Agent Steel are a speed metal band from Los Angeles, California that was formed in 1984 by the brazilian singer John Cyriis and the drummer Chuck Profus. The band released two full length albums and one EP before ending in 1988. They were most notable for John Cyriis's high-pitched vocals, catchy songs, melodic riffs and fast tempos mixed in with their unusual (in heavy metal) UFO conspiracy theory imagery. The band reformed in 1999 and has released two full length albums since. Speed metal is a loosely defined sub-genre of heavy metal that spawned in the mid-late 1970s and was the direct musical progenitor of Thrash metal. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... This article is becoming very long. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

History

Rise

In 1983 a demo was released by a speed metal band named Sceptre which contained two future Agent Steel songs: Taken By Force and 144,000 Gone. The guitarist on this demo was John Camps who is believed to be John Cyriis, a founder of Agent Steel. Taken By Force also appeared on the Metal Massacre IV compilation from Metal Blade. 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Metal Blade Records is an independent record label which was founded in 1981 by Brian Slagel. ...

John Camps left Sceptre (which then disbanded) and went on to join Abattoir as their vocalist under the name John Syriis, which soon changed to John Cyriis. He soon left Abattoir and teamed up with drummer Chuck Profus to form Sanctuary, which soon became Agent Steel. Mark Marshall (before he joined Savage Grace) and Sill Simmons joined the band as the two guitarists with George Robb on bass. This line-up recorded the 144,000 Gone demo in 1984.

Various guitarist changes occurred after the demo until ex-Abattoir guitarist Juan Garcia and future Holy Terror guitarist Kurt Colfelt became members. The first Agent Steel full length album titled Skeptics Apocalypse was released on Combat Records in the middle of 1985. Juan Garcia can refer to Juan García Larrondo, Spanish playwright Juan Francisco García, Spanish football (soccer) player Juan Pablo García, Mexican football (soccer) player Category: ... Skeptics Apocalypse is the debut album from the US speed metal band Agent Steel. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Kurt Colfelt soon left the band after falling out with John Cyriis and formed Holy Terror. He was replaced by guitarist Bernie Versailles and an EP was recorded titled Mad Locust Rising in late 1985. It was released in the USA by Combat Records and in Europe by Music For Nations. This EP contained one of a few Judas Priest cover songs that were recorded by the band, The Ripper. Mad Locust Rising is the second release from the US speed metal band Agent Steel. ... Music for Nations is a recording company that has put forth many different rock recordings. ... Judas Priest are a heavy metal band formed in 1968 in the northwest midlands, near Birmingham, England. ...

George Robb left the band soon after Mad Locust Rising was released and was replaced by bassist Michael Zaputil. In March 1986 the band went into Morrisound Recording Studios to record the full length follow-up to Mad Locust Rising, Unstoppable Force. The band stopped recording for a few months as they went to Europe to tour. They toured through May with Anthrax and Overkill where the split video US Speed Metal Attack was recorded. They returned in June to finish recording Unstoppable Force; however, the album was to be released in 1987 due to problems with the product. 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Unstoppable Force is the second album (and third release) from the US speed metal band Agent Steel. ... Overkill is one of the first Thrash Metal bands, formed in the early 1980s in New Jersey (but often attributed to New York City), and very active ever since. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Fall

After the recording of Unstoppable Force, the band was severed when the band members spread out across the USA. John Cyriis and Chuck Profus went to Tampa, Florida; while Juan Garcia, Bernie Versailles and Michael Zaputil who were annoyed with Cyriis stayed in California. Tampas skyline For alternate meanings, see Tampa (disambiguation) Tampa is a city located in Hillsborough County on the west coast of Florida. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

John Cyriis and Chuck Profus hired guitarists James Murphy and Jay Weslord as well as bassist Richard Bateman for a European tour. The tour was partly a success; however, some of the audiences did not seem to appreciate Agent Steel's more melodic approach to heavy metal (in comparison to harsher thrash metal). The final show of the tour with Nuclear Assault (which had the UK thrash metal band Onslaught as the opener) at Hammersmith Odeon on the 20th of June 1987 was recorded live and released as a video later that year. Nuclear Assault is a Thrash metal band formed in 1985. ... Formed in the wilds of Wick (near Bristol), Onslaught came into being in 1983, the brainchild of local punks Nige Rockett (Guitar) and Steve Grice (Drums). ... The Apollo, Hammersmith, London has been a rock venue for decades, and was originally known as the Hammersmith Odeon. ...

