Gary James' Interview With John Cyriis And Juan Garcia Of
Agent Steel



L.A. continues to produce some of the most promising groups on the club circuit. One such group is Agent Steel, who can be heard on the "Metal Massacre IV" album on Enigma/Metal Blade Records. Agent Steel recently performed at The Troubadour and The Country Club. We spoke with Agent Steel's founder and leader, John Cyriis, as well as the group's lead guitarist, Juan Garcia.

Q - What does it mean to Agent Steel to play a club like The Troubadour?

John - They're one of the better clubs around to play. Unless you have an album out, there's no way to play the civics or arenas. So clubs are the only thing for now. The Country Club is a real nice place to play. Grim Reaper, Mercyful Fate and Motorhead have all played there recently.

Q - You bio points out that Agent Steel displays "excellent showmanship." What do you do onstage?

Juan - We're more of a classic band, the type of group that plays arenas, coliseums. Our music projects across to thousands, unlike some bands who just worry about the first ten rows. We are a very energetic band and we bring forth the birth of Armageddon.

Q - John, why after forming Abattoir, did you end up leaving the group? What can you do in Agent Steel that you couldn't do in Abattoir?

John - I didn't form Abattoir. Juan, Mark and Mel did. I joined the group and at the time it was happening. But they got scared 'cause through my lyric concepts I was scaring the posers away. One night after a show they said I was too Heavy! So, I quit!

Q - How did you manage to place your songs on "Metal Massacre IV"?

John - Through Brian Slagel, I managed to place "Taken By Force" on the album.

Juan - I managed to get "Abattoir" on the album through Brian too. I met him once, played him a rough rehearsal tape of "Screams From The Grave", and he liked it a lot.

Q - Where did you come up with this name, Agent Steel?

John - The name means Investigators Of The Heavy Metal Controversy.

Juan - Basically, we investigate all the Heavy concepts that are an conspiracy to the masses and we let the public know what is really going on in the world.

Q - What's the next step for Agent Steel?

Juan - Right this moment we're in the studio, laying down tracks for the Agent Steel debut album entitled "Skeptics Apocalypse". The album will be done by January 15th, 1985 and we'll know what label will be releasing the album by February 1st, 1985.

Official Website: AgentSteel.net

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