Category Archives: Steel Panther
Steel Panther – Balls Out
Steel Panther – Balls Out (2011, Universal Republic Records)
1. “In The Future” … 1:28
2. “Supersonic Sex Machine” … 3:10
3. “Just Like Tiger Woods” … 3:41
4. “17 Girls In A Row” … 3:41
5. “If You Really, Really Love Me” … 2:25
6. “It Won’t Suck Itself” … 2:54
7. “Tomorrow Night” … 2:58
8. “Why Can’t You Trust Me” … 4:01
9. “That’s What Girls Are For” … 3:59
10. “Gold-Digging Whore” … 3:55
11. “I Like Drugs” … 4:19
12. “Critter” … 3:38
13. “Let Me Come In” … 3:30
14. “Weenie Ride” … 4:20
Band:
Michael Starr – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals
Satchel – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Lexxi Foxxx – Bass, Backing Vocals
Stix Zadinia – Drums, Backing Vocals
Additional Musicians:
Chad Kroger – Vocals (“It Won’t Suck Itself”)
Dane Cook – Spoken Words (“In The Future”)
Producer: Jay Ruston
The mighty Steel Panther has returned with another round of heavy metal parody. What’s great about these guys is that while they certainly have the glam-metal mimbo image down pat, these guys can actually get pretty heavy when they want to. Just check out “Death To All But Metal” from Feel The Steel or this album’s “Supersonic Sex Machine” (which apes Judas Priest’s “Rapid Fire” quite well). As far as musicianship goes, these guys are no joke.
There’s a bit of a trade-off with this album in comparison to Feel The Steel. FTS had funnier songs (“Asian Girl”, “Death To All But Metal”, “Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’”, “Community Property”) but I think overall Balls Out is a much more consistent listen. And this is coming from someone who LOVED Feel The Steel! I’m not sure if the joke has played itself out or what, maybe it’s a case of “been there, done that” but I wasn’t as entertained by the lyrics this time.
Don’t get me wrong, the lyrics are humorous and still a big part of Steel Panther’s charm. They are, after all, a parody and you get the overly sexist lyrics that belittle women (seventeen women if you believe Michael’s tale in “17 Girls in a Row”) with references to anal sex, oral sex, gold diggers, “weenie rides”, drugs and masturbation while asking important questions like “Why can’t you trust me?”
Musically, their style hasn’t changed a bit. It’s glam, it’s hard rock, it’s heavy metal! Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Warrant, Poison, Ratt, etc. are still the main influences and Satchel gets to show off just how much of a monster he is with his guitar. There’s some filler such as “Weenie Ride” and “I Like Drugs” but overall this is a very strong rock/metal release that puts it near the top of the pack for 2011.
Highlights: ”Supersonic Sex Machine”, “Just Like Tiger Woods”, “17 Girls In A Row”, “It Won’t Suck Itself”, “If You Really, Really Love Me”, “Critter”
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STEEL PANTHER – Feel the Steel
Steel Panther – Feel the Steel (2009, Universal Republic Records)
1. “Death to All But Metal” … 2:30
2. “Asian Hooker” … 4:02
3. “Community Property” … 3:39
4. “Eyes Of A Panther” … 3:37
5. “Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)” … 4:38
6. “Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’” … 3:50
7. “Party All Day (Fuck All Night)” … 3:03
8. “Turn Out the Lights” … 4:24
9. “Stripper Girl” … 3:35
10. “The Shocker” … 4:10
11. “Girl From Oklahoma” … 3:57
Band:
Michael Starr – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals
Satchel – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Lexxi Foxxx – Bass, Backing Vocals
Stix Zadinia – Drums, Backing Vocals
Additional Musicians:
Justin Hawkins – Co-Lead Vocals (“Party All Day (Fuck All Night)”)
M. Shadows – Co-Lead Vocals (“Turn Out the Lights”)
Allison Robertson – Lead Guitar (“Party All Day (Fuck All Night)”)
Scott Ian – Rhythm Guitar (“Asian Hooker”)
Corey Taylor – Backing Vocals (“Death to All But Metal”, “Asian Hooker”, “Eyes of a Panther”)
Matt Nelson – Backing Vocals (“Eyes of a Panther”, “Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)”, “Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’”, “The Shocker”)
Brett Anderson – Backing Vocals (“Eyes of a Panther”)
Joe Lester – Backing Vocals (“Community Property”, “Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)”, “Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’”, “The Shocker”)
Producer: Jay Ruston
Steel Panther is a band that is a satire of my favorite rock genre — glam metal. At various points in their career, they have been known as Danger Kitty (in a popular Discover card commercial), Metal Skool and up until a few years ago — Metal Shop (under this name they self-released an album called Hole Patrol in 2003). Having signed with Universal (What? A major label signing ANYTHING that has to do with glam metal ?!), the band once again changed their name, deciding on Steel Panther. Definitely a cool glam band name, but I think I like Danger Kitty most!
Steel Panther has been an extremely popular L.A. club band for years, many big name celebrities have come to their shows and sung along with them on all kinds of ’80s hair metal songs (a number of musicians cameo on this album). They were initially a ’80s rock/metal cover band, but as you can see, they have moved on to original material. The music is spot on and the production is great. The album covers the bases well and sounds like an actual ’80s band and I mean that in a good way. This is a parody, but the music itself is never really the punchline, only the lyrics are… which are sexist, macho, filthy and perverted. Just like any good glam band’s lyrics would be!
Guitarist Satchel (real name Russ Parrish) really shines on this album and Ralph “Michael Starr” Saenz is an amazing vocalist. Plus, he knows a thing or two about hair band excess having briefly been the lead singer of L.A. Guns in ’97 and ’98. Ralph also fronts the Roth-era Van Halen cover band The Atomic Punks and throughout the album, you can definitely hear why he’s a great fit to cover the Roth tunes.
I see a lot of reviews saying this album has no staying power, Steel Panther is a one night joke, blah blah blah. Look, the lyrics are intentionally juvenile. Even after years of being familiar with some of these songs (the band has rotated them on their MySpace page for a number of years), I still think they’re funny, but I have a genuine love for the genre so if you aren’t a huge hair/glam fan, then I could see where this could get old fast for some people.
Forget the lyrics though, the most important thing is the actual music and it is great. I would put Steel Panther up against any glam band in their prime. That’s just how good this music is, which seems to be a blend of Poison, Motley Crue, Warrant, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi and Van Halen. As much as I’m defending the lyrics though, I would love to hear another album from this band dropping the intentionally humorous lyrics but keeping the same exact sound because I hate the fact that this band is getting labeled as “just” a comedy act.
Highlights: “Death to All But Metal”, “Asian Hooker”, “Community Property”, “Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’”, “Stripper Girl”, “Turn Out the Lights”, “The Shocker”
www.steelpantherrocks.com
www.myspace.com/steelpantherkicksass
