Anderson          André         Culver         Paulo         Boon

More than a pride... a way of life...

Our history begins when...

           It was the summer of 1996. Three friends were on vacation when they had the opportunity to exchange their musical ideas. These three friends came to a agreement: to set up a band. Andre Fabian, Culver Yu and Anderson Xavier did not just want to set up a band for entertainment. As they had already played in other bands, they wanted this new experience to be carried out seriously; to bring opportunities in the future.
            Heavy Metal: all of them had in common this philosophy. So, the band should follow this musical style, but none of them wanted any kind of new feature added inside Heavy Metal. They just desired to play the classic European Heavy Metal that all their favorite bands have been playing. They wanted a lot of melody, epic passages associated with classical themes. These would be included without losing the essence of Heavy Metal: hard and fast.
            A name for the baptism of the band should now be chosen. A name that would frame the proposal of the band. The image of a warrior would link perfectly to the songs with epic themes, besides it would also represent the desire to keep alive a style that did not surrender itself to the media and fashions. A warrior of steel; so they baptized the band: Steel Warrior.
            The band started their practice as soon as the summer vacation was over. However, the band wasn’t fully complete. With Andre Fabian on the guitars/vocals, Anderson Xavier on the bass and Culver Yu on the drums, a second guitar was needed, so they could achieve the sound the band wished.
            Many people were tested, but in some way, they didn’t have the same ideas and interests as the component members of the band. Finally they met Robert Nietsche, who, was really interested to take part in the band’s work, although he had little musical experience. So the they started to work with the complete set of members.
            The first song composed by the band, as strange as it seems, was a ballad. "Wind of Sorrow" tells the story of a warrior who lost his beloved during the Inquisition, for she had been guilty of witchcraft.
            As they progressed, "Rasalom" was the second song. It’s based on the movie/book "The Keep" (F. Paul Wilson), where Rasalom represents the powers of chaos, in a never-ending struggle with the forces of light. The music has its tempo in triplets, that gives the idea of a "galloping" rhythm, very common in the 80’s European Heavy Metal.
            Then the third song was written: "Steel Warrior", the title song that tells the saga of the warrior, the main image of the band. It not a fast song, but its introductory riff and epic slashed time try to emphasize all the work the band intended to do.
            Following this, two other songs were composed: "Blind Faith" is a criticism about people’s blind beliefs and the age-old problem of commerce in the name of religion; "Crossing the Mist" is about a new dimension; a world surrounded by a dense mist, where many secrets still await to be discovered.
            Until that time, the band had just practiced together. The first concert was on October of 1996, in the "I Heavy Metal Convention" in Itajaí (Santa Catarina - Brazil). It was clear they had done a great job, as all the crowd really enjoyed the concert. After this concert, the band made a small tour across the state.
            Following these events, they decided to record a demo-tape containing two songs: "Rasalom" and "Steel Warrior". This tape was sent to many magazines specializing in Heavy Metal (zines, magazines, etc.). Today, the band is still receiving critical acclaim and positive fan mail.
            After one year, Robert Nietsche left the band for unavoidable personal reasons. A natural choice for his replacement was Pedro Giovani, who was already an old friend of the band members. The new combination worked well.
            By that time, a critical review of the demo tape was published at the specialized "Rock Brigade" Magazine (largest Rock magazine in Brazil). As this article spread across Brazil, and, to the band’s surprise, around the world, the Steel Warrior still receive letters from all parts of Brazil, Europe (England, Portugal, Greece) and Asia (Japan).
            The group continued to compose new songs. "Garden of Souls" talks about spirits and peace. "Son of an Eagle" was the next one, talking about freedom. It’s one of the most melodic songs the band had done up to this point. Just after they composed this song, the band had the opportunity to support a Gamma Ray concert in Florianópolis/SC (Brazil). They considered this a great honor, as they were fans of the band since a long time ago. One more time, the band received good comments from the crowd and even the musicians of the main group - Gamma Ray.
            The last composition concluded was "Revenge", which is about the vengeance of the warrior, whose beloved was murdered as a witch, in their early title, "Wind of Sorrow". One more time the band performed a hard and fast song, without losing the melodic characteristic.
            Later on the band sought for money to start working on their debut-CD. Finally, on the beginning of May/98, the Steel Warrior started recording their album, which would have the 8 compositions mentioned above, plus and intro and an outro. (It’s also important to mention that the band has 3 other compositions for other future works.)
            The album was record in 32 hybrid tracks at the "Clínica" Studios, Curitiba/PR - Brazil. The producer was Murillo da Rós, who is a musician too. The band went through many sacrifices to finish the album, as the members had economic problems once they were not supported or sponsored in any single way. Starting on May/98 and finishing on February/99 -- a period of 9 months -- the album was mixed and mastered at the same studios. This fact brought the CD to carry an outstanding production that can be compared with the most respected present works.
            After all, the CD is released under the title of "Visions from the Mistland" with 10 tracks of the most pure Power Metal. The album is a melting pot of heavy songs with speed, melody, and even more cadence tracks. The list is:

1.The First Vision
2.Son of an Eagle
3.Revenge
4.Garden of Souls
5.Crossing the Mist
6.Steel Warrior
7.Rasalom
8.Wind of Sorrow
9.Blind Faith
10.Twilight hills

 

            Personal problems made Anderson Xavier leave the band right after the CD was released. The band called to his place Anderson Anderson Gomes Agostinho. All Steel Warriors hope this will be a "long lasting" members setup.
            Nowadays, Steel Warrior is playing around cities on the South / Southeast regions of Brazil. They are also preparing a european tour for april of this year.