Steel Assassin- WW II: Metal of Honor

High Roller Records
2012


Boston classic metal band Steel Assassin was formed back in 1980. Originally known as Assassin they started out as a cover band playing music by the likes of Saxon, Raven, Accept, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Iron Maiden and Tygers of Pan Tang. They were one of countless eighties bands to get their start on the "Metal Massacre" compilations. In their case it was on volume VI with the killer song "Executioner". Despite a seemingly solid fan base and tons of potential they broke up around 1985. For whatever reason the major labels showed little interest and aside from an indie offer or two the band found themselves the victims of various internal problems. Fast forward many years and a compilation of remastered demo tracks was released. Called "From The Vaults" it would prove to be my first proper introduction to this epic band as I was afforded only a sneak peek on their "Metal Massacre" track. With a few proper albums to their name now Steel Assassin present this brand new concept album. Dedicated to the brave men and women who fought in WWII the album is another epic power metal affair. Musically not much has changed for the group so rest assured if you liked the group's last album then you'll like "World War II – Metal of Honor". Obviously the band seems to be becoming somewhat of a theme band as of late. That said isn't that the direction most epic power metal bands are heading these days anyway? What matters most to you and I is the music of course and that does not disappoint. In a year that has already seen more than a few great albums Steel Assassin have released a winner.

Steel Assassin-In hellfire forged

2009


In recnet years there is always been at least one release of real solid no-frills kind of classic metal. Here we are closing in on the end of 2009 and there hadn't been an album of that style that really stuck with me so far this year. That was until very recently when this release from Steel Assassin came out. I can't exactly call it an all new release as most of it is made up of re-recorded version of demo tracks that were originally done in 1984 and 1985. However it's new to me and probably new to a number of other listeners. Even though much of it was written 24-25 years ago it still comes across as being fresh today. The only new entry is the final track "Breakout At St. Lo" that the band says is a preview of the upcoming album entitled "Metal of Honor." The influences are scattered and include Armored Saint, Iron Maiden, Jag Panzer, early Helstar and Judas Priest. Steel Assassin's sound is founded on a killer duel guitar attack that is based on heavy rhythms and stellar harmonies. The vocals are forceful and cutting. The rhythm section bashes away leading the drive. Every song is easy to like even the first time around. Then they just get even more enjoyable with each additional play. These guys play the kind of fist pumping metal that gets the blood flowing. Their reason for re-recording the songs is likely so they could showcase the vocals of their current singer and sharpen up these oldies, but goodies. Mission accomplished on that last point for sure. This album shows that this band has the chops to still get it done and it wets my appetitie for the next chapter in Steel Assassin's career which will hopefully be released soon.

Interview with Steel Assassin

Steel Assassin hail from the Boston area and formed back in 1980 as a cover band. They broke up in 1985, but reformed a few years with a 4/5 original line-up and now have released a CD called “War of the eight saints”. I recently got to interview bass player Phil Grasso and guitarist Mike Mooney to find out more.

MM-Who are your musical influences?
Mike: I have a lot of influences but if I had to just name a few and say they're the reason I picked up a guitar in the first place it would be in no particular order Ritchie Blackmore, Ace Frehley and Brian May. I know that's diverse but in the 70's growing up, these guys just made my hair stand on end and I decided THAT'S what I wanna do. Musically my favorite band is still Rush for all their diverse subject matter and the intelligence of the song writing. The thing that makes SA work is that all 5 of us have completely different listening preferences and it's that small portion where we all overlap that creates our sound, whether it be unique or not, it seems to work for us still.

MM-So this band actually formed in 1980, but didn’t officially become Steel Assassin until 1983.
What kind of covers were you playing? What brought about the name change and the change in musical direction towards doing originals?
Mike: The progression towards writing our own songs was only natural, that's what every musician aspires to I think. We were playing just about every NWOBHM band you can think of, Saxon, Raven, Accept, Priest, AC DC, Maiden, Tygers of Pan Tang, etc. We were originally called Assassin but we and others thought the name a bit generic so we decided to add the Steel to sort of make sure there was no mistake in what they were about to hear or see.



MM-You broke up in 1985. Why did you break up back then?
Mike-There were many reasons, some the same old stuff, but we were being managed at the time by some folks that had major label contacts and were really pushing us to write radio material. That didn't bode well with us and though we were diluted and somewhat misdirected, it eventually got the best of us. Once it was clear that we were going to have trouble getting "signed"(the big term of the day back then), a few members got frustrated and decided to move on. We've all remained truly the best of friends all these years though.

