Band:	Steel Panther
Album:	Feel The Steel
Style:	Glam metal, Hard rock
Release date:	June 08, 2009
Guest review by:	omne metallum

01. Death To All But Metal
02. Asian Hooker
03. Community Property
04. Eyes Of A Panther
05. Fat Girl
06. Eatin' Ain't Cheatin'
07. Party All Day
08. Turn Out The Lights
09. Stripper Girl
10. The Shocker
11. Girl From Oklahoma
12. Hell's On Fire [bonus]

How do you review a band that prides themselves on not being taken seriously? American parody party boys Steel Panther proudly wave the flag for comedy metal and defy critics. Feel The Steel is the debut album from the band who saw themselves suddenly one of the hottest commodities in metal.

Feel The Steel has its moments that will make you laugh on the first few listens; it's not Shakespeare by any means, but does it really matter if it gets a wry smile out of you? From outlandish sex puns and rhymes to odes to women of varying qualities, the band kick the bar from its position so that it hits new lows while laughing all the way.

One of the main strengths that separates Steel Panther from other comedy bands is that they do craft some decent songs to support the joke. If you were to replace the lyrics, "Death To All But Metal" and "Eyes Of A Panther" would be great rockers, whilst "Party All Day" and "Fat Girl" would still be great 80s pastiches. The band put out some great music that allows some of the pressure to be taken off of the punchline so that it is not their sole draw. You'll find yourself throwing the shocker in the air as you headbang along with the music.

The band are talented musicians, Satchel's guitar work is top class and gives the songs a life after the joke, featuring some great fret work such as on "Fat Girl" and "Eatin' Ain't Cheatin'". Zadinia and Foxx hold up the rhythm section well, while not straying from the back of the mix; it does allow Starr and Satchel to focus on their roles. As for Starr? He balances the role of singing and comedian well, balancing good vocal work with punctuating the songs with punchlines.

The problem that befalls Steel Panther is much the same as other comedy bands, that a joke repeated diminishes in impact each time. While the music holds up superbly, it is hard to want to re-listen to the same worn out joke regularly. An instrumental version of the album would find itself played more often; in contrast, the standard version finds itself a rare play, because in order for the jokes to feel fresh you need to allow dust to collect and obscure your memories of the songs. The band would wear out the jokes on subsequent albums, but Feel The Steel avoids this pitfall due to being the original blueprint that the band would repeat with diminishing returns on future releases.

If you somehow avoided the band when they were all over the airwaves like herpes backstage at a concert, Feel The Steel is where I would start (and stop) if you are interested in hearing more from Steel Panther. Able to support the joke with great musicianship, the band were at their prime and the comedy had yet to grow stale at this point.