It was 1993, I was in 7th grade and an avid Headbangers Ball viewer. My friends and I would each make three-way calls to each other until we basically had a party line going – then we’d tune in and chat in between Morbid Angel and Deicide videos. We’d bitch when “our show” was invaded by crap like new Metallica or grunge. I had no idea what a goth was, I just knew I liked songs about Satan and killing people and guys with long, long hair.
One night, all the boys I was friends with were staying over at one kid’s house and they called me for our weekly Headbangers Ball phone conference. We were having our usual banter about Slayer and Cannibal Corpse when a video called Black No. 1 by a band called Type O Negative came on. We fell silent.
The singer’s appearance was shocking – 6’8″ with long black hair, and exaggerated facial features – I was captivated. His voice was otherworldly, I suppose like that of someone nearly seven feet tall. The video was budget as hell, the song slow and almost electronic, not like any of the thrash or death metal I’d filled my CD tower with. (Remember those?) But there was something dirty and creepy about the whole thing and when it was over, my friends and I let out a collective “woah, dude…”
I picked up Bloody Kisses
Now, I’m the first to admit that Peter Steele was a problematic fave – and I won’t make excuses for some of the things he said, even though I do believe he was suffering from poor mental health in his later years. But to die at 48 years old is still a tragedy and I think the 7th and 8th grade girl inside a lot of us cried a little last week when we heard the news.
So in memory of His Darkness, I give you Black No. 1 Brownies.
RIP
Peter Steele
Loving you was like loving the dead.
Black No. 1 Brownies
By Published: April 19, 2010
It was 1993, I was in 7th grade and an avid Headbangers Ball viewer. My friends and I would each make three-way calls to each …
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup double Dutch cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup black cocoa powder
- 1 cup all-pupose flour
- 1 & 1/2 cups vegan granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegan powdered sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup plain vegan yogurt or silken tofu, blended until creamy
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 Tbs strong brewed coffee or espresso
- pinch ground clove optional
Instructions
- Put on your (faux) wolf skin boots, smoke a clove cigarette. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9x9 pan. (I "flour" with cocoa powder.)
- In a large bowl, mix together the cocoa powders, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, salt & flour. The black cocoa is what makes it black, black, black, black number one.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk the yogurt or blended tofu, vegetable oil and brewed coffee together. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. It might be lumpy, that's OK.
- When he calls you evil, you'll just laugh. Bake for anywhere between 25-35 minutes - this really depends on your oven. The sides should slightly shrink away from the pan and the middle will still be a little gooey. As the brownies cool, the middle will firm up, leaving you with a fudge-like, black brownie.
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What an awesome post! I love the idea of tribute recipes. I laughed out loud when I started reading the baking instructions “Put on our wolf skin boots, smoke a clove cigarette.” -that really reminded me of my Goth friends in High School.
Oh my……
It’s really sad. I think my reaction the first time I heard Type O was very similar to yours. You used the word captivated to describe how drawn you were to him and I would certainly use the same. I was enamored by their music.
I remember driving home one fall evening and it was windy. The road was covered in autumn colored leaves and they blew across the road as I drove down the winding road. I was listening to Red Water (Christmas Mourning). I will never forget how fitting it was. I love their music.
That sounds like some dramatic novel stuff….
Anyways.
It’s sad that he’s gone. I’m sure his years of drug use led up to his heart attack.
RIP Peter Steele
Use to be one of my favourite bands.
This post is awesome.
Fantastic stuff. Absolutely loving how he’s no commemorated in brownie form.
I had somehow managed to get through life never having seen the video for this–it just takes it to a whole new level!
Aw, love your tribute. My former high school goth crew and I were distraught all over Facebook about this. I haven’t actually listened to Type O in several years but they defined such a significant chunk of my life. The guy I was dating at the height of my goth phase used to play me Black No. 1 on his guitar…while in the background another (male) friend would be putting on black lipstick in anticipation of another photo shoot at the cemetery.
Bummed, bummed, BUMMED that I never saw Type O live.
I can’t wait to make these, and yes me and my friends were bummed to hear that he had passed. I need to put on some type O and bake!
Love this. My first experience with TON and Peter Steele was 1996 as a freshman in high school, discovering Bloody Kisses. Saw him live twice in Chicago. I was headed into my bakery on Thursday morning when I heard the news. Totally cried, I’m not ashamed to admit.
Those brownies are an awesome tribute. I grew up listening to Type O, and was super bummed when I heard the news.
Natalie, Lilly Munster ain’t got nothin’ on you.
The brownies look delicious. The best thing about Peter Steele was that, from time to time, he’d play an upright bass like a lesser man would play a normal electric bass, complete with a chain for a strap.
Your tribute brownies I deff have to make! I love Type O Negative! My first dance at my wedding was to Summer Breeze and Black No.1 has always been my favorite song! Now today I will be listening to Type O all day long.
I’m vegan, I’m goth and I love Peter
Thank you so much for this <3