Agent Steel is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1984, the group originally consisted of vocalist John Cyriis, guitarist Brad Phillips, bassist George "Doom" Robb and drummer Chuck Profus. By the time the band recorded its debut album, guitars were performed by Juan Garcia and Kurt Colfelt. As of 2026, Cyriis is the only remaining original member of the band, with other members including 2024 addition Johnny Moraes, returning guitarist Nikolay Atanasov and 2025 arrivals Alexandre Vilegas on bass and Junior Wendland on drums, respectively.
History 1984–1988 After leaving Abattoir and later Megadeth, vocalist John Cyriis formed Agent Steel in August 1984. The band's initial lineup included bassist George "Doom" Robb and drummer Chuck Profus, with the role of guitarist changing multiple times in quick succession — founding member Brad Phillips was replaced by Mark Marshall and Bill Simmons, the latter of whom was himself soon replaced by Cyriis' former Abattoir bandmate Juan Garcia in time for the band's first shows in September 1984. After the band recorded its first demo 144,000 Gone, Kurt Colfelt replaced Marshall for a second demo later in the year. Before the end of 1984, the band signed with Combat Records and started recording its debut full-length album Skeptics Apocalypse, which was released in the middle of 1985.
In August 1985, Bernie Versailles replaced Colfelt, who left due to "musical and personal differences". After the recording of the EP Mad Locust Rising, Robb was also replaced in early 1986 by Mike Zaputil, with Garcia claiming that the band "needed a new bass player who was more precise, cleaner and faster". After the recording of the band's second album Unstoppable Force, Cyriis and Profus relocated to Florida in early 1987, rebuilding the band with a new lineup, adding guitarists Jay Weslord and James Murphy, and bassist Richard Bateman. After a European tour which spawned the live video Mad Locust Rising: Live at the Hammersmith Odeon June '87, Agent Steel disbanded in June 1988 and Cyriis and Profus briefly continued working in a new group called Pontius Prophet.
1998–2011 In 1998, former members Juan Garcia, Bernie Versailles, Mike Zaputil and Chuck Profus reformed Agent Steel, adding Bruce Hall as the band's new lead vocalist. The new lineup initially used the name Agents of Steel, in an attempt to differentiate itself with John Cyriis no longer a member, although they changed back to the original name after a few months. Zaputil soon stepped back from the project, with Karlos Medina taking his place in time for the recording of three demos, followed by return album Omega Conspiracy in 1999. In May 2001, the band temporarily changed its name to Order of the Illuminati due to legal action by Cyriis. Shortly thereafter, founding member Profus was replaced by Rigo Amezcua. By the summer of 2002, the band had reverted back to its original name.
Agent Steel's first album without Profus, Order of the Illuminati, was released in 2003. The same lineup released Alienigma in 2007, before Medina was replaced by Robert Cardenas that September. By April 2010, Hall had chosen to leave Agent Steel, claiming that "the continual walk in John's [Cyriis] shoes has entirely drained my passion for doing anything other than treating Agent Steel as a cover band". Shortly after Hall's departure, the band announced that it had reunited with original vocalist Cyriis, with tour dates planned for later in 2010. In January 2011, Cyriis had to back out of the band's performances on the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise due to "unfortunate events", with James Rivera of Helstar and Rick Mythiasin of Steel Prophet sharing vocal duties for the shows. Cyriis subsequently returned for a handful of shows, the last of which took place on June 10, 2011 at Sweden Rock Festival, which the band had dubbed the final show with the vocalist (although he denied this onstage).
Since 2019 In January 2019, John Cyriis announced that he was relaunching Agent Steel with a brand new lineup, to be unveiled at the group's debut performance at the Keep It True Festival in April. A few days before the show, the lineup was announced as featuring guitarists Damian Giron and Igor Lopes, bassist Joe McGuigan, and drummer Kyle Abbott; Giron and McGuigan did not perform, however, with Leonardo Da Rocha and Hein Willekens, respectively, standing in. Willekens later claimed that he had been asked to fill in just "2.5 days before the gig". In May, Nikolay Atanasov was announced as one of the band's new guitarists. In June, the band announced a new lineup with Atanasov, McGuigan, returning early guitarist Bill Simmons, and new drummer Dennis Kruse Strømberg.
