Agent Steel

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Agent Steel

| image = 2008-06-27 - Bang Your Head - Heavy Metal Festival - Germany - Balingen - Agent Steel - edited.JPG

| caption = Agent Steel performing at Bang Your Head 2008

| landscape = yes

| origin = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| genre = {{flatlist|

| years_active = {{flatlist|

1984–1988
1998–2011
2018–present}}

| label = {{flatlist|

| spinoffs = {{flatlist|

Evildead
Holy Terror}}

| spinoff_of = Abattoir

| website =

| current_members = Johnny Cyriis
Vinicius Carvalho
Shuichi Oni

| past_members = Mark Marshal
John Gott
Kurt Colfelt
Bill Simmons
Chuck Profus
George Robb
Juan Garcia
Bernie Versailles
Michael Zaputil
Silvio Golfetti
Brian "Beast" East
Bruce Hall
Karlos Medina
Rigo Amezcua
Robert Cardenas
Kyle Abbott
Rasmus Kjær
Igor Lopes
Nikolay Atanasov
Joe McGuigan

| module = {{Infobox

| child = yes

| header1 =

| headerstyle = background:#b0c4de

| data2 = 220px

}}

Agent Steel is an American speed metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1984 by vocalist John Cyriis with drummer Chuck Profus. {{cite web|url=http://www.metallian.com/agentsteel.php |title=Agent Steel biography|website=www.metallian.com}} The band released two full-length albums and one EP before disbanding in 1988. They were most notable for Cyriis' high-pitched vocals, catchy songs, melodic riffs, and fast tempos mixed in with interest in UFOs.

Agent Steel reformed in 1998 (without Cyriis, although he would return to the band in 2010, only to leave again in 2011) and released three more full-length albums before going on hiatus in 2011. The band reformed again in 2018, this time with Cyriis returning as the vocalist and without any previous members (including longtime guitarist Juan Garcia, who is now in Evildead and Body Count); under this new lineup, Agent Steel released their first studio album in 14 years (and also their first in 34 years to feature Cyriis), No Other Godz Before Me, in 2021.{{cite web|url=http://metalstorm.net/events/news_comments.php?news_id=39883|title=Agent Steel - To Release New Album In March|website=Metalstorm.net|access-date=October 12, 2020|date=October 12, 2020}}

History

=Early years and split (1984–1988)=

Agent Steel was formed by John Cyriis shortly after his firing from Megadeth in 1984, as, according to Cyriis, guitarist and now lead vocalist Dave Mustaine was against the idea of focusing on the "entire Alien concept".{{Cite web|last=BraveWords|title=AGENT STEEL Founder/Vocalist JOHN CYRIIS On Briefly Joining MEGADETH - "DAVE MUSTAINE Was Not Prepared To Launch The First Album With My Lyrical Subjects"|url=http://bravewords.com/news/agent-steel-founder-vocalist-john-cyriis-on-briefly-joining-megadeth-dave-mustaine-was-not-prepared-to-launch-the-first-album-with-my-lyrical-subjects|access-date=January 28, 2024|website=bravewords.com|language=en}}

The first legal registration of the name Agent Steel was registered by Cyriis on July 23, 1984, as a DBA at the Los Angeles County Clerk's Office. Beforehand, however, Agent Steel was initially named Sanctuary.

Agent Steel's first incarnation recorded a demo in the studio, titled "144,000 Gone" in the summer of 1984. "144,000 Gone" was written by Cyriis when he was a guitarist in his previous band Sceptre, an underground metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 with Tony and Phil Sardo. The Sardo brothers left soon afterwards to form thrash metal band Sardo. The lineup then consisted of drummer Chuck Profus, guitarists Bill Simmons and Mark Marshal, and bassist George Robb. Another member named John Gott joined, but left shortly afterwards. New guitarists Juan Garcia and Kurt Colfelt joined the band. From December 1984 to February 1985, they recorded their debut album Skeptics Apocalypse, which was released in June 1985 by Combat Records.{{cite book|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Virgin Books|date=1999|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0257-7|page=16}} The most popular song on Skeptics Apocalypse, "Agents of Steel", has over half a million listens on YouTube as of 2020. Shortly after the band's debut album was released, a falling-out with John Cyriis led to the departure of Colfelt. Colfelt was then replaced with new guitarist Bernie Versailles.

