It is a very sad day for a lot of us in the music industry. Pete Steele the formidable front-man for Type O Negative passed away last night. At this time it appears it was heart failure. He was only 48.

I remember the first time he walked into Fingers Metal Shop. 6-foot-7-inches of pure Goth metal. Long as hell straight black hair and a voice so deep it made my headphones vibrate. During the course of the interview we discovered that we both went to the same Catholic school in Brooklyn, Our Lady Of Refuge. It was right then that we smiled and laughed and felt a special bond if you will. It became a running joke "Hey have you seen Sister so and so"

The music Pete made with Carnivore and Fallout was great but the formation of Type O was a game changer. Deep, dark, honest, heavy and like nothing else. The fact that Pete and the boys brought Roadrunner their first Gold album (they even bestowed one upon me and it hangs proudly in my music room) was just one indication of how awesome they were.

True Pete was a troubled soul but he was a great guy, funny and intense. Thankfully I was able to be in his presence many times to help promote and play his music. With this loss I am sad yet I am grateful for all the music they made but bummed also that Type O is no more because Pete Steele is irreplaceable. Rest well my brother.

TYPE O NEGATIVE manager Mike Renault has confirmed to CBS News that the band's frontman, Peter Steele, has died.

In an email, Renault said, "Peter passed away last night. As of now it appears to have been heart failure. That's all the details we have right now."

According to unconfirmed reports, Steele had been ill for days leading up to his death.

TYPE O NEGATIVE's web site left a message to their fans this morning around 5:15 a.m. It read, "The forums have been re-opened. Please play nice and expect statements from the band and family later today. Thank you for your understanding and support."

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.

Before forming TYPE O NEGATIVE, Steele played for the metal group FALLOUT and the thrash band CARNIVORE.