Fame Changes Everything:
Type O Negative After Bloody Kisses

Now that he had climbed the ladder to rock stardom, Peter had to learn how to manage the endless stream of people who wanted access to him.

He appreciated that people connected with the work he had poured his life into, but the sudden fascination with something that had begun as a small project in his Brooklyn basement, during one of the darkest periods of his life, often left him overwhelmed.

Peter enjoyed his new status, but only to a point.

Sooner or later, he always needed to retreat into the life he loved most. Lifting weights in his Brooklyn sanctuary. Looking after his cats. Spending time with his friends, his family, and his new girlfriend, Liz.

As Type O Negative became more successful, those quiet moments became increasingly rare.

The years ahead would bear little resemblance to the life he had known before.

Whether he wanted it or not, and for the most part he didn't, this was the reality his talent and relentless work had created.

The Fans Who Crossed the Line

Bands that inspire fanatical devotion are usually exceptional bands.

Whether it's Metallica, Pearl Jam or the Grateful Dead, the connection their fans feel runs deep. It becomes part of who they are.

Bloody Kisses inspired exactly that kind of loyalty.

Kathie Merritt of Roadrunner Records remembers one particularly obsessive admirer whom the band simply nicknamed "The Stalker."

"Their fans were incredibly devoted," Merritt recalled. "They had far more lovesick fans than most of the bands I worked with, and I worked with some hugely successful artists.

"There was this girl they called 'The Stalker.' I never knew her real name. She came from a very wealthy family, and after Bloody Kisses came out she made it her life's mission to meet every single person mentioned in the album's thank-you notes.

"She photocopied the acknowledgements and travelled across the country getting her picture taken with everyone on the list. Then she'd glue the photos into a binder and proudly show it to the band whenever she saw them.

"We were in Texas just before Christmas. She'd bought presents for everybody.

"Kenny invited her onto the tour bus, laughing and saying, 'This is amazing. You're really committed.'

"But Peter and Josh were genuinely frightened.

"She had photographs of herself outside Peter's house. Outside Peter's dentist's office. Outside every location mentioned in the album.

"That was the moment Peter and Josh realised they had become public figures. They understood they would never again be able to go shopping or grab a coffee without being recognised.

"It was the first time they realised they'd never truly have privacy again.

"They were especially disturbed because some of the photographs included Peter's relatives and Josh's neighbours.

"She thought nothing of flying across the country, knocking on people's doors and asking, 'Why are you mentioned in the liner notes? What did you do? How did you know them?'

"She desperately wanted to become part of their world."

A Reluctant Rock Star

Type O Negative had reached the level of fame that countless young rock musicians secretly dream about.

Yet everyone close to Peter agrees that fame itself was never what he wanted.

He was simply too shy to chase the spotlight.

The admiration certainly helped soothe some of his deep insecurities, and it validated his extraordinary musical ability, even if he struggled to admit it.

Instead of embracing praise, Peter usually ran from it.

Interview after interview, he dismissed his own talent.

He mocked himself on album covers.

He mocked himself in his lyrics.

The more famous he became, the harsher his self-deprecation grew.

Rather than printing a track list on the back cover of Bloody Kisses, the band instead displayed a message in huge letters:

"DON'T MISTAKE LACK OF TALENT FOR GENIUS."

A decade later, Peter was still his own harshest critic.

In the 2003 song "Less Than Zero (<0)," he wrote:

"Snot and cum, piss and shit, of this I am made. Like a taste of it? Of this man of Steele, nothing is real. The truth be scant, lord of idiots."

Those closest to him believe Peter appreciated the admiration he received, but only in private.

Standing on stage in front of thousands of people night after night was something he never truly enjoyed.

His intense stage fright suggested he would always have preferred remaining in the shadows to being worshipped under the lights.

Kathie Merritt remembers:

"Peter was like an exclusive club everyone wanted access to. They wanted to meet him. They wanted to be near him. It was incredible watching a guy who collected rubbish in a Brooklyn park suddenly become this larger-than-life rock star."

