

As a result, Peter became an instant mainstream sex symbol, posing nude for Playgirl and going on the Jerry Springer Show to talk about groupies. The concept of a dangerous-looking Dracula type singing about love and vulnerability proved to be extremely effective, if maybe accidental: Bloody Kisses was the first Type O Negative album - and first-ever album on Roadrunner Records in general – to go platinum, and women began coming to their shows in droves. The songs were also tinged with blatant vulnerability about love, longing, and loneliness – all written and sung by frontman/bassist Peter Steele, a brutish, 6’8” man with sharpened, vampiric canines and flowing black hair. The album saw them softening up on the musical side, too, slowing down the tempo and trading in punked-up riffs for organ interludes and acoustic guitars. It wasn’t until 1993, when they released their now-iconic album Bloody Kisses, featuring two women about to kiss on the cover, when they decided to go all in with lyrics directly about sex and lust. Their first two records, Origin Of The Feces and Slow, Deep, And Hard were mostly just abrasive and heavy, with fairly angry and violent (if tongue-in-cheek) lyrics.

Brooklyn gothic metal band Type O Negative might be infamous for their overt themes of sex and sensuality, but that wasn’t always the case.
