Peter Steele, the frontman for the heavy metal band
Type O Negative, has died.
After a morning of speculation, the band's spokesperson confirmed Thursday afternoon that Steele had died Wednesday at age 48.
"Peter passed away last night. As of now it appears to have been heart failure," Mike Renault wrote in an email to CBSNews.com. "That's all the details we have right now."
The official
Type O Negative Web site posted the following message to its fans this morning, "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 had a history of medical problems since 2004. That year the band announced they were cancelling their U.S. tour so that the singer could be tested for "undisclosed anomalies" found during a medical exam.
A year later, reports circulated that Steele had died. The rumor started after Type O Negative posted an image on its Web site of a tomb stone with Steele's name and the dates "1962-2005" written on it.
The post turned out to be a joke to promote the band signing with SPV Records.
Steele also struggled with psychiatric problems. In an interview on the band's 2006 DVD "Symphony for the Devil," Steele said he spent time at Kings County Hospital for substance abuse.
The singer, whose real name is Petrus T. Ratajczyk, hailed from Brooklyn and was known for his heavy bass-baritone. Prior to joining Type O Negative, Steele was a member of the metal group Fallout and the band Carnivore.
Steele also appeared nude in Playgirl in 2005, which he later told Decibel Magazine was a simple publicity stunt.
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