Post by Henny Macc on Apr 25, 2020 23:33:56 GMT
Peter Thomas Ratajczyk (January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010)
Years active: 1979-2010
Country of origin: United States of America
Recorded vocal range: D1-G5 - 4.4 octaves
Band history:
- 1979-1982 - Fallout (lead vocals, bass)
- 1982-1987 - Carnivore (lead vocals, bass)
- 1989-1990 - Repulsion (lead vocals, bass)
- 1990-2010 - Type O Negative (lead vocals, bass)
- 1994-1996 - Carnivore (lead vocals, bass)
- 2006-2010 - Carnivore (lead vocals, bass)
Recorded high notes:
G5: "Xero Tolerance"
F♯5/G♭5: "Tripping a Blind Man"
F5: "Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)" live St. Petersburg 2007, "Hail and Farewell to Britain"
E5: "Back in the USSR" live at the Bizarre Festival 1999, "Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)" live Bizarre Festival 1999, "Executioner", "Hey Pete" live Berlin 2007, "These Three Things"
D♯5/E♭5: "Everything Dies" live Pittsburgh 1999, "Pain", "Prelude to Agony"
D5: "An Ode to Locksmiths", "Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)" live at the Dynamo Festival 1995, "Gravity", "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else", "Kill All the White People" live Bizarre Festival 1999, "These Three Things"
C♯5/D♭5: "Anesthesia", "Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)" live Philadelphia 2003, "Ground Zero Brooklyn", "Helter Skelter" live Saarbrücken 2007, "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else"
C5: "Angry Neurotic Catholics" live at L'Amour East, "An Ode to Locksmiths", "Are You Afraid", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" live at L'Amour East
B4: "Angry Inch", "Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)", Blood & Fire", "Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)", "Christian Woman" demo, "Everyone I Love Is Dead" live Atlanta 2000, "Everything Dies" live Pittsburgh 1999, "Gravity", "Hey Pete", "Highway Star", "I Don't Wanna Be Me", "I Like Goils", "Less Than Zero (<0)" "Manic Depression", "Nettie", "Pain", "September Sun" live Louisville 2007, "These Three Things", "Tripping a Blind Man", "We Hate Everyone", "Wolf Moon (Including Zoanthropic Paranoia)"
A♯4/B♭4: "...A Dish Best Served Coldly", "Bad Moon Rising" live Cleveland 2000 "Cinnamon Girl", "Finale: Apocalypticraft/Tunnel", "Ground Zero Brooklyn", "Halloween in Heaven", "How Could She?", "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else", "Inner Conflict", "It's Never Enough", "Just Say No to Love", "Kill All the White People", "Santana Medley", "Technophobia", "The Profits of Doom"
A4: "Anesthesia", "Angry Inch", "Angry Neurotic Catholics" live at L'Amour East, "Are You Afraid", "Back in the USSR" live at the Bizarre Festival 1999, "Burnt Flowers Fallen", "Christian Woman", "Everyone I Love Is Dead", "Gravity", "Hey Pete", "How Could She?", "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else", "Inner Conflict", "Kill You Tonight (reprise)", "Less Than Zero (<0)", "Love You to Death" live at the Bizarre Festival 1999, "She Burned Me Down", "These Three Things"
G♯4/A♭4: "...A Dish Best Served Coldly", "Angry Inch", "Angry Neurotic Catholics", "An Ode to Locksmiths", "Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)", "Black Sabbath", "Cross That Line", "Dead Again", "Everything Dies", "God is Dead", "Gravitational Constant: G = 6.67 x 10-8 cm-3 gm-1 sec-2", "Ground Zero Brooklyn", "Hail and Farewell to Britain", "Halloween in Heaven", "Helter Skelter" live Saarbrücken 2007, "How Could She?", "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else", "Inner Conflict", "IYDKMIGTHTKY (Gimme That)", "Jesus Hitler", "Just Say No to Love", "Kill All the White People", "Plastic", "Race War", "Red Water (Christmas Mourning)", "She Burned Me Down", "Some Stupid Tomorrow", "Stay Out of My Dreams", "Technophobia", "The Dream Is Dead", "The Profits of Doom", "The Subhuman", "Tripping a Blind Man", "Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity", "U.S.A. for U.S.A.", "We Hate Everyone" demo
