Mark Edwards – full in bloom

Steeler Self-Titled Album on Red Vinyl/LP – Record Store Day 2023 – RSD – Yngwie Malmsteen, Ron Keel, Rik Fox, Mark Edwards – Remastered

STEELER
SELF-TITLED

Event: BLACK FRIDAY 2023
Release Date: 11/24/2023
Format: LP
Label: Sound City
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release

Although many metalheads probably assume that Swedish guitar shredder Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s first U.S.-based band was Alcatrazz, he was a brief member of another obscure Los Angeles-based metal band called Steeler. The group also featured future Keel frontman Ron Keel (bassist Rik Fox and drummer Mark Edwards also rounded out the band), and the quartet’s music was similar to the pop/party metal that was ruling the Sunset Strip at the time. The band was one of the first to be signed to Mike Varney’s Shrapnel label (one that has since become synonymous with highly technical guitar shredders), resulting in a lone self-titled release from 1983 before their breakup shortly thereafter. Although the album failed to make much noise upon release, it became a cult classic for fans after Malmsteen and Keel.

This RSD Black Friday release is pressed on clear red vinyl.

Tracklisting:
Cold Day In Hell
Backseat Driver
No Way Out
Hot On Your Heels
Abduction
On The Rox
Down To The Wire
Born To Rock
Serenade

Ron Keel:

40 years went by in the blink of an eye. Find the joy and celebrate each moment as if it were the last bottle on Earth.

Ron Keel: Happy 36th anniversary to my debut album, STEELER, released on this date in 1983. I appreciate the fans who embraced this moment in time and I’m looking forward to 2020’s FNA Records release “COME HELL OR HOLLYWOOD: 1981-82” featuring the original lineup.

full in bloom: What are your 3 most fond memories of being in Steeler?

Ron Keel: I guess I keep the memories, Steeler and otherwise, in two piles, good and bad. If I had to pick 3 out of the good pile, the first would be the week our guitarist, Michael Dunigan, and I went out to Los Angeles to scout gigs and get the ‘lay of the land’, so to speak. It was an unbelievable time for hard rock in LA, and as soon as we got to the Sunset Strip we knew we were home. The second fond memory would be the entire time from the drive to LA, when the whole band and crew was moving out there together, up until the time the original lineup started to splinter. That was a very magical experience, being young and full of dreams and living in a place where they could all come true. And the third memory would have to be the first time we heard ourselves on the radio, on KLOS in Los Angeles. You know, if you watch any biographical music movie, where they are dramatizing the life of a famous musician or singer, there’s always the scene where they get played on the radio for the first time, and everybody’s jumping up and down and screaming. It’s really like that.

full in bloom: How did the original Steeler lineup change into the one we all know? Was it your choice or did the original line-up quit?

Ron Keel: Unfortunately, it was my choice, and not a very good one. The level of musicianship on the LA heavy metal scene was very competitive – there were some amazing guitarists, drummers, and bassists and I thought that’s what I wanted. I found out the hard way that the best musicians don’t always make the best bandmates, and there’s no substitute for chemistry and camaraderie. I was lucky enough to find that again with KEEL, but it’s very rare and underrated. I still believe that if I had been mature enough and strong enough to hold the original band together and work hard, we would have been one of the premier bands of the time.

full in bloom: How does Yngwie Malmsteen end up joining the band?

Ron Keel: Mike Varney played me his demo tape, and like I said, I wanted the best and I got the best. I invited him to come to America and join Steeler.

full in bloom: While Yngwie was in the band, were you two friends, or did he mostly keep to himself?

Ron Keel: He was very focused on his guitar, it never left his hands. I always try to be friends with the people in my bands – if you’re in my band, I’ll take a bullet for you. Some of those friendships outlast the bands, and some don’t.

full in bloom: Is there anything you wish you would have done differently in the Steeler days?

Ron Keel: Life’s too short for regrets, who knows how things might have turned out. But I really should have kept the original lineup together.