the February special edition release of Dead Again gone red with LPs, a DVD, and a special edition t-shirt.   So in honor of the red release I wore red boots to their show.   I hope you catch them in your town too...