In a new interview with Sh!t Talk Reviews, former TYPE O NEGATIVE drummer Johnny Kelly confirmed that a full-length concert recording from the long-defunct band is in the works for an official release. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “We were able to get our hands on a show. I just got a mix of one of the songs, just two or three weeks ago, to approve it. It was mixed and mastered, and we were gonna put it out with one label, and now I believe we’re doing it with Nuclear Blast. I’m not exactly sure when it’s coming out. Right now we’re going through the artwork and stuff like that, approving that kind of stuff.”
TYPE O NEGATIVE effectively broke up after the passing of frontman Peter Steele in April 2010 from heart failure at the age of 48. Born Petrus T. Ratajczyk on January 4, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York, he stood 6′ 7″ (201 cm) tall, and had a low, bass-heavy voice, which was one of the most recognizable features in TYPE O NEGATIVE‘s music.
Before forming TYPE O NEGATIVE, Steele played for the metal group FALLOUT and the thrash band CARNIVORE.
Regarding the possibility of teaming up with the other surviving members of TYPE O NEGATIVE to stage a Steele tribute concert with various guest musicians, Johnny told Sh!t Talk Reviews: “Honestly, I really don’t know, ’cause what’s happening now is people are starting to approach us, saying, ‘Hey, have you thought about doing something?’ or, ‘Now may be a good time to do this,’ or, ‘It’s been 15 years. It’s time. You guys should do something.’ So we’re starting to get approached by people about doing something, but it isn’t something that we’ve been actively pursuing or having discussions about, where it’s, like, ‘All right, when are we gonna do this? How are we gonna do it? Who are we gonna do it with?’ None of that has come up. We’ve never discussed who would sing. That conversation has not happened.”
Asked if those approaches are “welcome”, Kelly said: “Of course the curiosity’s there to see. Who knows? But, yeah, I think it’s time to do something in terms of celebrating Peter‘s life and his music. You go online and you see a bunch of people, a bunch of haters and stuff, [saying stuff] like, ‘Oh, no. You can’t do it. No Peter, no TYPE O NEGATIVE.’ And then there’s other people who’ll, be like, ‘I’ll be there.’ And I’ve watched it with [the current touring lineup of] PANTERA, for instance. Everybody complained all the way to the arena. They bitched all the way to the arena.”
Johnny continued: “We toured with PANTERA — we toured with PANTERA when they were at the height of their popularity, when the [classic] band was active — and to see what they’re doing 1763501380… I saw them play two months ago. They played in Dallas, and I went to the show, and all the touring that we did [with PANTERA], they never played rooms that big and sold them out like that. When we played with them, we played at Nassau Coliseum. And Nassau Coliseum was the smaller arena at the time, and it wasn’t sold out. And this was ‘Far Beyond Driven’ [era]. At the time, PANTERA was huge. But now they’re filling up sheds all over the place. And so I guess seeing the success that a lot of bands have had that don’t have all of the original members in them and stuff like that, of course TYPE O NEGATIVE is gonna get thrown into the conversation. Seeing it that now, that it works with all these other bands, everybody out there, the sharks are out there now saying, ‘Who else can we get? Who else can we resurrect?'”
Last month, former TYPE O NEGATIVE guitarist Kenny Hickey told Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio about that ex-TYPE O NEGATIVE keyboardist Josh Silver, who is married to Kenny‘s wife’s sister, is still unwilling to commit to a Peter Steele tribute project, having spent “a long time” working for New York City as a paramedic.
TYPE O NEGATIVE, known for its brooding soundscapes and cult status in the 1990s and early 2000s, has recently seen a cultural resurgence as new generations discover the band’s genre-defining music.
TYPE O NEGATIVE was a New York–based goth metal band formed in 1990 by vocalist, bassist and songwriter Steele, alongside Hickey, Silver and drummer Sal Abruscato — later replaced by longtime drummer Johnny Kelly. Their 1991 debut, “Slow, Deep And Hard”, introduced their brooding style, followed by the provocative “The Origin Of The Feces” (1992). TYPE O NEGATIVE achieved breakthrough success with “Bloody Kisses” (1993),which earned a cult following and featured the single “Black No. 1”. The band continued to evolve with albums such as “October Rust” (1996),“World Coming Down” (1999),“Life Is Killing Me” (2003) and “Dead Again” (2007).
Revered for their distinctive blend of goth and metal, as well as Steele‘s deep, iconic vocals, TYPE O NEGATIVE left a lasting legacy in heavy music. The band concluded in 2010 following Steele‘s death, but their influence endures across the alternative and metal landscape.
