Rulin' the Earth

The development of Steeler was absolutely unsatisfactory. They started as a mindless bunch of metal loving lads and they ended up as an artificial product, produced by a monster called record industry. Due to this sad fact, their albums were getting worse and worse. Fortunately, their second full-length was still brewed in accordance with the German metallic purity law. Although the band offered more balladic moments than on its self-titled debut, "Rulin´ the Earth" did not sound soft. The album possessed an authentic aura and the songs still reflected a certain spontaneity. It was a good record, also with regard to the following reasons.

Steeler was the first serious band of a well-known workaholic called Axel Rudi Pell. This may explain why the band proved its talent for writing melodic yet heavy songs in an almost flawless manner. The fast paced title track was the prime example. It was kicked off by a formidable riff. The guitar line was original, harmonious and catchy without lacking of power. After the verse and the more or less threatening bridge, the slightly melodious chorus was crowned by the expressive vocals of Peter Burtz. Finally, due to its classic approach, the skilfully performed guitar solo also made a good contribution to that fantastic opener. Unfortunately, this well elaborated signature song could not be topped by the following pieces. But nevertheless, Steeler stayed true to the just described composition formula. In view of this, it came as no surprise that songs such as "Shellshock" and "Let the Blood Run Red" reached almost the quality level of the title track. These relatively massive pieces offered a smooth flow and heavy riffs at the same time. But it must also be said that Steeler avoided any element of musical rawness. Without being nice guys, they could not be compared with their angry German contemporaries such as Kreator or Destruction. But even their debut had been less aggressive than the outputs of those bands so that they were comparable with groups like Atlain or Tyran´ Pace.

As if to prove this, Steeler showcased two songs with a balladic approach. Both sides of the vinyl ended with fairly calm tones. In my humble opinion, one piece with acoustic guitars would had been enough. Nonetheless, both tunes achieved a solid level. Be that as it may, the most unimposing track was the instrumental that completely failed to impress. Altogether, one or two additional "real" metal songs would have been beneficial for the full-length. A similar situation applied to the production, which was solid, no more, no less. The sound could had been equipped with a bit more power. But this fact constituted just a mere blemish.

The amateurish cover artwork did not bother me. Back in the mid-eighties of the last millennium, my metal buddy and me were more than glad about every album that sounded neither commercial nor unprofessional. We had no desire to complain about awkward covers while being just interested in more or less extreme sounds. Even thirty years later, this situation has not changed. Perhaps it sounds smugly, but no evolution is better than a poor one. That´s the lesson I have learned from the misguided career of Steeler.