LEGENDS STAGE in ROCK ‘N RAVIOLI: Steelheart Founder & Lead Vocalist Miljenko Matijevic

Born Miljenko Matijevic on November 30, 1964, in Zagreb, Croatia. He moved to America, with his family, at the young age of six, and began crafting his singing voice. Miljenko knew in his early teens he wanted to be a rock star. He joined a newly formed band named “Red Alert” in the 1980’s who later changed the name to “SteelHeart”. SteelHeart became popular for the multi-octave range of Miljenko’s singing voice, well- crafted melodies, power ballads as well as heavy hitting, hard driving, edgy guitar riffs. Miljenko also was the voice of Mark Wahlberg’s character Chris “Iggy” Cole in the movie Rock Star.

About Steelheart: SteelHeart’s self titled debut album ‘SteelHeart’ was released in 1990, bringing them almost immediate commercial success, with critics comparing their forceful hard rock sound to Led Zeppelin’s. Since then, Miljenko and band-mates have showcased their broad influences and the raw strength of his vocals; their sound drawing comparisons to hard rock and pop metal greats like Ratt and Whitesnake. Top hits include “She’s Gone,” “I’ll Never Let You Go (Angel Eyes)” “Can’t Stop Me Loving’ You” “Mama Don’t You Cry.” to name a few. The song, “SteelHeart” featured Miljenko hitting the highest note of his song catalogue. While the ballad “Mama Don’t You Cry” charted #1 in many East Asian Countries, including Hong Kong, prompting their live unplugged performance in Hong Kong followed by an extensive unplugged tour of Asia in September, 1992. The album did not reap the same commercial success as StealHeart’s debut album, reaching only #144 on Billboard charts, signaling the grunge-sound invasion was starting to take force in the music business.