It’s an undisputed fact that Steeler will be primarily remembered as the band that paved the way for Keel and featured non other than Yngwie Malmsteen on his recording debut before he joined Alcatrazz and later on follow an impressive solo career. Steeler might eventually released a sole studio album back in 1983 but even for a short time period they were one of the hottest names of the explosive L.A. scene of the early 80s. But before the recording of that debut album and Malmsteen’s arrival, Steeler had recorded a bunch of demos under a different line-up whatsoever. FnA Records gathered those demos and present them to us under this very fine collection of songs.
Naturally, the only constant throughout that period is the band’s mastermind Ron Keel who was responsible for Steeler’s artistic direction. What we get here is various demos that the band recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with the addition of the official re-release of the 1982 single “Cold Day In Hell/Take Her Down”. Surely, the overall sound quality is not ideal but this release really stands out for its historical and collectable value. It goes almost without saying that this demo collection is forwarded mainly towards the die-hard Steeler fans and all the aficionados of the L.A. scene of the early 80s.
One sheer look at the tracklist shows us that the vast majority of the songs laid the sonic foundation of the debut 1983 record although the guitar playing and performance bears significant differences. Credit to FnA Records for this bold and truly interesting collection.
Highlight: All the Steeler fans should also be on the lookout for a highly collectable 7’’ single “American Metal/Let’s Spend The Night Together”. More info on the official FnA website.
