Steelheart and Mike Matijevic,my new obsession

As you have already seen, I love strong screaming voices, I am in constant search for new and old ones. Also, I am looking for anything new that I can find out and even, at one point, I imposed to myself that each and everyday to find something I didn’t know(in most of the cases this means to find out about a rock band I didn’t know about).

One of those days I was looking on YouTube for some music and I have found about a great voice that, to my shame, I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT!!! When I have started to listen it I felt shivering down my spine: how could I not know about this band? How could I not know about Steelheart when they play since so many years and when Mike Matijevic has such a great voice that is just made for electric guitars?

I was looking for more and more and I can only say that for 3-4 days I played on and on “She’s gone” and “Can’t stop me loving you”. Steelheart’s “She’s gone” is one great power ballad that shows the voice of Mike Matijevic in it’s full power and shows his easiness to get those high notes. I was just amazed, really! She’s gone is great but the voice of Mike Matijevic gives it the real value. When I have found Can’t stop me loving you I thought that these guys just needed to be great, they had such a great music, but just unknown here in Romania, at least from what I know.

Looking for more information, I have found their website, www.steelheart.com. What I have read there turned me upside down and to be honest I have perfectly understood why they didn’t make it big even if they had what it takes and most of all, they were on the wave at one point: life is what that hit them, fate, call it however you want. I am not going to get into details but Mike Matijevic, or Miljenko Matijevic by his real name had an very ugly accident in the beginning of their career and that was what cut them from the start. Despite the difficulties he faced, he seems to recover after some time. I have found some songs after Steelheart came back on stage, about 4 years later, losing the exact period when the musical style they play lost ground before other musical genders. Anyway, Today, Steelheart goes on tour constantly, which can only make me happy and Mike Matijevic seems to have the same love for live performances that I have seen in his early days videos, which is great. However, seems that,even if the electric guitars remain somehow the same,the musical style changed a bit to match today’s musical taste, which is not quite good from my point of view, but I guess everybody’s got to eat.

I can only say that at this moment, my favorite videos list on YouTube contains Steelheart and I am trying to get some recorded materials on CD for my car CD player since I became somehow of a fan. Steelheart rules!!!

I couldn’t stop myself thinking what would have Miljenko Matijevic been if it wasn’t that stupid accident he had on stage, where would he be today? Maybe next to Ozzy? Maybe next to Dave Coverdale? Steven Taylor? Anyway, Steelheart became one of my favorite bands of that great period which was ruled by hair metal, heavy metal, hard rock and electric guitars!

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