In October 1985, the band recorded an EP titled Mad Locust Rising, which was released in January 1986. Bassist George Robb was fired after the recordings and was replaced by Letchen Grey bassist, Michael Zaputil, shortly after.

In March 1986, Agent Steel entered the studio once again to record their second album Unstoppable Force. The recordings came to a halt when the band went to perform at the Aardschok Dag Festival in Eindhoven in April 1986. In May 1986, they toured Europe with Anthrax and Overkill before returning to the studio to finish the recordings in June 1986. The album's release was then delayed due to complications with the cover artwork. An early 1987 release was then planned. In November 1986, Capitol Records expressed interest in signing the band, who had recently signed Megadeth. The band's management demanded more money, to which the label agreed, with a stipulation that the band would have to wait until the new year to release the album, and with the acquisition of new department budgets. John Cyriis and Chuck Profus moved to Florida for various reasons, while the rest of the members remained in California.

In January 1987, Capitol Records withdrew from the offer due being unable to secure required industry-standard performance and surety bonds, due to the seemingly unreliable nature of Cyriis and the band's abrupt lineup changes. Unstoppable Force was released in March 1987 by Combat Records instead. Cyriis and Profus were then joined by guitarists James Murphy and Jay Weslord, and bassist Richard Bateman. The new lineup performed shows in Europe with Nuclear Assault in June 1987, one of them being at the Hammersmith Apollo, in which their final performance can be seen on the 1989 home video Mad Locust Rising.

In 1988, the band disbanded, as their record label, Combat Records, put them on suspension.{{cite web|url=https://www.spirit-of-metal.com/en/biography/Agent_Steel/1003|title=Biography : Agent Steel|publisher=Spirit of Metal}} This suspension lasted for as long as the band's contract with the label lasted—about three years or so.

In an interview, Cyriis stated his version as to why Agent Steel was disbanded in 1988: "....Agent Steel was buried alive by Combat Records, who put the band on suspension for no legitimate, justifiable reason. Why they did so, remains a mystery to this very day..."{{Cite web|last=A|first=Andreas|date= October 24, 2019|title=Crystal Logic: Bleed for the Godz: AGENT STEEL / John Cyriis interview - The Story...|url=http://crystal-logic.blogspot.com/2019/10/bleed-for-godz-agent-steel-john-cyriis.html|access-date=July 17, 2020|website=Crystal Logic}}

=First reformation (1998–2009)=

In 1998, guitarists Juan Garcia and Bernie Versailles reformed Agent Steel without Cyriis' consent, featuring returning members Chuck Profus and Michael Zaputil, and new vocalist Bruce Hall. Zaputil left the band shortly after and new bassist Karlos Medina would replace him. The third album Omega Conspiracy was released on October 25, 1999. In 2001, the band changed their name to Order of the Illuminati due to legal pressure from Cyriis. Profus left the band in 2002 and was replaced with new drummer Rigo Amezcua. They would return to the Agent Steel name and would record their fourth album Order of the Illuminati, the same name under which they performed at the time. It was released on June 10, 2003.{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/order-of-the-illuminati-not-for-the-weak/|title=ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI: "Not For The Weak"|date=April 30, 2002 |publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=April 30, 2002}}{{cite web|url=http://search.blabbermouth.net/news/agent-steel-continue-work-on-new-cd/|title=AGENT STEEL Continue Work On New CD|publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=September 28, 2002}}{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/agent-steel-new-music-posted-online/|title=AGENT STEEL: New Music Posted Online|date=October 31, 2002 |publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=October 31, 2002}}{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/agent-steel-complete-work-on-order-of-the-illuminati/|title=AGENT STEEL Complete Work On 'Order Of The Illuminati'|date=April 7, 2003 |publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=April 7, 2003}} In 2004, the band performed at the Dynamo Open Air festival,{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/agent-steel-kicking-it-in-amsterdam/|title=AGENT STEEL: 'Kicking It' In Amsterdam|date=June 2, 2004 |publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=June 2, 2004}} which is featured as a DVD, released on March 21, 2005, and also touring Europe with the band After All in the spring of 2005.{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/agent-steel-european-tour-dates-announced/|title=AGENT STEEL: European Tour Dates Announced|date=March 20, 2005 |publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=March 20, 2005}} On August 31, 2007, the fifth album Alienigma was released.{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/agent-steel-alienigma-artwork-revealed/|title=AGENT STEEL: 'Alienigma' Artwork Revealed|date=June 7, 2007|publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=June 7, 2007}}{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/agent-steel-members-discuss-new-album-alienigma/|title=AGENT STEEL Members Discuss New Album, 'Alienigma'|date=June 15, 2007|publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=June 15, 2007}}

