Steelheart is an American glam metal band from

Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...

, that formed in 1989. At the time that their debut was recorded, the band's members consisted of vocalist

Miljenko Matijevic Miljenko Matijevic (born November 30, 1964) is a Croatian-American singer, best known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Steelheart. He has a big following in South Korea and has worked on several South Korean TV series. He ha ...

, lead guitarist Chris Risola, rhythm guitarist Frank DiCostanzo, bassist James Ward and the now deceased drummer John Fowler. The current lineup contains Miljenko Matijevic, Mike Humbert, Joe Pessia and

Marten Andersson A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...

. Steelheart's debut album, the self-titled ''

Steelheart Steelheart is an American glam metal band from Norwalk, Connecticut, that formed in 1989. At the time that their debut was recorded, the band's members consisted of vocalist Miljenko Matijevic, lead guitarist Chris Risola, rhythm guitarist Fran ...

'' (1990), which was released on May 10, 1990, was certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on July 30, 1991, mainly on the strength of the single " I'll Never Let You Go" which reached No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was their only major hit in the US, making them a one-hit wonder.

History

Steelheart was initially formed as a band called Red Alert, whose members included James Ward (bass), Chris Risola (lead guitar), Jack Wilkenson (drums) and Miljenko Matijevic ('Mike', vocals). Frank DiCostanzo joined as a rhythm guitarist and John Fowler replaced Jack Wilkenson. But after moving to L.A. and getting a record deal and a manager, the band ultimately decided to change their name to Steelheart. The band's debut album, the self-titled

, was released on May 10, 1990, and reached #40 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

. Steelheart's second album, ''Tangled in Reins'', was released in 1992, reaching No. 144 on the ''Billboard'' charts. The album had significantly less success than its predecessor in the USA, because it only reached #144 on the Billboard 200, and none of the released singles charted. The single "Mama Don't You Cry" charted No. 1 in many East Asian Countries, including

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, leading to an Asian tour in September 1992. Towards the end of their tour of Asia, Steelheart was asked by Slaughter to open for them at a show in Denver, Colorado on Halloween night in 1992. While performing "Dancing in the Fire," from their "Tangled in Reins" album, Matijevic walked under an unsecured lighting truss, which fell toward the stage. In an attempt to evade it, the truss landed on top of him, crushing him face first into the stage. Matijevic suffered a broken nose, cheekbone, jaw and a twisted spine. In 1996 a revamped lineup of Steelheart emerged with guitarist Kenny Kanowski, bassist Vincent Mele and drummer Alex Makarovich, leaving Matijevic as the only original member. The new Steelheart recorded and released the album '' Wait'', despite their past two albums being filled with high powered glam metal, this album has more of an

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

sound. Original member James Ward joined Steelheart on the tour supporting the album. Though the album failed to chart in the US, the track "

We All Die Young "We All Die Young" is a song by Miljenko Matijevic of Steelheart, and Kenny Kanowski formerly of Steelheart. It is the first song from the 1996 album ''Wait''. The song was covered by the fictional band Steel Dragon in the 2001 film '' Rock Star'' ...

" was featured in the motion picture '' Rock Star'', starring

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...

and

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

. In late 2006 the EP ''

Just a Taste Just or JUST may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Just (surname) * Just (given name) Arts and entertainment * ''Just'', a 1998 album by Dave Lindholm * "Just" (song), a song by Radiohead * "Just", a song from the album '' Lost and Found'' by Mudvayn ...

'' was released, three tracks on it would be released again on the 2008 album '' Good 2B Alive'', and the other track "We All Die Young" was previously put out on "Wait" and the "Rock Star" soundtrack. In 2016, Steelheart appeared at the three-day Rockingham 2016, glam metal festival with Marten Andersson from Lynch Mob and Lizzy Borden on bass, in Nottingham, United Kingdom on October 22, as the headline act of the second day. Steelheart released the album, ''Through Worlds of Stardust'', in 2017 and the live album, ''Rock'n Milan'', in 2018.

Band members

Current members

– lead vocals, rhythm and acoustic guitar, piano (1989–1992, 1996, 2006–present) * Joe Pessia – lead guitar (2017–present) * Mike Humbert – drums, percussion (2006–present)

Past members

* Chris Risola – lead guitar, backing vocals (1989–1992, 2006–2014) * Frank DiCostanzo – rhythm guitar, bass, backing vocals (1989–1992) * James Ward – bass, piano, backing vocals (1989–1992, 1996) * John Fowler – drums (1990–1992; died 2008) * Kenny Kanowski – lead guitar (1996; died 2017) * Vincent Mele – bass (1996) * Alex Makarovich – drums (1996) * Bill Lonero – lead guitar (2008) * Jack Wilkenson – drums (1989–1990) * Sigve Sjursen – bass (2006–2007) * Rev Jones – bass (2007–2016) * Uros Raskovski – lead guitar (2006–2008, 2009–2010, 2014–2017) * Timm Hamm – bass guitar (2013–2015) later a member of Future Eyes, Republica, Geronimo 7, Imposchine, (concurrently 2015–2017) and Wirerims (2018 - current) *

– bass (2016–2022)

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (1990) *''Tangled in Reins'' (1992) *''Wait'' (1996) *''Good 2B Alive'' (2008) *''Through Worlds of Stardust'' (2017)

EPs

*''Just a Taste EP'' (2006)

Singles

Video albums

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control American glam metal musical groups American hard rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 1992 Musical groups reestablished in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Musical quartets Heavy metal musical groups from Connecticut