Shrapnel Records is a
guitar-oriented
record label started in 1980 by record producer
Mike Varney. Guitarist
Marty Friedman (ex-
Megadeth, ex-Cacophony), one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album
Unsung Guitar Heroes II in 1980 with the band Vixen. Vixen would later change their name to
Hawaii and release the album
One Nation Underground for Shrapnel. In 1981, a friend gave Mike Varney a tape featuring a 17-year-old Swedish guitarist named
Yngwie Malmsteen. A year later, Malmsteen wrote to the label stating that he wanted to export his music to America. Varney, who started writing a column called "Spotlight" for
Guitar Player magazine in 1982, featured Malmsteen in his February 1983 column. The record executive flew Yngwie to California and set him up with vocalist
Ron Keel's new band called
Steeler. Steeler's self-titled album became a best selling release for Shrapnel Records.