Type O Negative keyboardist Josh Silver has confirmed the rumors that Peter Steele, 48, died Wednesday, April 14. There is no official cause of death, but many are saying Steele passed away from heart failure.

Also unconfirmed is that Steele was feeling ill in the days leading up to his death. The band's official website has officially opened the message boards and has asked that people play nice, and that family and band members will be posting thoughts sometime later.

The news of Peter's death was first reported on Juliya C's (Fuse VJ, former Uranium host) twitter site. She had received a phone call from the bands guitar player, Kenny Hickey, around midnight.

Steele was 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. Though Type O Negative's music was characteristically dark, Steele was notably charismatic and humorous when describing himself and the band's dark qualities.

Before forming Type O Negative, Steele played for the metal group Fallout and the thrash band Carnivore. He was 48 years old at the time of his passing.

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