Escape from the Arena

In Peter Steele's troubled universe, resurrecting Carnivore after having found God didn't seem as bizarre as one might imagine.

Carnivore After God

Carnivore - whose slogan boiled down to "eat, fuck, kill," and which questioned human beliefs and their hold on society in songs as virulent as "God is Dead," "Angry Neurotic Catholics," and "Jesus Hitler" - could have seemed like a force diametrically opposed to Catholicism. But this was Peter's world: he did what he wanted, and he followed his instinct even into its most absurd corners.

After the wild years of 2004 and 2005, Peter felt revitalized by his projects with Type O and Carnivore. This intense workload kept him from ruminating on things that could harm him.

The Old Line-Up Couldn't Come

When he relaunched the Carnivore killing machine, Peter knew he needed to find new members. His former musicians couldn't join his extermination campaign, for various reasons. Until 2006, Louie Beato had been the band's only drummer, but his personal and professional life consumed all his time. He also had some health issues that prevented him from boarding the warship. According to Beato, Peter, knowing the problems he had, didn't even bother to ask him to join.

"I didn't even know he was reforming the band. I was later told he believed health problems prevented me from taking part. It's true that I had just discovered I had diabetes. It wouldn't have stopped me from following them, but I don't know if I would have lived up to their expectations. I don't think I could have gone on tour for very long, so it was just as well."

As for Marc Piovanetti, Peter didn't ask his opinion either. They hadn't spoken in five years, and in any case, it wouldn't have worked. Piovanetti admits that "I wasn't very keen. It may seem strange to you, but I couldn't have participated because of my career as a legal technician. It's hard to have to explain to your employers that you can't prepare a case because you're covered in blood, playing a song called 'Suck My Dick.'"

It would have been impossible for Peter to reach into the past and recruit Keith "Alexander" Bonanno - he had died in a cycling accident during the summer of 2005.

A New Carnivore

Peter therefore had to do without his former team without having to search very far. The bassist enlisted the services of Paul Bento, his session guitarist for Type O, and Joey Z from Life of Agony. To replace Beato, he chose drummer Steve Toblin, whose band Dust to Dust had opened for Type O on several occasions.

Carnivore was resurrected thanks to an invitation from the very popular Wacken Air Festival. Based since 1990 in the German municipality of Wacken, this festival is the largest gathering of Metal bands. Its promoters often seek out defunct but respected bands and offer them generous sums to reunite for special events. The festival contacted Peter at the right time, and he was up for the adventure.

Wacken, August 2006

The new Carnivore line-up took the stage at the Fontana in New York on July 28, 2006, with a much better and more aggressive sound than before. It was only a rehearsal for the Wacken date scheduled for August 4, during which Carnivore deployed the most massive sound and the most incredible show of its career.

The band entered to Aaron Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," mixed with the music from Jaws. Each band member was dressed in red and black, with a blood-soaked butcher's apron. A huge black and red symbol made of three triangles floated behind them. The concert mixed tracks from Carnivore and Retaliation.

Carnivore received a certain legitimacy on that summer day in 2006. Not only did they play a fierce and dense set, but sharing the bill with Ministry, Whitesnake, Motörhead, Emperor, and Celtic Frost secured their place among the icons of Metal. Their impact on the history of Thrash was proven.

This contradicted Peter's feelings about Carnivore in 1989, when he thought the band was condemned to fade into obscurity. But thanks to Type O Negative's immense popularity and the new generation of fans who wanted to know more about Peter's musical past, Carnivore was not only a band that was remembered, but also one that some held in true cult reverence. Better late than never.

"I Feel Like I'm Seventeen Again"

Despite Peter's struggle with cocaine and alcohol, the new members of Carnivore remember the energy this rebirth infused in him. It provided him with respite. The pressure was less than at the helm of the Type O Negative monster. Drummer Steve Tobin recounts that "Peter was really happy to hit the road with us and do these Carnivore shows. He told me, 'I feel like I'm seventeen again. It's great. This is what I needed.'"

Paul Bento also noticed this flame rekindling in Peter, who had been completely exhausted by the Life is Killing Me tour.

"I know the other Type O guys didn't really like this Carnivore reformation, but Peter didn't care because he needed air. It was raw intensity, and Peter, because of the life he led, needed that intensity to feel more alive. I think Carnivore was what he needed. He needed it to step away from the arena a bit."