=Reunion with John Cyriis and second hiatus (2010–2011)=

On April 24, 2010, vocalist Bruce Hall announced his departure.{{Cite web|url=https://blabbermouth.net/news/agent-steel-parts-ways-with-singer|title=AGENT STEEL Parts Ways With Singer|access-date=February 15, 2025}} On May 3, 2010, Agent Steel announced that they would reunite with John Cyriis.{{cite web|url=http://www.metalstorm.net/events/news_comments.php?news_id=10929|title=Agent Steel – Part Ways With Vocalist, Reunite With Original Singer|publisher=Metal Storm|access-date=May 3, 2010}} They performed at the Thrash Domination event on September 18 and 19 in Kawasaki, and was also rehearsing their classic material as well as working on new songs for a future album release, for which one of the tracks that Cyriis would write lyrics had a working title of "Behold...The Great Race".{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/agent-steel-featuring-john-cyriis-first-reunion-performance-footage-posted-online/|title=AGENT STEEL Featuring JOHN CYRIIS: First Reunion Performance Footage Posted Online|date=October 7, 2010|publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=October 7, 2010}}

On January 24, 2011, Agent Steel announced that Cyriis would not perform with the band on the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise due to "unfortunate events". Helstar vocalist James Rivera and Steel Prophet vocalist Rick Mythiasin would fill in for him, in which they would perform as Masters of Metal.{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/john-cyriis-to-sit-out-agent-steel-s-appearance-at-70000-tons-of-metal-helstar-singer-steps-in/|title=JOHN CYRIIS TO Sit Out AGENT STEEL's Appearance At 70000 TONS OF METAL; HELSTAR Singer Steps In|date=January 24, 2011|publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=January 24, 2011}} On February 24, 2011, the band would cancel their appearance at the Keep It True festival in April. The organizers of the event explained that they were "facing totally new demands from one part of the band, that we, as a still small and dedicated festival, could not meet and really also do not want to meet. This, plus the troubles within the band itself, led to the final cancellation of Agent Steel with John Cyriis." Guitarist Juan Garcia denied any rumors that Rick Mythiasin was the band's new vocalist, but was only a temporary fill-in for Cyriis. Due to the circumstances surrounding the band, the organizers invited Agent Steel to still perform, but under a different name, and that Mythiasin would be invited to perform onstage with them.{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/agent-steel-featuring-john-cyriis-pulls-out-of-keep-it-true-festival/|title=AGENT STEEL Featuring JOHN CYRIIS Pulls Out Of KEEP IT TRUE Festival|date=February 24, 2011|publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=February 24, 2011}} Cyriis later returned to the band and performed at the Sweden Rock Festival, which was claimed to be his final performance with the band, but was refuted by Cyriis during the event.{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/agent-steel-with-original-singer-john-cyriis-at-sweden-rock-festival-video-available/|title=AGENT STEEL With Original Singer JOHN CYRIIS At SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL; Video Available|date=June 17, 2011|publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=June 17, 2011}} Despite his apparent return, he would perform with his band S.E.T.I. at the Headbangers Open Air festival in July.{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/agent-steel-vocalist-john-cyriis-s-e-t-i-confirmed-for-headbangers-open-air-festival/|title=AGENT STEEL Vocalist JOHN CYRIIS' S.E.T.I. Confirmed For HEADBANGERS OPEN AIR Festival|date=July 14, 2011|publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=July 14, 2011}}

Meanwhile, the remaining members of Agent Steel have continued to perform as Masters of Metal, releasing their debut album From Worlds Beyond on September 18, 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/masters-of-metal-feat-agent-steel-members-from-worlds-beyond-album-due-in-september/|title=MASTERS OF METAL Feat. AGENT STEEL Members: 'From Worlds Beyond' Album Due In September|date=July 22, 2015|publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=July 22, 2015}}

