Founding Type O Negative guitarist Kenny Hickey has explained why the leading goth metal band have yet to reunite without late bassist/singer Peter Steele.
Talking to the HardLore podcast, Hickey says that getting back together would be “such a large undertaking”. He also questions who would have both the vocal prowess and bass-playing skills to step in for Steele, who died of sepsis caused by diverticulitis at the age of 48 in April 2010.
“We got offered one show for a lot of money,” the guitarist states (via Blabbermouth). “We couldn’t do one show for a lot of money. It’s such a large undertaking. It would have to be a lot of shows for a lot of money.
“To get the band back together, to figure the music out again, to get a visual going for the show, everything you would need, find a guy that can pull [Steele’s vocals] off with taste, never mind his bass playing.”
He adds “never say never”, but remains unsure of whether a tribute show would prove “viable”.
Type O’s original lineup – Steele, Hickey, keyboardist Josh Silver and drummer Sal Abruscato – were childhood friends before founding the band in 1989. Drummer Johnny Kelly replaced Abruscato in 1993. The band split almost immediately after Steele’s death. Kelly told Sweden’s TV4 in 2011: “Even if there is somebody who could take his place it wouldn’t matter … when Peter died, Type O Negative died with him.”
Type O released seven albums together, starting with 1991’s Slow, Deep And Hard and concluding with 2007’s Dead Again. 1993’s Bloody Kisses, which featured the enduring singles Christian Woman and Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All), has been certified Platinum in the US, and 1996’s October Rust has been certified Gold in the same market.
Bands inspired by Type O Negative include Lacuna Coil, Swallow The Sun, Pallbearer and Hangman’s Chair. Talking to Metal Hammer in 2023, Brujeria and Alekhine’s Gun vocalist, and Orange Is The New Black actor, Jessica Pimentel remembered Steele as a “a very sensitive, deep guy”.
“To me, he was a big brother-type person and talked me through a very hard time in my life,” she added. “I was a lonely, depressed kid and I think he identified that. He made mixtapes for me and stuff. You might expect him to be a jerk or a womaniser but, if he was, I never saw that side of him.”
Hickey and Kelly now play together in the doom band Silvertomb. The five-piece release their second album, The Interpretation Of Nightmares, next week via Steamhammer. Meanwhile, Abruscato fronts rockers A Pale Horse Named Death
(LouderSound)
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