After the release of two demo singles — "Separation of Church and Fate" and "Way of the Mechanism" — Agent Steel's lineup changed again around June 2020, when Vinicius Carvalho joined as third guitarist, McGuigan was replaced by Eddie Webb, and Rasmus Kjær took over from Strømberg. Within just a few weeks, Webb had been replaced by Shuichi Oni and Simmons had left. This lineup released No Other Godz Before Me, the band's first studio album in 14 years and the first with Cyriis in 23 years, in 2021. This was followed by the single "Terminator of Souls" later in the year. In January 2022, the band announced that Atanasov had been "suspended" from the band pending litigation, although the guitarist later disputed this, claiming that he had left of his own accord.
The band remained relatively inactive during 2022, before announcing a new lineup in July 2023 featuring guitarist Justin Zych, bassist Kelly Conlon and drummer Lamar Little (with Carvalho remaining). Nikolay Atanasov briefly returned for a European tour in November 2023. In late 2024, Cyriis performed with a new lineup including former bassist George Robb, plus new members Johnny Moraes (guitar), Ricardo França (guitar) and Marcus Dotta (drums). By early 2025, Robb had been replaced by Andre Mellado. Further lineup changes that year included Atanasov returning as guitarist, Mellado being replaced by Alexandre Vilegas and Junior Wendland replacing Dotta.
Members Current ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsJohn Cyriisvocalsall Agent Steel releases from 144,000 Gone (1984) to Mad Locust Rising: Live at the Hammersmith Odeon June '87 (1989), and from "Separation of Church and Fate" (2019) to dateNikolay AtanasovguitarsJohnny Moraes2025–presentguitarnone to dateJunior Wendland2025–presentdrumsAlexandre Vilegas2025–presentbass
Former ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsChuck Profus drumsall Agent Steel releases from 144,000 Gone (1984) to "Forever Black" (2000)George "Doom" RobbbassBrad Phillips1984guitarnoneMark Marshall144,000 Gone (1984)Bill SimmonsJuan Garciaall Agent Steel releases from 144,000 Gone (1984) to Alienigma (2007), except Mad Locust Rising: Live at the Hammersmith Odeon June '87 (1989)Kurt Colfelt1984–1985guitarBernie Versaillesall Agent Steel releases from Mad Locust Rising (1986) to Alienigma (2007), except Mad Locust Rising: Live at the Hammersmith Odeon June '87 (1989)Mike ZaputilbassJay Weslord1987–1988guitarMad Locust Rising: Live at the Hammersmith Odeon June '87 (1989)James MurphyRichard Bateman 1987–1988 bassBruce Hall1998–2010lead vocalsall Agent Steel releases from the Agents of Steel demos (1998) to Alienigma (2007)Karlos Medina1998–2007Rigo Amezcua2001–2011drumsRobert Cardenas2007–2011noneJoe McGuigan2019–2020bassKyle Abbott2019drumsnoneIgor LopesguitarDamian GironguitarLeonardo Da RochaDennis Kruse Strømberg2019–2020drumsVinicius Carvalho2020–2023guitarRasmus KjærdrumsEddie Webb2020bassnoneShuichi Oni2020–2023Justin Zych2023guitarnoneKelly ConlonbassLamar LittledrumsMarcus Dotta2024-2025drumsRicardo FrançaguitarAndre Mellado2025bass
Touring ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsNotesTim Thomas2005guitarThomas filled in for Bernie Versailles during a European tour in early 2005.James Rivera2011lead vocalsRivera and Mythiasin filled in for John Cyriis at 70000 Tons of Metal in January 2011.Rick MythiasinHein Willekens2019bassWillekens filled in for Joe McGuigan at the band's first return show in April 2019.