Joey Z Gets the Call

Guitarist Joey Z was a fan of Carnivore from the beginning. He and Peter had become friends at the start of Life of Agony and remained close for years. He had tears in his eyes when the singer asked him to join Carnivore in 2006, an offer that came at the perfect time. Life of Agony's 2005 reunion album, Broken Valley, didn't sell as well as Epic Records had hoped, and was even labeled a commercial failure. Joey was looking for another way to make a living. He had opened a recording studio, but his business wasn't taking off. Then he received a call from Peter Steele.

"I started crying, I couldn't believe it. It was like an angel was calling me to give me a chance to do what I loved most in the world again. That call couldn't have come at a better time. I was overexcited, being a Carnivore fan and knowing I'd be by his side playing those songs and watching the crowd go crazy. It was an incredible gift."

The Band That Wasn't Getting Paid

The popularity of Carnivore's shows in 2006 was such that other dates were scheduled for late 2007 across Europe, after a mandatory stop in New York. As Bento put it, some members of Type O Negative looked unfavorably on the time Peter devoted to Carnivore in 2006 and 2007. When Type O wasn't playing, the team wasn't paid, and the other members of the quartet had wives and children to feed.

Kenny and Johnny formed a band called Seventh Void, but without an album, they couldn't make enough money in the local club circuit. They also made some money working for Danzig, but it was only temporary as Glenn Danzig became increasingly demanding with his musicians.

Josh Silver, meanwhile, remained loyal to Type O Negative. Even though he didn't claim the quartet was in perfect harmony throughout their career, noting in 2007 that "for ten years, we've been on the verge of breaking up at least twice a week," he appreciated the group's stability as much as he appreciated his own artistic autonomy. He had never felt the need to look elsewhere - at least not musically. It was around this time that Josh began taking classes to become an EMT. Artistically, he remained faithful to Type O Negative. Regarding his bandmates who fluttered around in other formations like Carnivore, Seventh Void, and Danzig, Josh had a firm opinion:

"It weakens focus. I don't do anything else, and it's by choice. For me, Type O is full-time because I'm the one sitting at the mixing board, regardless of the instrument played. I participate in every second, so for me it's more than full-time. I understand people want to look elsewhere, but for me it weakens focus and creates conflicts of interest that can be detrimental."

Four Checks

Peter managed to juggle his different groups with ease:

"When I reformed Carnivore, I told Type O, 'You have my word that Type O is my priority.' And Glenn Danzig is a friend, he knows very well that Johnny and Kenny have to work on Type O. When I play in Carnivore or when Kenny and Johnny play in Danzig, it makes us appreciate Type O Negative even more. But what would really be cool is if Carnivore, Seventh Void, Type O, and Danzig all played together so we could get four checks."

Even though he liked to paint a rosy scenario for this situation, there were always people to remind him which band was a hobby and which band really brought in the money. Paul Bento recalls that "Several times we were rehearsing and jamming, using Carnivore's repertoire. Peter was embarrassed because he realized he was spending this rehearsal time at the expense of Type O, and his manager Mike Renault and his team were waiting in the wings to make their money. It's a money story, ultimately, and they were at a level where he could no longer afford these deviations."

Bento continues: "Peter knew that Type O Negative was his livelihood. He ate a burger for lunch and a steak for dinner, and he knew that Carnivore only paid for part of the burger. He realized he had obligations to the Type O members and their families. He talked about it often. He missed his carefree past, when he could just hang out with them without owing them anything. But life changes, and some handle it better than others, especially since he wasn't married, and he didn't have the feeling of being sidelined, unlike other members of his band."

The New Opus

And so Peter began writing his new opus. Even though he felt obligated to do it, the need to create was too strong. He needed to unburden himself on paper - the bitterness of failed relationships, the assault and resulting incarceration, his confusion about his addiction, the loss of control felt during his medical interventions, and the new inspirations brought by his renewed Christian faith. Type O's new album was destined to be a discharge of painful memories, raw emotions, and glimmers of hope.

Peter loved Josh, Kenny, and Johnny in a very different and deeper way than any other person on earth. He also loved getting to work, and feeling that sense of responsibility that made him the band's pillar. But seeing the other members of the quartet taking care of their families made him realize that he was the only one without children or a wife, and it itched at him.

As the years passed, he found himself dreaming of fatherhood, but his relationships with women were too unstable. It was in these moments that Peter felt time stand still for him, while others took refuge in the comfort of family life. To avoid thinking about this chilling reality and the specter of loneliness, Peter gave himself entirely to his work, and 2007 was the busiest year he had lived since the mid-90s. The new songs flowed from his mind with an ease finally rediscovered.