Internal problems with the band and also the lack of appreciation by many metalheads during the tour caused the band to end in 1988. Metalhead is the most popular term for a devoted fan of heavy metal music. ...

Revival

After the band broke up in 1988 Chuck Profus and John Cyriis joined and formed a number of projects both together and separately.

Juan Garcia, after leaving Agent Steel, had formed the thrash metal band Evildead with ex-members of his old band Abattoir (as the band had split up by then). The band released 2 full length albums, an EP and a live album. They had reasonable success in the metal underground. Even though the band broke up, some of the members including Juan Garcia created a new band called Terror who released one album and an EP before breaking up.

In 1999 Agent Steel was reborn. Juan Garcia brought in bassist Karlos Medina that had been with him in Evildead and Terror, while Chuck Profus and Bernie Versailles returned. Bruce Hall joined the band as the new vocalist. His vocals were not as high-pitched as John Cyriis's but the clean sung vocals remained in Agent Steel.

Agent Steel recorded Omega Conspiracy in 1999 which was there first album in 13 years. Their sound continued on as speed metal with some modern touches. Omega Conspiracy is the third full length album from the US speed metal band Agent Steel. ...

Chuck Profus sustained a hand injury and so Rigo Amezcua (ex-Terror drummer) filled in for him for live performances. He soon decided to leave the band and so Rigo Amezcua replaced him permanently. With this line-up the band started writing new material for their next full length album starting in 2001. The album, titled Order Of The Illuminati, was released in 2003. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Order Of The Illuminati is the fourth album from the US speed metal band Agent Steel. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Soon a mini CD was released (late 2003) titled Earth Under Lucifer, which contains the single Earth Under Lucifer and three songs recorded from live performances following the release of Order Of The Illuminati.

In 2005 Agent Steel released their first DVD which contains an entire performance at Dynamo Open Air 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Dynamo Open Air is a festival in the Netherlands held (almost) every year since 1986. ...

Discography

• 144,000 Gone (Demo, 1984)
• Skeptics Apocalypse (Full Length, 1985)
• Mad Locust Rising (EP, 1985)
• US Speed Metal Attack (Video/VHS, 1986)
• Unstoppable Force (Full Length, 1987)
• Live At Hammersmith (Video/VHS, 1987)
• Omega Conspiracy (Full Length, 1999)
• Order Of The Illuminati (Full Length, 2003)
• Earth Under Lucifer (MCD, 2003)
• Live At Dynamo Open Air (DVD, 2005)

Skeptics Apocalypse is the debut album from the US speed metal band Agent Steel. ... Mad Locust Rising is the second release from the US speed metal band Agent Steel. ... Unstoppable Force is the second album (and third release) from the US speed metal band Agent Steel. ... Omega Conspiracy is the third full length album from the US speed metal band Agent Steel. ... Order Of The Illuminati is the fourth album from the US speed metal band Agent Steel. ...

Line-up

Current members

• Bruce Hall - Vocals
• Juan Garcia - Guitars
• Bernie Versailles - Guitars
• Karlos Medina - Bass
• Rigo Amezcua - Drums

Juan Garcia can refer to Juan García Larrondo, Spanish playwright Juan Francisco García, Spanish football (soccer) player Juan Pablo García, Mexican football (soccer) player Category: ...

Former members

• John Cyriis - Vocals
• Chuck Profus - Drums
• George Robb - Bass
• Mark Marshall - Guitars
• Sill Simmons - Guitars
• Kurt Colfelt - Guitars
• Michael Zaputil - Bass
• James Murphy - Guitars (On tour only)
• Jay Weslord - Guitars (On tour only)
• Richard Bateman - Bass (On tour only)

External links

• Agent Steel Online