Timeline
Lineups PeriodMembersReleasesAugust 1984John Cyriis — vocals Brad Phillips — guitar George Robb — bass Chuck Profus — drumsrowspan="2" August/September 1984John Cyriis — vocals Mark Marshall — guitar Bill Simmons — guitar George Robb — bass Chuck Profus — drumsSeptember–fall 1984John Cyriis — vocals Mark Marshall — guitar Juan Garcia — guitar George Robb — bass Chuck Profus — drums144,000 Gone (1984)Fall 1984–August 1985John Cyriis — vocals Juan Garcia — guitar Kurt Colfelt — guitar George Robb — bass Chuck Profus — drumsuntitled second demo (1984) Skeptics Apocalypse (1985)August 1985–early 1986John Cyriis — vocals Juan Garcia — guitar Bernie Versailles — guitar George Robb — bass Chuck Profus — drumsMad Locust Rising EP (1986)Early 1986–early 1987John Cyriis — vocals Juan Garcia — guitar Bernie Versailles — guitar Mike Zaputil — bass Chuck Profus — drumsMetal Hammer Roadshow 1 (1986) Unstoppable Force (1987)Early 1987–June 1988John Cyriis — vocals Jay Weslord — guitar James Murphy — guitar Richard Bateman — bass Chuck Profus — drumsMad Locust Rising: Live at the Hammersmith Odeon June '87 (1989)Band inactive July 1988–19971998Bruce Hall — lead vocals Juan Garcia — guitar, backing vocals Bernie Versailles — guitar, backing vocals Mike Zaputil — bass Chuck Profus — drums, backing vocals1998–2001Bruce Hall — lead vocals Juan Garcia — guitar, backing vocals Bernie Versailles — guitar, backing vocals Karlos Medina — bass, backing vocals Chuck Profus — drums, backing vocalsAgents of Steel demos (1998) Deny the Poison demo (1999) Omega Conspiracy (1999) "Forever Black" (2000)Summer 2001–September 2007Bruce Hall — lead vocals Juan Garcia — guitar, backing vocals Bernie Versailles — guitar, backing vocals Karlos Medina — bass, backing vocals Rigo Amezcua — drumsOrder of the Illuminati (2003) Earth Under Lucifer (2003) Live @ Dynamo Open Air (2005) Alienigma (2007)September 2007–April 2010Bruce Hall — lead vocals Juan Garcia — guitar, backing vocals Bernie Versailles — guitar, backing vocals Robert Cardenas — bass, backing vocals Rigo Amezcua — drumsrowspan="2" May 2010–June 2011John Cyriis — lead vocals Juan Garcia — guitar, backing vocals Bernie Versailles — guitar, backing vocals Robert Cardenas — bass, backing vocals Rigo Amezcua — drumsBand inactive July 2011–December 2018January–April 2019John Cyriis — vocals Damian Giron — guitar Igor Lopes — guitar Joe McGuigan — bass Kyle Abbott — drumsrowspan="3" April 2019John Cyriis — vocals Leonardo Da Rocha — guitar Igor Lopes — guitar Hein Willekens — bass Kyle Abbott — drumsMay–June 2019John Cyriis — vocals Nikolay Atanasov — guitar Joe McGuigan — bass Kyle Abbott — drumsJune 2019–June 2020John Cyriis — vocals Nikolay Atanasov — guitar Bill Simmons — guitar Joe McGuigan — bass Dennis Kruse Strømberg — drums"Separation of Church and Fate" (2019) "Way of the Mechanism" (2019)June–July 2020John Cyriis — vocals Nikolay Atanasov — guitar Bill Simmons — guitar Vinicius Carvalho — guitar Eddie Webb — bass Rasmus Kjær — drumsJuly 2020–January 2022John Cyriis — vocals Nikolay Atanasov — guitar Vinicius Carvalho — guitar Shuichi Oni — bass Rasmus Kjær — drumsNo Other Godz Before Me (2021) "Terminator of Souls" (2021)January 2022–July 2023John Cyriis — vocals Vinicius Carvalho — guitar Shuichi Oni — bass Rasmus Kjær — drumsrowspan="4" July–November 2023John Cyriis — vocals Vinicius Carvalho — guitar Justin Zych — guitar Kelly Conlon — bass Lamar Little — drumsNovember 2023John Cyriis — vocals Vinicius Carvalho — guitar Nikolay Atanasov — guitar Kelly Conlon — bass Lamar Little — drumsLate 2024–early 2025John Cyriis — vocals Johnny Moraes — guitar Ricardo França — guitar George Robb — bass Marcus Dotta — drumsSpring 2025John Cyriis — vocals Johnny Moraes — guitar