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Album Reviews : Steel Panther – Lower The Bar

By on March 22, 2017

Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll – it’s an almighty combination that has been around for hundreds of years, but when it comes to American glam rockers Steel Panther, it’s always been the basis of their entire existence.

The comedy quartet have been around for a matter of years, and on the 24th of March will drop their latest effort ‘Lower The Bar’, full of big riffs, high pitched squeals, and the same hilarious lyrical content we’ve all become so fond of.

The album opens with ‘Goin’ in the Backdoor’, and if you’re wondering what this song is about then Steel Panther is probably not for you. As you would expect the song has a classic heavy metal riff and a solid melody, but its charm lies in the constant sexual innuendos within the lyrics.

‘Lower The Bar’ is everything we’ve come to expect from Steel Panther, taking their typical heavy metal sound and adding a bunch of groovy riffs. You can often find yourself stuck between two mindsets, either praising the skills these musicians possess, or questioning why they waste these skills to constantly sing about their balls.

There are perks to being in a comedy metal band though; Steel Panther have always been able to get away with endless crude lyrics. This album also spurs on the side of caution at times, and the songs that have really familiar riffs, or stick to simple chord progressions don’t seem to bother you because they’re so damn enjoyable.

This album does have a couple songs that are genuine highlights though, the love song-esque That’s When You Came In has solid acoustic portions that emphasise the heavier riffs later on, and Pussy Ain’t Free has a riff reminiscent of softer Nirvana and a melody that definitely stuck with me after every listen.

Steel Panther are at a point now where they have been around for so long, and are definite masters of their craft. As previously mentioned, even when they falter by either re-using riffs or writing songs that seem eerily familiar; it doesn’t really matter because they aren’t a serious heavy metal band. This album contains 11 tracks, and although 1 song is a Cheap Trick cover, 10 of the 11 songs are either about sex, drugs or sex and drugs.

In saying that Steel Panther will continue to be Steel Panther, and even if they’re starting to run out of ideas, we will continue to enjoy them. ‘Lower The Bar’ is exactly what we have come to expect, and won’t disappoint anyone that’s enjoyed their previous releases. Still, I can’t help but wonder what they could have achieved as a full-fledged heavy metal outfit. Guess we’ll never know.

Band: Steel Panther
Album: Lower The Bar
Year: 2017
Genre: Glam Metal
Label: Kobalt Music
Origin: USA