“It was just sitting there on a cassette…“
In an exclusive bombshell from today’s interview with Johnny Kelly and Kenny Hickey, the guitarist and drummer from the “Drab Four” has just revealed the discovery Type O Negative fans have spent 15 years praying for.
Johnny Kelly reveals he has unearthed a previously unreleased, never-before-heard Type O Negative song dating back to the legendary October Rust sessions. But that’s only the beginning. Johnny discusses finding a literal treasure trove of history, including: Early Demos: Early, raw versions of the songs that defined Gothic Metal.
The “Lost” Track: A song so deep in the vault even the band had forgotten its status. Live Cassette Tapes: Soundboard and room recordings of Peter Steele, Kenny, Josh Silver, and Johnny during their 1994-1997 peak. Is new Type O Negative music finally coming? Kenny Hickey and Johnny discuss what happens next with these tapes and how they plan to honor Peter Steele’s legacy. .
“I dug up a whole bunch of cassettes recently and I found a lot of stuff — demos. I actually found a song that we never used,” Johnny said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).”
Regarding the origin of the cassette containing the unreleased TYPE O NEGATIVE song, Kelly said: “I would go to [TYPE O NEGATIVE keyboardist] Josh‘s [Silver] house when we were working on the records. I would always go home — say, after the day, we were working on a song. This was back when cassettes [laughs] were being used. CDs really weren’t standard yet as far as in the studio for refs and stuff like that. So I have a bunch of ref[erence] cassettes from demos that we did and stuff. And then I was just listening to them, and I came across the song. Part of it wound up getting cannibalized. Parts of the song wound up on other songs, on ‘Life Is Killing Me’ and stuff like that. But it’s a complete song.”
As for the possibility of the song in question being made available in the not-too-distant future, Johnny said: “At the time, the song wasn’t strong enough to be on ‘October Rust’. And if we were releasing ‘October Rust’ today, it still wouldn’t make the record… But 30 years later, to release it as a bonus track on something, it’s worth it — it’s worth it for that. Now, if we can get a good transfer from a cassette and actually get a good mastering out of it and make it sound good…”
He added: “This year is the 30th anniversary of ‘October Rust’, but I don’t know if it’s good policy to have the [previously announced TYPE O NEGATIVE] live record coming out this year and a box set for ‘October Rust’. Maybe. I don’t know. We’ll have to see. But right now I’m just going through the cassettes and seeing what I have.”
TYPE O NEGATIVE effectively broke up after the passing of frontman Peter Steele in April 2010 from heart failure at the age of 48. 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.
Revered for their distinctive blend of goth and metal, as well as Steele‘s deep, iconic vocals, TYPE O NEGATIVE left a lasting legacy in heavy music. The band concluded in 2010 following Steele‘s death, but their influence endures across the alternative and metal landscape.
A full-length concert recording from TYPE O NEGATIVE is currently being prepared for a tentative late 2026 or early 2027 release.
Last November, Johnny told Sh!t Talk Reviews about the group’s upcoming live album: “We were able to get our hands on a show… And we were gonna put it out with one label, and now I believe we’re doing it with Nuclear Blast.”
He added: “At this point it’s really hard to find stuff that’s of any sonic quality that we could release. At this point I’m willing to just repackage bootlegs and put ’em out. Why not? PEARL JAM sells ’em at every show.”