G4: "Bad Moon Rising" live Cleveland 2000, "Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)" live Stockholm 1994, "Creepy Green Light", "Everyone I Love Is Dead", "Highway Star", "Prelude to Agony", "Some Stupid Tomorrow", "Summer Girl", "Technophobia", "These Three Things", "Too Late: Frozen" live at the Bizarre Festival 1999, "12 Black Rainbows", "White Slavery", "Xero Tolerance"
F♯4/G♭4: "Angry Inch", "Armageddon", "Be My Druidess", "Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)", "Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)", "Christian Woman", "Dead Again", "Deliver Us from Evil", "Der Untermensch", "Everything Dies", "Executioner", "Go to Sleep", "God Is Dead", "Gravitational Constant: G = 6.67 x 10-8 cm-3 gm-1 sec-2", "Hail and Farewell to Britain", "Halloween in Heaven", "Haunted", "How Could She?", "I Like Goils", "In Praise of Bacchus", "It's Never Enough", "IYDKMIGTHTKY (Gimme That)", "Jesus Hitler", "Legion of Doom", "Life Is Killing Me", "Life Is Killing Me", "Love You to Death", "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend", "Nettie", "N.I.B." live Detroit 1999, "Predator", "Prelude to Agony", "Race War", "Sex and Violence", "S.M.D.", "Stay Out of My Dreams", "Tales of Brave Ulysses" live Saarbrücken 2007, "The Subhuman", "Too Late: Frozen", "Tripping a Blind Man", "Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity", "We Hate Everyone", "White Slavery", "World Coming Down", "World Wars III and IV"
F4: "Armageddon", "Bad Moon Rising" live Cleveland 2000, "Christian Woman", "Creepy Green Light", "Dear Prudence" live Columbus 2008, "God Is Dead", "Haunted", "It's Never Enough", "Love You to Death", "Red Water (Christmas Mourning)", "Stay Out of My Dreams", "Thermonuclear Warrior", "World Wars III and IV"
Recorded low notes:
A2: "All Hallows Eve", "Anesthesia", "Are You Afraid", "Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)", "Burnt Flowers Fallen", "Christian Woman", "Dead Again", "Die with Me", "Everyone I Love Is Dead", "Highway Star", "I Like Goils", "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend", "Paranoid", "Santana Medley", "These Three Things", "(We Were) Electrocute", "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" live Ogden Theatre 2008
G♯2/A♭2: "...A Dish Best Served Coldly", "Green Man", "Halloween in Heaven", "Haunted", "I Don't Wanna Be Me", "Less Than Zero (<0)", "Life Is Killing Me", "Love You to Death", "Male Supremacy", "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend", "Santana Medley", "Scream (Because I Can't)", "September Sun", "Summer Breeze", "Too Late: Frozen", "Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity", "We Hate Everyone", "White Slavery"
G2: "Anesthesia", "Are You Afraid", "Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)", "Reaper Man", "Summer Girl", "These Three Things"
F♯2/G♭2: "...A Dish Best Served Coldly", "An Ode to Locksmiths", "Anesthesia", "Be My Druidess", "Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)", "Blood & Fire", "Can't Lose You", "Christian Woman", "Everything Dies", "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else", "Glass Walls of Limbo (dance remix)", "Green Man", "Love You to Death", "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend", "Nettie", "Prelude to Agony", "Santana Medley", "September Sun", "She Burned Me Down", "Stay Out of My Dreams", "The Profits of Doom", "Todd's Ship Gods (Above All Things)", "Too Late: Frozen", "Tripping a Blind Man", "Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity", "We Hate Everyone", "Wolf Moon (Including Zoanthropic Paranoia)"
F2: "Male Supremacy"
E2: "All Hallows Eve", "Black Sabbath", "Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)", "Can't Lose You", "Christian Woman", "Descent", "Glass Walls of Limbo (dance remix)", "Gravitational Constant: G = 6.67 x 10-8 cm-3 gm-1 sec-2", "Hey Pete", "Less Than Zero (<0)", "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend", "Paranoid", "Prelude to Agony", "Scream (Because I Can't)", "Stay Out of My Dreams", "Summer Breeze", "These Three Things", "12 Black Rainbows"
