Former TYPE O NEGATIVE Drummer Remembers PETER STEELE

Metalgeek recently conducted an interview with former TYPE O NEGATIVE and current LIFE OF AGONY drummer Sal Abruscato. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metalgeek: How did you eventually get to know Peter Steele?

Sal: I was hanging out with Louie Beato from CARNIVORE, because when I was a kid I took drum lessons from Louie, he lived up the block from me. He was my idol when I was 14 and he used to take me to the CARNIVORE rehearsals and that's where I first met Peter — in his basement, because that's where they were rehearsing. I was like the little brother for them, they took me with them — it was cool. So I used to hang out with CARNIVORE, going to the shows, helping out … I was exposed to these guys from a very young age.

Metalgeek: And how did you end up in TYPE O NEGATIVE after CARNIVORE disbanded?

Sal: When CARNIVORE broke up I asked Peter if he wanted to hang out and jam — and then it became this whole fucking craziness! We had like four different band names and then finally it was TYPE O NEGATIVE. The other options were NEW MINORITY, SUBZERO and REPULSION.

Metalgeek: You left TYPE O NEGATIVE after the release of "Bloody Kisses". How did that come along?

Sal: From the time we started TYPE O NEGATIVE until the release of "Bloody Kisses" — that's about four years — we did two little stupid tours. "Slow, Deep And Hard" didn't sell well and it just looked like it wasn't gonna go anywhere maybe. At the time of the release of "Bloody Kisses" nobody knew what was gonna happen. And as I told you before, Peter didn't want to give up his day job and we had many fights … What I regret about it is that we were immature, me and Peter. Both too proud to give in. Peter was very bossy and very demanding — he would want to dictate every little fucking thing and I had to fight it. On "Bloody Kisses" I did all the drums on my own, I was doing what I felt. I was like, "You are writing the music but I wanna do the beats that I feel complemented the music best." We used to fight about lots of stupid stuff. When you're young, in your twenties, and you're doing an album, you don't know what you're doing. You got a big mouth, you fucking talk a lot of shit…

Metalgeek: Did you ever regret leaving TYPE O NEGATIVE?

Sal: Yeah, sure! There were some times after I left that I thought, "Ah, man, now they decide to do all these big tours…" The TYPE O albums after "Bloody Kisses" started to sound a little bit the same, but that's just how Peter wrote. He did what he did as an artist. But for me, "Bloody Kisses" was the pinnacle. It had a lot to do with the chemistry at the moment, it became what it became.

Metalgeek: Did you at any point notice that Peter had a drug problem?

Sal: Pete wasn't doing drugs when I was in the band. That shit didn't start until after I was gone. And I think if I was in the band, I wouldn't have allowed it to get to him like it did. He used to be straight! All the time! He just used to drink a little bit. He used to criticise the rest of the band for smoking weed! He used to call us "hippie drug addicts!" When I heard about all that kind of crap (Peter's drug problem) I couldn't believe it!

Metalgeek: When did you last see Peter?

Sal: I saw him in person in october when he did a show with TYPE O NEGATIVE. In February we were talking on the phone, because he wanted to do another version of CARNIVORE. And he had asked me to play the drums in that version of CARNIVORE. He wanted to play some shows in Europe now, in the summertime … so we were talking about that. Then I had to go to Europe for a couple of weeks with LIFE OF AGONY. When I came home I got this phone call … that he passed away. I was at the wake every day and I went to the ceremony because I knew his sisters for a very long time. The funeral procession … being at the grave, everything. The last time I actually saw him was when I touched his shoulder when he was laying there in the funeral home.

Metalgeek: Did you think that Peter knew he could be facing death due to his previous drug abuse?

Sal: I don't think he did expect to die. There was things going on with him but I think death did surprise him at that very moment. He was nine months sober and he was clean and he wasn't drinking and he was really working hard to get back on his feet and back on top with TYPE O, CARNIVORE and everything … nine months really working hard and that's when he died. That's from all the years of abuse, things that went wrong. He had some things going on inside his head which people didn't know. His mind was restless.

Read the entire interview at the Metalgeek web site.