PETER STEELE Remembered By ROADRUNNER RECORDS' DOUG KEOGH

Doug Keogh, Executive VP Roadrunner Records, has released the following statement regarding the passing of TYPE O NEGATIVE frontman Peter Steele:

"Of all the great artists that I've been blessed to work with, Peter Steele may have been the most important of them all.

"While Peter was brilliant before TYPE O NEGATIVE, it should be noted that his partnership with Josh Silver brought out his best, and while Josh brings prodigious talent to the table himself, he should be considered a hero of our times if only for birthing the glory of Peter Steele.

"These are lofty words for two of the most obstinate and negative men I've ever met in my life.

"When I sided with director Parris Mayhew, and would not allow Josh and Peter to make the 'Black No. 1' video green and white instead of black and white, Josh would not talk to me for seven years. Peter, on the other hand, never stopped being the most gentle man I've ever known. I can only judge them together though — so Josh gets credit for Peter, and Peter is responsible for Josh. I've never witnessed a more fully realized collaboration between two great artists.

"Labelling Peter Steele as a heavy metal musician, or even as a musician, belittles his contribution. His work transcended any genres, or the medium of music. His palette as an artist included wisdom, humor, manhood, respect, and a volcanic creativity that just happened to be unleashed in the context of a rock band. If not that, the natural resource that was Peter Steele would have erupted in some other way, believe me. In the end, though, we who work with music should feel blessed that it was this channel that was chosen.

"Peter was the most unlikely of artists, at least in light of all the stereotypes we've created for what artists are supposed to be. He was gifted with a superhuman body, and he respected his gift by lifting weights, perhaps becoming the most physically impressive artist ever. He came from an immigrant family and the cultural backwater of deepest darkest Brooklyn. He filed his teeth into fangs. He read science textbooks to relax while on tour. He was completely committed to the color green. He drove the scariest muscle car you've ever seen.

"Before his music career made it impossible to continue, he insisted on working for the NYC Parks Department. Not for the money, but because the man knew he needed to work.

"He wrote the best menstruation song ever ('Wolf Moon'). He would speak the unspeakable, and he would do the unthinkable. He angered the entire country of Germany, and then made those who could think for themselves fall in love with him. He bared his asshole for the front cover of an album. He signed his recording contract with a mixture of his blood and semen, drawn from his body right in our tiny office. He scared people, but he always treated people with the utmost respect. He defied our expectations, and he changed our lives, for the better. We are thankful for the sacrifices he made to do so.

"Please continue to talk about the great shows and the great albums, but please also understand that Peter Steele was first and foremost a great man."

For more testimonials from Roadrunner Records employees, go to this location.