I'm sure this will be a big one on this board:

Pete Steele RIP: 1962 – 2010
terrybezer / News, Top Posts / 15/04/2010 13:26pm

"Hammer is saddened to hear that the rumours about Pete Steele’s death have been confirmed as being true.

In an email to Blabbermouth, Type O Negative keyboard player Josh Silver has confirmed that Pete Steele has been found dead. No official cause of death has yet been confirmed, but rumours allege that Steele died of heart failure.

Mass internet speculation surfaced overnight, that Type O Negative frontman Pete Steele had died of a heart failure.

The rumours came from American VJ, Mistress Juliya, posting on her Twitter that Type O guitarist, Kenny Hickey, had confirmed the death, just before midnight on Wednesday, April 14th. These rumours have since been confirmed.

Peter Steele was born Petrus T Ratajczyk on January 4, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York, USA.

Of Polish, Icelandic, English, and Russian heritage the 6′ 7″ frontman of Type O Negative has become known as much for his iconic look as his dark, deadpan humour.

Before joining Type O Negative, Peter played for the metal group Fallout and the thrash band Carnivore and has at various times been treated for depression and even been incarcerated for violent behaviour. Rumours of Peter’s death spread after the band’s website posted an image of a tombstone bearing his name and the dates 1962-2005. It was revealed as a joke but Steele has been known to disappear for extended periods with no explanation from the band or management.

Rumors of his death, terminal illness, and other speculations increased until the mystery was dispelled on the 2006 DVD, Symphony for the Devil. Included in this DVD is an interview in which Steele briefly mentions his incarceration in Riker’s Island and “the psych ward at Kings County Hospital”, both stints apparently caused by his heavy substance abuse, for which he also served time on probation.

Metal Hammer’s thoughts are with Peter’s family, band mates and friends at this time. He will be sorely missed."

No! I loved Type O Negative. This is awful awful news. RIP, Peter Steele.

Man this news devastated me when I heard it early this morning, I'm going down to Texas today and I'm ready to go to a wedding and see a bunch of really cool people, but man this is a sour note I hope to shake.

Oh God, no.

Still waters no doubt ran deep. We'll never know how deep. :'(

May he rest.

I hope he was loved at the time he passed away. Well, I'm sure he was, by someone, but I hope he felt that he was. From the interviews I've read, he'd been reclusive in recent years, maybe partly by choice, but still.

I just can't imagine anything worse than dying lonely -- if you know you're loved, at least you can be thankful for the time you've had.

So sad

Tragic.
My love was hoping to see them again in concert if that was ever to be...
May his sensual voice carry upon the clouds of his afterlife...

They were one of the first bands to get me back into goth in 7th grade. RIP, Pete.

Perhaps we can have a video of the day as a tribute?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFwYJYl5GUQ

^^ That would be great. Maybe run it through the weekend?

Type O Negative was one of the first metal bands I started listening to when i was in high school. I have to admit in recent years I hadn't really paid attention to their work, but I really regret that now.

Sorry. It's just hitting me every so often. And I was hoping to hear new music. 48 is just too soon.

Don't be sorry! I was being silly and insensitive. I was really hoping to be able to see them live and I've been listening to them a lot this weekend. Let's all take care of our heart health, okay? 48 is way too soon to go.

^^ Oh gosh, no! That wasn't directed at you; it was totally random. "Sorry" referred to me being an obsessive weirdo mourning the loss of someone I've never known.

A loss of someone whether you knew them or not is still a loss of a living being.
Your so not'a weirdo for mourning.

This is very true, I was heartbroken when Lux Interior passed away and I had never met him - the loss still had a tremendous effect on me

At The Club House, Vinnie Paul of Pantera's strip club during the third act of the Bachelor party, I requested My Girlfriend's Girlfriend which got a big roar from the crowd. Good times always Pete Steele, thanks for the memories.

So sad. I was lucky enough to see Type O Negative this past October.