Bloody Kisses Finds Its Audience

By the end of 1993, Bloody Kisses was beginning to build momentum.

This was a very different kind of attention from the controversy surrounding Slow, Deep and Hard.

Excitement spread quickly following the release of Bloody Kisses and its singles, "Black No. 1" and "Christian Woman." Word of mouth grew steadily.

Success, however, didn't happen overnight.

The band still had to work relentlessly and spend months on the road before the album reached its full potential.

Peter would have preferred staying home and writing music.

The rest of the band, however, needed to earn a living, and Roadrunner expected them to honour their commitments.

The label had no intention of allowing Bloody Kisses to become nothing more than a critically acclaimed underground record.

Everyone at Roadrunner believed the album deserved a massive promotional campaign, and they worked tirelessly to make that happen.

Meanwhile, Kenny Hickey and Sal Abruscato loved touring.

Type O Negative hit the road across the United States alongside their Brooklyn friends, Life of Agony.

The connection between the bands ran deep.

Life of Agony had recorded their demo at Josh Silver's Sty in the Sky studio, while Josh produced their debut album, River Runs Red, in 1993. Sal also contributed drum parts to the record.

Peter Didn't Want the Road

Once the tour with Life of Agony ended, Bloody Kisses began losing momentum within the underground scene.

Roadrunner wanted another, much bigger tour to keep building the band's profile.

The other musicians agreed.

Peter did not.

He wanted nothing more than to stay home in Brooklyn.

His job with New York City's Parks Department gave him financial security. Unlike rock music, it offered stability and predictability.

In 1993 he admitted:

"The other guys are going to kill me if I don't get back on stage soon. I know we'd sell more records, but I really don't like the rock-star lifestyle. I don't want to spend the rest of my life on the road. I just turned thirty. I'm not twenty anymore, and I have responsibilities."

He was happy to film music videos to promote the band.

Touring, however, was another matter entirely.

As far as Peter was concerned, it simply wasn't going to happen.

Without touring, though, a band like Type O Negative risked becoming little more than a hobby.

Sal Abruscato Walks Away

Sal Abruscato never agreed with Peter's determination to remain a city worker.

"From the beginning of Type O Negative through the release of Bloody Kisses," Sal recalled, "we only did two tiny little tours. Slow, Deep and Hard was a cult record, and honestly I thought the band was going nowhere. Nobody knew Bloody Kisses would become what it did.

"Peter wouldn't quit his day job, and we argued about it all the time. It was incredibly frustrating."

Creative differences added further strain.

"Peter was extremely demanding. He wanted to control every little detail, and I had to fight to do anything my own way."

The musical disagreements alone probably wouldn't have driven Sal away.

Peter's refusal to commit to touring eventually became the breaking point.

Sal wanted a full-time career in music.

As winter approached, Type O Negative still seemed trapped inside Peter Steele's basement.

Despite two music videos and several small tours, Sal felt the band's growth was being held back by Peter's reluctance to leave Brooklyn.

Eventually he made the difficult decision to leave Type O Negative and join Life of Agony full time.

The departure hurt everyone.

Sal had stood beside Peter during one of the darkest chapters of his life, and his place in Type O Negative had always seemed as natural as Peter's own.

Johnny Kelly Joins Type O Negative

Fortunately, the band found a replacement almost immediately.

Johnny Kelly entered the picture.

Born on 9 March 1968, Kelly seemed destined to become Type O Negative's drummer.

Just as Sal had studied under Carnivore and Fallout drummer Louie Beato before following in his footsteps, Johnny effectively became Sal's successor.

He was already part of the band's close circle of friends and had worked as Sal's drum technician during those "stupid little tours."

Everyone was happy with the outcome.

Johnny was thrilled to join what he considered the coolest band in the world, and he quickly became a loyal ally to Peter, Josh and Kenny.

Sal, meanwhile, embraced his new role with Life of Agony.

According to guitarist Joey Z:

"We were happy to get Sal because we loved his style. He's one of the best drummers I know, and we were proud to play with him."