Steele's bass voice sets much of the mood for Type O Negative's brooding melodies. Before joining Type O Negative, Steele played for heavy metal group Fallout, and the thrash metal band Carnivore.

Steele is almost as famous for his build as he is for his music. He stands approximately 6'6" tall, and leaves it to no one's imagination that he works out quite strenuously. He is often called Lurch by friends, as he also has an exceptionally deep voice (this would explain the severe tuning down apparent in many Type O Negative songs).

In 1995, Steele posed nude for Playgirl magazine. He later claimed regret for doing so after discovering that only 23f Playgirl subscribers are female.

Steele is known equally well for both his humour and serious depression. In the Type O Negative home video, "After Dark", he lets viewers in on the fact that he takes Prozac for his condition. The songs "Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity" and "Xero Tolerance" were both written about a girlfriend he loved very deeply who had cheated on him. According to the bands website biography, Steele attempted suicide because of the incident, though it is not known how.

There were unconfirmed rumours of Steele's death after his band's website posted an image of a tombstone bearing Steele's name and the dates 1962-2005. According to an article dated May 14th, 2005, Steele is not dead. The article, at blabbermouth.net, states that the gag is related to the release of the band's next album, their first for SPV Records. The website discontinued the tombstone picture in October 2005.