D♯2/E♭2: "Cross That Line", "Haunted", "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else", "Just Say No to Love", "Scream (Because I Can't)"
D2: "Are You Afraid" live Detroit 1999, "Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)", "Enemy of the State", "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else", "Reaper Man", "Summer Breeze", "These Three Things" live at Woodstock 2007, "We Hate Everyone" demo
C♯2/D♭2: "Black Sabbath", "Christian Woman", "In Praise of Bacchus", "Just Say No to Love"
C2: "Bloody Kisses (A Death In The Family)", "Finale: Apocalypticraft/Tunnel"
B1: "All Hallows Eve", "Blood & Fire", "Christian Woman" demo, "Go to Sleep", "IYDKMIGTHTKY (Gimme That)", "Nettie", "Summer Breeze"
A♯1/B♭1: "Cross That Line", "Haunted", "Prelude to Agony"
A1: "Are You Afraid" live at the Bizarre Festival 1999, "Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)", "Descent", "Go to Sleep", "IYDKMIGTHTKY (Gimme That)", "She Burned Me Down", Symphony for the Devil DVD commentary
G♯1/A♭1: "Cinnamon Girl"
G1: "Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)"
F♯1/G♭1: "Black Sabbath", "Can't Lose You" demo, "Christian Woman" live Stockholm 1994, "Go to Sleep"
F1: "Cinnamon Girl"
D1: "Black Sabbath"
{Questionable notes}
A5: "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else" - random scream in the fake crowd sounds; not very musical and also possibly someone else
G♯5/A♭5: "Kill All the White People" - random background scream, not very musical
G5: "U.S.A. for U.S.A." - a "yeehaw" of dubious identity
A5: "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else" - random scream in the fake crowd sounds; not very musical and also possibly someone else
G♯5/A♭5: "Kill All the White People" - random background scream, not very musical
G5: "U.S.A. for U.S.A." - a "yeehaw" of dubious identity
.......................................................
*Blue marks soft falsetto notes.
*Green marks harsh distorted notes.
*Italics mark spoken or controlled laughed/shouted notes.
*Underlines mark notes in backing vocals or otherwise muffled/obscured in the mix.
{Detailed bio}
An eternal icon for the world of goth metal and an inspiration for bass vocalists everywhere in rock and metal, Peter Steele was best known as the bassist/vocalist for Type O Negative, as well as Carnivore and Fallout earlier on in his career. From a quick listen to some of his music, one might notice that he was clearly aware of the fact that he had a large vocal range; as he wrote many vocal melodies in Type O Negative that spanned two and a half octaves or more, and showcased him singing in several different parts of his range with multiple vocal approaches. What stood out to many listeners the most, however, was his rich, dark bass voice, which he made frequent use for low singing in their music - usually done with an impressively powerful amount of resonance. He could project some truly epic and at times downright scary sounding notes with this approach, and carry it well down into the first octave, albeit sometimes with a rather fryish tone when it got that low. Surprisingly, however, he was sometimes less keen on singing some of these low passages live - particularly when it came to song sections that required him to project second octave notes over loud guitars and drums, he would often raise them by an octave and sing those sections up into the third and fourth octave instead. During softer song sections though, he would still project second and sometimes even first octave notes live - as heard in the Symphony for the Devil concert DVD, where he throws in some strong first octave notes during quieter sections of "Are You Afraid" and "Christian Woman" that weren't present in the original versions of those songs.