=Second reformation (2018–present)=

In November 2018, John Cyriis returned once more to reform Agent Steel, fronting a lineup of new members. He announced that the band would perform at the Keep It True festival in April 2019, and release their first studio album in twelve years, originally titled 8 Lights Protocol, with a tentative September 2019 release.{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/john-cyriis-resurrects-agent-steel-first-festival-appearance-announced-new-album-on-the-way/|title=JOHN CYRIIS Resurrects AGENT STEEL: First Festival Appearances Announced, New Album On The Way|website=Blabbermouth.net|date=January 21, 2019|access-date=January 21, 2019}} At the time of the event, the band performed for only 30 minutes instead of the originally scheduled one-hour set. German-based magazine Underground Empire explained in an Instagram post that the band started later "because of a traffic jam", which then caused complaints from fans. The band posted a photo of the show the next day with the caption, "Germany truly was a phenomenon, but only the very beginning..."{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/agent-steel-fans-complain-about-abbreviated-set-at-germanys-keep-it-true-festival/|title=AGENT STEEL Fans Complain About Abbreviated Set At Germany's KEEP IT TRUE Festival|website=Blabbermouth.net|date=April 27, 2019|access-date=April 27, 2019}} On June 20, 2019, the new members were revealed as guitarist Nikolay Atanasov, original guitarist Bill Simmons, bassist Joe McGuigan and drummer Dennis Kruse Strømberg. They signed to Dissonance Productions and changed the title of their seventh studio album to No Mercy from the Godz, which was originally due for release on October 18, 2019, with a tour to follow in late 2019 and throughout 2020.{{cite web|url=https://www.dissonanceproductions.co.uk/index.php/2019/06/20/true-masters-of-metal-agent-steel-sign-with-dissonance-productions/|title=USA SPEED METAL GODS AND TRUE MASTERS OF METAL AGENT STEEL SIGN WITH DISSONANCE PRODUCTIONS.|work=Dissonance Productions|access-date=June 20, 2019}} In July 2019, the band announced that they changed the title of the album again to No Others Godz Before Me.{{cite web|title=Agent Steel - Upcoming Album Title Changed|url=http://metalstorm.net/events/news_comments.php?news_id=36238|website=Metalstorm.net|access-date=July 22, 2019|date=July 22, 2019}} In December 2019, Agent Steel released two visualizer videos for demo versions of two new songs titled "Separation of Church and Fate" and "Way of the Mechanism".{{cite web|url=http://www.metalforcesmagazine.com/site/news-agent-steel-release-sixth-studio-album-no-other-godz-before-me/|title=AGENT STEEL Issue Visualizer Videos For Demo Versions Of Two New Tracks 'Separation Of Church And Fate' And 'Way Of The Mechanism'|website=Metal Forces|access-date=December 16, 2019}}

After a two-year delay, No Other Godz Before Me was released on March 19, 2021, to mostly mixed to negative reviews.{{Cite web|title=Agent Steel - No Other Godz Before Me review - Metal Storm|url=http://www.metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=16757|access-date=2021-08-03|website=www.metalstorm.net}}

In December 2021, Agent Steel released a new song "Terminator of Souls" and announced plans to tour in 2022.{{cite web|url=https://metalstorm.net/events/news_comments.php?news_id=44488|title=Agent Steel - New Song Launched|publisher=Metal Storm|access-date=December 20, 2021|date=December 20, 2021}} They also were planning to release a new album in 2023;{{cite web|url=https://metalstorm.net/events/news_comments.php?news_id=44843|title=Agent Steel - Update From Band|publisher=Metal Storm|access-date=March 6, 2022|date=January 26, 2022}} however, there was no sign of the album, nor any updates from the band. As of 2024, it remains unreleased.

Agent Steel's first live album, Mad Locust Rising - Live at Hammersmith Odeon 1987, was released on September 27, 2024.{{cite web|url=https://metalstorm.net/events/news_comments.php?news_id=54502|title=Agent Steel - New Live Album Due In September|publisher=Metal Storm|access-date=June 25, 2024|date=June 25, 2024}}

Original Agent Steel drummer Chuck Profus died on June 6, 2025 at the age of 61.{{cite web|url=https://metalstorm.net/events/news_comments.php?news_id=58724|title=Agent Steel - Original Drummer Dead At 61|publisher=Metal Storm|access-date=June 12, 2025|date=June 12, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://metalitalia.com/articolo/agent-steel-e-morto-lex-batterista-chuck-profus/|title=AGENT STEEL: è morto l'ex batterista Chuck Profus|website=metalitalia.com|access-date=June 12, 2025|date=June 12, 2025|language=Italian}}