MM-Did you ever get much interest from any record labels back during your first run?
Mike: The interest we got was minimal from major labels, we did have some offers from indies, but our management at the time kept pushing for something bigger....regrets? maybe a few. ha ha

MM-Did everyone stay in music or not? If so then what did everyone go to?
Mike: Pretty much we all stayed playing in one way or another, although we each branched out into other careers and families. Kevin and I actually had a great Thin Lizzy tribute band going for a few years in which we were able to play in Dublin, Ireland for the annual Vibe for Philo which we were very proud of.

MM-Now you did a brief reunion in 1988. What that just a show or did you work on any material at that time?
Phil: "Don't know anything about that. The band did get another singer and bassist after Doni and I left. I think that lasted about a year. Maybe in '86 the band and Doni got back together around '86. They asked if I was interested in rejoining, and I declined. Our friend Ed Keeke from SPLIT IMAGE joined on bass. It lasted one show, and then it broke up for good, until our reformation in 2005.
MM-The 1988 reunion was mentioned in the paragraph on the back of your CD.
Phil-I think that reunion was in '86, because I used the "reunion band" to do an instrumental tape of some S.A. songs that I put my vocal on, and that was '86. '88 was when I was doing my AQUITAINE band, and Mike and Ed was in that band, so the reunion must have been before then.



MM-When and why did you guys decide to reform the band?
Mike: It actually started at a cookout in my backyard, Phil asked me and Kevin if he could get some label interest would we be interested in giving it a try. We were so intrigued at the prospect of getting together and writing all new metal that we truly just could not resist.

MM-Vocalist John Falzone is new to the band. Where did you meet him and what does he add to your sound?
Phil: "We've known John for a while. He was in TRIPHAMMER back in the day. It was Rich (Spillberg) who suggested John to the band. And the rest is history...

MM-Are all the songs on “War of the eight saints” brand new? If so then how do the new songs compare with the material you were playing back in the 1980’s?
Phil: "All the songs with the exception of "Barabbas" were written during the Reformation period in 2005.



MM-What has been the response to the album so far?
Phil: " Great!"
Mike: Myself I've been truly humbled at all the great responses we've had to the album, it has totally exceeded my expectations and become something we're all VERY proud of. By the way, wait until you hear the next one.

MM-Since Steel Assassin didn’t exist for like twenty years, do you think that a lot of people outside of your home area remember the band?
Phil: "It was acutally the people from our area that forgot about us. Everywhere else they remembered us, which took us all by pleasant surprise!!"

MM-What was the Boston metal scene like back in 1980’s? Who were some of the other top club bands back them?
Phil: "Better than it is now, but it still wasn't as good as RI, CT, NY. The clubs we played with some sort of regularity back then was Celebrations at The Kenmore Club, Paradise, Channel, Salem Theater.

MM-What is the metal club scene like in your area these days?
Phil: "Still better in RI, CT, and NY", at least for our style of Trad. Power Metal. Death, Hard Core, and that type is doing well here from what I hear."

MM-What are some of your favorite albums of 2008 so far?
Phil: "I don't follow the Metal scene too closely to be honest. I can tell you the newer bands that I really like are DREAM EVIL, FIREWIND, CIRCLE 2 CIRCLE and KAMELOT. I listen to more of the old stuff, although I don't listen to too many other bands when I'm busy writing for STEEL ASSASSIN."

http://www.myspace.com/steelassassin

Steel Assassin-War of the eight saints

Sentinel Steel
2007

I was going through various Myspace pages back in the beginning of summer an stumbled upon this band. The band name sounded very familiar then I was enlightened to the fact that they were on Metal Massacre 6 back in 1984. That would be were I knew them from as I heard most of those compilations back in the 1980's. They actually formed as a cover band back in 1980, but broke up in 1985 after failing to secure a record deal. However fast forward two decades and in 2005 the band reformed with a 4/5 original line-up, added a new vocalist and begun work on their debut which would be released 27 years after the band first formed. Talk about better late than never, this is pure denim and leather, hard hitting mid-1980's style metal. Steel Assassin have grinded out a seriously monstrous assault very much influenced by the likes of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Armored Saint and Dio. They even combine some of the influences in the same track and bring some ideas of their own in the form of oftentimes rapid pace changes and twists. The lyrics are of the fantasy/mythology camp and it works just fine here. We get eleven songs with six of them going over six minutes including the closing title track which is just a crushing epic that clocks in at over ten minutes. It's a shame these guys didn't get signed back around 84-85 because I would have loved this back, but I love it now too. Steel Assassin work and maneuver as they create some finely crafted songs that are strong on melodies and backed by a blistering array of hooks and ripping guitars. Not a whole lot of new ideas here, but just a tremendous stampede of killer metal.

http://www.myspace.com/steelassassin