In addition to having such a booming, intimidating low range, however, Peter also had an impressively strong high register, that he could stretch much higher than one might expect from someone with such a low voice. Though his cleaner, smoother high singing tended to end around G♯4 or so, he also was equipped with an immense distortion technique, that gave him the ability to belt notes into the upper fourth and even fifth octave with tremendous amounts of power. He would show off this register from time to time on studio songs, but particularly when performing live, he tended to go all out with throwing in random additional screams to songs, belting notes originally sung in falsetto in the studio versions, or changing the melody or octave of certain passages to go higher than the original. The only exceptions to this were during certain particularly challenging passages from the studio versions of songs, such as the B4 from "Black No.1 (Little Miss-Scare All)" or the C♯5s from "Anesthesia", which he would sometimes pass off to his higher-voiced bandmate Kenny Hickey during live performances, but on nights when he was feeling brave enough he would still handle them himself!
Over the years, his vocal style mainly only changed between his time in Carnivore and his early years with Type O Negative (which was called "Repulsion" during some of those years) - that is to say that on the two albums that Peter released with Carnivore in the 1980s, he largely employed a more shouty, gritty vocal delivery to complement the punkish thrash metal style that that band played. Low notes were much less common during that era, and his overall vocal approach tended to be much less melodic. This vocal style continued through Type O Negative's first album Slow, Deep and Hard in 1991, though this release at least saw him singing more melodically at times, as well as making prominent use of his low range on several songs.
The major change in his vocal style came on the band's 1993 breakout album Bloody Kisses. On this album, Type O Negative shifted to their more "classic" sound of doomy gothic metal, and Peter's vocal approach altered to reflect that - now becoming much more melodic, emotional and intimate, instead of the constant shouty aggression that his previous vocals had usually embodied. It was from this album onward that he truly began to explore his full low range potential, writing lots of songs around droning bass melodies, but also developed a softer, almost crooner-esque side to his mid and lower-high range that he began to showcase. Much of his vocal style was publicly received as with a new sense of "erotic" appeal to the band's music, which Peter apparently deliberately played up even further on their next album, 1996's October Rust.
From that point on, Peter's vocal style remained largely the same until his unexpected death from heart failure in 2010. Suffice it to say, he certainly left behind quite the musical legacy and remains a heavy influence in the world of gothic metal to this day. He's also become a large influence for me personally, and was actually someone that I originally discovered intrigue about through notewatching way back in 2009. I made a range video for him in 2013 that unfortunately is now blocked worldwide (otherwise I would link it here), but before getting blocked it managed to accrue over 100,000 views and got lots of comments from the YouTube community praising his vocal abilities. I'm glad that doing so managed to help him get further recognized for how impressive his singing truly was, because there is definitely a lot to be appreciated there.
An eternal icon for the world of goth metal and an inspiration for bass vocalists everywhere in rock and metal, Peter Steele was best known as the bassist/vocalist for Type O Negative, as well as Carnivore and Fallout earlier on in his career. From a quick listen to some of his music, one might notice that he was clearly aware of the fact that he had a large vocal range; as he wrote many vocal melodies in Type O Negative that spanned two and a half octaves or more, and showcased him singing in several different parts of his range with multiple vocal approaches. What stood out to many listeners the most, however, was his rich, dark bass voice, which he made frequent use for low singing in their music - usually done with an impressively powerful amount of resonance. He could project some truly epic and at times downright scary sounding notes with this approach, and carry it well down into the first octave, albeit sometimes with a rather fryish tone when it got that low. Surprisingly, however, he was sometimes less keen on singing some of these low passages live - particularly when it came to song sections that required him to project second octave notes over loud guitars and drums, he would often raise them by an octave and sing those sections up into the third and fourth octave instead. During softer song sections though, he would still project second and sometimes even first octave notes live - as heard in the Symphony for the Devil concert DVD, where he throws in some strong first octave notes during quieter sections of "Are You Afraid" and "Christian Woman" that weren't present in the original versions of those songs.
