Agent Steel

A West Coast heavy metal outfit started by vocalist Johnny Cyriis in 1984, Agent Steel arose in Los Angeles with a fierce, high-velocity sound that fused speed and thrash elements alongside the melodic structures of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The group issued its debut full-length, the well-regarded Skeptics Apocalypse, in 1985 and folded three years later. A separate configuration revived the name in 1999, producing The Omega Conspiracy along with a pair of additional albums before dissolving in 2010. Cyriis reassembled the project for a third run in 2019, and the refreshed lineup delivered its sixth studio album, No Other Godz Before Me, in 2021.

Cyriis assembled the original lineup after his departure from Megadeth. Operating briefly as Sanctuary, the band cycled through members until stabilizing around Cyriis, drummer Chuck Profus, guitarists Juan Garcia and Kurt Colfelt, and bassist George Robb. Combat Records signed the act, which then issued Skeptics Apocalypse; its Iron Maiden-inspired twin-guitar lines set against speed-metal intensity brought recognition in the United States and overseas. Colfelt exited soon afterward to establish Holy Terror, opening the door for Bernie Versailles, whose first recorded contribution appeared on the 1986 EP Mad Locust Rising. George Robb likewise departed and was succeeded by Michael Zaputil, formerly of Letchen Grey. Unstoppable Force, tracked largely at Tampa’s Morrisound Studios, was pitched to Capitol Records, which had recently acquired Megadeth from the same Combat roster; further personnel shifts and a last-minute management demand for increased compensation caused Capitol to withdraw interest, delaying the album’s eventual Combat release. The band then toured Europe supporting Nuclear Assault, after which it disbanded. A live document from the final Hammersmith Odeon performance surfaced in 1989.

Years afterward, former guitarist Juan Garcia redirected his band Evildead into a new Agent Steel that also included vocalist Bruce Hall, bassist Karlos Medina, and returning members Versailles and Profus. The Omega Conspiracy appeared in 1999, yet Cyriis’s legal objections prompted a temporary rename to Order of the Illuminati. Once disputes over the moniker were settled, the group reclaimed Agent Steel and assigned the title Order of the Illuminati to its 2003 album. Later that year the Earth Under Lucifer EP followed, and Alienigma surfaced on Mascot Music in 2007. That edition eventually fragmented, prompting Cyriis to recruit an international roster in 2019 comprising Bulgarian guitarist Nikolay Atanasov, Brazilian guitarist Vinicius Carvalho, Japanese bassist Shuichi Oni, and Danish drummer Rasmus Kjær. This “new era” configuration released No Other Godz Before Me in 2021.