If we can say anything to take the curse off the idea of Steel Panther it’s that they’re an 80s hair rock version of the Goldie Lookin Chain: the comedy comes from both the characters the band portray (the drummer goes by the name of Stix Zadinia – say it out loud) and the deliberately gauche and sexist subject matter of their riff-perfect recreations of Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and Motley Crue’s classic sounds.
It seems that Steel Panther are formed from various session rockers on the LA scene – they can really play, and they’ve got the tattoo sleeves to suggest they once took it seriously. Now they’ve a hit show on Sunset Strip, performing covers from the era of makeup and excess alongside their own puerile masterpieces like ‘Turn Out The Lights’ (“Turn out the lights before you suck my dick / Someone beat you with an ugly stick”), ‘Girl From Oklahoma’ (What’d you have to do for that backstage pass? Cuz I found a Poison laminate inside of your ass”) or the charming ‘The Shocker’ (“Two in the Pink and one in the stink”). And no, none of that is funny when you write it down. But the laughs come with the ridiculous, audacious commitment the band have to the project. It’s like the guys behind South Park formed a metal band (while they were still funny).
And yeah, we probably won’t still be playing the album ‘Feel The Steel’ this time next year. But right now it’s amusing our immature little brains, no end. And the clips of them arguing, preening and talking the misogynist talk on YouTube are surprisingly endearing and charming.
Death to all but metal.
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COMMENTS (11)
They've been around for ages, a good live rep and weren't overtly marketed as a joke up til now. As UK market is notoriously slow on the uptake when it comes to stuff like this.
Still, yet another op for UK media to get the 'Spinal Tap' angle in... not that, after Anvil, it's like *really* fuckin lazy/obvious etc...
Dames, you're a stupid fucker and you give the rest of us Americans a bad name. Steel Panther ARE A SPOOF BAND! You're just too fucking stupid to know this. And for the record, everybody in the original metal spoof band, Spinal Tap, were AMERICANS! The movie as made in AMERICA, so don't act like the british bring up Spinal Tap because they are a product of Britain, they were just a SPOOF product, spoofing the whole genre, and it was funnier to give them all British accents.
Go kill yourself.
Well yes, you're quite right. I shouldve reviewed a spoof heavy metal band without mentioning the original spoof heavy metal band. And I should not have reviewed an album that's only just coming out in the UK (where this website is based) because it's already come out in a different country. Clearly I'm a cunt. I am killing myself as I write this.
They initially weren't a spoof band, just a good live band judging by reports from LA and NYC for a start.
But it's easy for lazy aspects of the media, given the genre, to play the 'spoof' card to the UK market... given that it's populated by massively inept and simplistic music consumers... and peeps who get excited by Blur reforming, Doves, Oasis, Ting Tings, Lily Allen... what fun.
meh
Yes, you should go on. Go on and on and on about whatever it is we British are supposed to have done that's wrong by having some bands that you don't like.
And then come back to us when you've found out that Steel Panther is a deliberate spoof band who are really funny, deliberately. And we can start this fucking conversation again.
*Does Joey Deacon face*
Twisted Sister, Manowar, Scorpions even the poxy Darkness had a balance between the ludicrous and a good show (& sales, happy punters, record sales) at one stage or another. Look up Steel Panther on wiki for a start, they've been doing it for a minute, live-wise.
But the only thing that lets it down repeatedly is lack of mainstream label skill and acumen in working with this sort of stuff so it repeatedly comes across as fucking shite. Then they whinge about 'downloads' or some other bs killing the industry.
So you're assisting these cunts by working the (easy/lazy/cliched) 'spoof' angle. Why???
Right, so I think what you're saying is that there've been loads of better semi-spoof metal bands but that the genre is generally mishandled by record labels. And bastards like me are fuelling that situation by writing reviews about a completely spoof metal band (who could be a semi-spoof metal band if only yadda yadda yadda). Am I right?
Crikey.
I'm not assisting any cunts or working any angle, Dames. All I'm doing is reviewing the Steel Panther album and saying it made me laugh. Which is, I believe, its purpose. I also filmed an interview with the band (on the site soon) and they were very funny then too. They were in character the whole time, running through semi-improvised skits - as they do on their YouTube page.
This is, it seems, the way THEY'VE chosen to go. Not the British label. Or me. I think you need to take your argument up with them.
I love you really. can I have a hug?
Don't worry, your review was absolutely on the money. They are a spoof band; the difference is that they are an extremely talented spoof band who can all play and sing.
What a bunch of spastics you all are.
How on earth can you have any semblance of a discussion with that bunch of poodles leering down at you from the top of the page