History:
A melodic pop metal band with majestic vocals, Steelheart hit it big with their debut album and became MTV darlings before the grunge movement crushed any momentum they once had.
  Mike Matijevic (vocals), Chris Risola (guitar), Frank DiCostanzo (guitar), and Rage Of Angels members James Ward (bass) and John Fowler (drums) formed Steelheart in Norwalk, Connecticut in the early 1980's. Matijevic's multi-octave range was what set the band apart from most others in the late stages of the glam era.
  After close to a decade of toiling in local bars, the band finally got a record deal. The debut album went platinum behind MTV's heavy rotation of the power ballad "I'll Never Let You Go" (which reached #23 on Billboard's singles chart). But the follow-up, which showed the band could really rock, didn't get the exposure it deserved and didn't have the glossy production of the original album. After the tour the original band disbanded, leaving Matijevic with the Steelheart name.
  In 1993 Matijevic began demoing new material and created a revamped Steelheart around Kenny Kanowski (guitarist who had worked previously with Mark Slaughter and even sang backup on Slaughter's debut album), Vincent Mele Jr. (bass), Alex Makarovich (drums) and Derek Austin (drums). The album did huge business in Asia but never even got an American release, and the band was put on hold again.
  Matijevic recorded and acted under the name of Mikey Steel before lending his vocals to the movie Rock Star (starring Mark Wahlberg) as vocalist for the fictional band Steel Dragon. Risola is pursued a solo career, Kanowski and Mele continue to record as Chillin Sun and Fowler resurfaced in The Voodoo Jets prior to his sudden death from a brain aneurism on March 21, 2008. In 2006 Matijevic started working on a new Steelheart album, DVD and tour.

Links:
The Official Steelheart Page
The Official Voodoo Jets Page

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Purchase at Amazon.com
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