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ARTIST: Steelheart
ALBUM: Steelheart
LABEL: MCA
SERIAL: 2292-57186-2
YEAR: 1990

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

LINEUP: Miljenko 'Mike' Matijevic - vocals * Chris Risola - guitars * Frank DiConstanzo - guitars * James Ward - bass * John Fowler - drums

TRACK LISTING: 01 Love Ain't Easy * 02 Can't Stop Me Lovin' You * 03 Like Never Before * 04 I'll Never Let You Go * 05 Everybody Loves Eileen * 06 Sheila * 07 Gimme Gimme * 08 Rock 'n' Roll (I Just Wanna) * 09 She's Gone * 10 Down 'n' Dirty

WEBLINKS: www.steelheart.com

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Background
Coming at you from the same school as Firehouse and '1987' era Whitesnake are Connecticut based quintet Steelheart. Formed in the early eighties, the band did not set the rock world on fire until the turn of the decade, after doing the 'hard yards' for the best part of ten years. Essentially, Steelheart are (or were as the history books say), one of the ultimate hair-metal bands on the circuit at the time of their debut album in 1990. With MTV helping boost the bands profile, and with the focus being on singer extraordinaire Miljenko Matijevic, Steelheart couldn't help but be noticed. The album went platinum, and contained a huge and glossy production courtesy of Mark Opitz.

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The Songs
Some of these songs are still a great listen to this day. Even the video of 'Can't Stop Me Lovin' You' is compulsory viewing. There are a heap of influences, the obvious ones being Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Dokken, but with the soaring vocals provided by Matijevic, the band are lifted to a higher level. Sure, the high-pitched range might be annoying to many, but when combined with the class of guitarists Risola and DiConstanzo and an at times brutal rhythm section, the results are stellar. Take a pot-shot at tunes like 'Rock 'N Roll (I Just Wanna)', 'Down N'Dirty' or the opening duo of 'Love Ain't Easy' and the aforementioned 'Can't Stop Me Lovin' You', and you'll soon get the picture.

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In Summary
Album number two 'Tangled In Reins' which followed two years later was a backward step for the band, the material containing none of the catchiness of the debut, and it quickly helped pop the bubble of interest the media and fans had previously held with the band. Twas a shame, as the material was definitely strong and heavy, but it lacked 'something'. The band split, though Matijevic reformed Steelheart a year later with a new lineup. He is better known as one of the contributing singers (along with Jeff Scott Soto) on the Mark Wahlberg movie 'Rock Star'. Steelheart, though shortlived in the public eye, were a great outfit which should've made it big earlier than they did!

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