In addition to having such a booming, intimidating low range, however, Peter also had an impressively strong high register, that he could stretch much higher than one might expect from someone with such a low voice. Though his cleaner, smoother high singing tended to end around G♯4 or so, he also was equipped with an immense distortion technique, that gave him the ability to belt notes into the upper fourth and even fifth octave with tremendous amounts of power. He would show off this register from time to time on studio songs, but particularly when performing live, he tended to go all out with throwing in random additional screams to songs, belting notes originally sung in falsetto in the studio versions, or changing the melody or octave of certain passages to go higher than the original. The only exceptions to this were during certain particularly challenging passages from the studio versions of songs, such as the B4 from "Black No.1 (Little Miss-Scare All)" or the C♯5s from "Anesthesia", which he would sometimes pass off to his higher-voiced bandmate Kenny Hickey during live performances, but on nights when he was feeling brave enough he would still handle them himself!
Over the years, his vocal style mainly only changed between his time in Carnivore and his early years with Type O Negative (which was called "Repulsion" during some of those years) - that is to say that on the two albums that Peter released with Carnivore in the 1980s, he largely employed a more shouty, gritty vocal delivery to complement the punkish thrash metal style that that band played. Low notes were much less common during that era, and his overall vocal approach tended to be much less melodic. This vocal style continued through Type O Negative's first album Slow, Deep and Hard in 1991, though this release at least saw him singing more melodically at times, as well as making prominent use of his low range on several songs.
The major change in his vocal style came on the band's 1993 breakout album Bloody Kisses. On this album, Type O Negative shifted to their more "classic" sound of doomy gothic metal, and Peter's vocal approach altered to reflect that - now becoming much more melodic, emotional and intimate, instead of the constant shouty aggression that his previous vocals had usually embodied. It was from this album onward that he truly began to explore his full low range potential, writing lots of songs around droning bass melodies, but also developed a softer, almost crooner-esque side to his mid and lower-high range that he began to showcase. Much of his vocal style was publicly received as with a new sense of "erotic" appeal to the band's music, which Peter apparently deliberately played up even further on their next album, 1996's October Rust.
From that point on, Peter's vocal style remained largely the same until his unexpected death from heart failure in 2010. Suffice it to say, he certainly left behind quite the musical legacy and remains a heavy influence in the world of gothic metal to this day. He's also become a large influence for me personally, and was actually someone that I originally discovered intrigue about through notewatching way back in 2009. I made a range video for him in 2013 that unfortunately is now blocked worldwide (otherwise I would link it here), but before getting blocked it managed to accrue over 100,000 views and got lots of comments from the YouTube community praising his vocal abilities. I'm glad that doing so managed to help him get further recognized for how impressive his singing truly was, because there is definitely a lot to be appreciated there.
{Best displays of vocal range}
"These Three Things" live Woodstock 2007 (D2-E5)
"Are You Afraid" live Bizarre Festival 1999 (A1-B♭4)
"Christian Woman" demo (B1-B4)
"Tripping a Blind Man" (F♯2-F♯5)
"Go to Sleep" (F♯1-F♯4)
"She Burned Me Down" (A1-G♯4)
"IYDKMIGTHTKY (Gimme That)" (A1-G♯4)
"I Know You're Fucking Someone Else" (D♯2-C♯5)
"Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)" live Bizzarre Festival 1999 (F♯2-E5)
"Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)" (G1-A1-F♯4-B4)
"These Three Things" live Woodstock 2007 (D2-E5)
"Are You Afraid" live Bizarre Festival 1999 (A1-B♭4)
"Christian Woman" demo (B1-B4)
"Tripping a Blind Man" (F♯2-F♯5)
"Go to Sleep" (F♯1-F♯4)
"She Burned Me Down" (A1-G♯4)
"IYDKMIGTHTKY (Gimme That)" (A1-G♯4)
"I Know You're Fucking Someone Else" (D♯2-C♯5)
"Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)" live Bizzarre Festival 1999 (F♯2-E5)
"Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)" (G1-A1-F♯4-B4)
Previous version of the thread and some additional research by Sandblasted on TRP3.
