The vocal range of Peter Steele

One of my favorite musicians of all time, and a figure who never ceases to inspire me, here we have a vocal range video in memory of the legendary frontman of Type O Negative and Carnivore, Peter Steele. As far as metal voices go, Steele's was easily recognizable for its extremely low pitch and remarkable resonance. What made him even more distinct, though, was the fact that he strongly utilized his low range in almost every song; singing dozens of melodies all over the second octave, and a handful of others down into the first. With that said, his high singing was quite impressive too, and he made no hesitation to apply that end of his range to his music either. His approach towards the lower and mid fourth octave tended to be very dramatic and soulful, but he generally would get very screamy and rough on anything above G♯4, though some of these notes could still be quite powerful! All in all, his singing did a great job of complimenting his range, as his average song melody would typically span at least two octaves, starting out in the mid or lower second octave and climaxing in the mid or upper fourth octave. Though there will never be another like Steele, his fans and supporters will be sure to never let his memory die out.

1. 0:00 - To start out, we have a clip from the 1999 Bizzare Festival performance of "Are You Afraid", where Steele sings down to a beefy A1 before hitting a solid A4 and quick B♭4 shortly after - three octaves in just thirty seconds! The total range he displays in this concert is a whopping F♯1-E5!
2. 0:29 - Some amazingly projected E♭2s from "Haunted". True bass power right here!
3. 1:11 - Some nice boomy D2 singing from the chorus of "Enemy of the State", with a sustained A4 in the background.
4. 1:41 - A chanted passage from the ending of "In Praise Of Bacchus", done entirely on C♯2!
5. 1:56 - Possibly the most classic low clip in the Type O Negative catalogue: the legendary C♯2s from the chorus of "Christian Woman". Unfortunately, Steele never replicated these live.
6. 2:18 - Some incredibly resonant B1s from the intro of "Nettie", with one short dip to A1 as well.
7. 2:36 - Easy singing down to several B1s and a short A1 from "IYDKMIGHTKY (Gimme That)".
8. 2:52 - The epic sustained A1 from the ending of "Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)".
9. 2:59 - Some great bassy melody lines down to A1 from a verse of "She Burned Me Down"
10 .3:14 - A clip from a Stockholm 1994 performance of "Christian Woman" where Steele really demonstrates his live projection abilities: first hitting a strong C♯2, then sustaining an F♯1!
11. 3:38 - The bridge of "Cinnamon Girl" (originally by Neil Young), where Steele hits several formidable G♯1s before ending the passage by projecting a sustained E1!
12. 3:55 - A demonic passage from Type O Negative's cover of "Black Sabbath", bottoming at D1 -- Steele's lowest note.
13. 4:03 - Now we start the high notes with a clip from "Bloody Kisses (A Death in the Family)", where Steele demonstrates the handsome, Jim Morrison-esque tone he often uses in the fourth octave. Top note is F♯4.
14. 4:40 - Some tasteful dramatic singing up to G♯4 from the bridge of "An Ode to Locksmiths", with a line down to F♯2 as well.
15. 5:17 - Now we have some of Steele's signature style high notes from the ending of "Dead Again": two very powerful G♯4s, the second of which is sustained under a fantastic C♯5 by Type O Negative guitarist Kenny Hickey!
16. 5:51 - Some crazy gritty lines on A4 from "Kill You Tonight (reprise)", along with a short C♯5 at the end. Definitely the sort of singing that calls for some strong breath support!
17. 6:11 - Now here's an unexpected find: a clean mezza voce B♭4 from "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else"!
18. 6:30 - An immensely powerful and very long B♭4 from "It's Never Enough".
19. 6:45 - Here we have what could be considered Steele's most classic high note moment: the incredible sustained B4 from "Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)". This note is also quite reminiscent of Jim Morrison's belting.
20. 7:09 - Some strong singing around A4 from "Are You Afraid", followed by a gritty held C5.
21. 7:32 - The climactic ending of "Anesthesia", featuring melody lines on C♯5!
22. 8:03 - A slide up to a fantastic sustained C♯5, topped off by a short D5. From "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else".
23. 8:15 - A clip from the intro of "An Ode To Locksmiths", where Steele does a high laugh that ends up turning into a sustained D5!
24. 8:29 - Steele's highest live note: a sustained E5 from a 2007 performance of "These Three Things"! Much more resonant and clear than the note in the studio version of the song.
25. 8:41 - And now for the big surprise: an F♯5 from the intro of "Tripping a Blind Man"!
26. 8:58 - To close off, here we have the first verse of "Go to Sleep", a guest appearance by Steele with some great singing down to B1 and A1, which is then followed by a very pleasant sustained F♯4!