Peter Steele was nothing if not self-deprecating. "We're known more for being four dicks from Brooklyn than actually being able to, ya know, play instruments," he once said of his band Type O Negative, "which is great because we've never really learned to play."
Truth is, Steele could not only play, but he could also write a damn fine song. He did so many times across a long career and multiple bands, including controversial Neanderthal thrash crew Carnivore as well as Type O, before his untimely death in 2010. His work inspired everyone from his friend Phil Anselmo to a younger generation of headbangers including the members of Code Orange and Twitching Tongue's Colin Young. No single Spotify playlist could ever encompass his "brilliant, insane ideas" (Young's words), but here is our best attempt.
