Steel Panther's Wild & Raunchy Ride

You better "Feel The Steel" this Thursday in Royal Oak.

Even back in the glory days of 80s hair metal, most bands would have not named their songs “Asian Hooker” or “The Shocker”, but believe me- most of the lyrics of the songs would have probably alluded to it.

The whole era has to be looked at in a very tongue-in-cheek time period where mindless entertainment ruled and spandex and big hair ruled even more. As much as the Sunset Strip based band Steel Panther would like to tell you that they were part of that era of music (but really weren’t), the band is helping bring a bit of that energy back into the music world with the release of their album, Feel The Steel.

The album is a hilariously juvenile and entertaining 11 songs, that discusses the band’s love for drugs, drinking and girls- just like it was back in the late 80s. The album starts with “Death To All But Metal,” a blazing condemnation of the current music scene that ends with lyrics that let’s just say ends up with two famous rappers getting shot with a certain fluid. Don’t expect anything too serious on Feel The Steel- the album is meant to revel in the excesses of the hair metal era and not provide any insight on world issues. If you look at the album on that level, it’s a major success.

In 2009, there weren’t too many albums that found constant repeat listens to when driving- but Feel The Steel was on the short list of ones I did listen to a lot last year.

After usual residencies in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Steel Panther is making their way around the U.S. and play their first Detroit show on June 24^th, when the Panther hits the Royal Oak Theater. So, if you want to relive the hair metal days, then be prepared to Feel The Steel as Steel Panther makes you bang your head and laugh your ass off at the same time.

Steel Panther plays at the Royal Oak Theater on Thursday, June 24^th. Tickets are $10.11 and are available at www.tickets.com. Additional dates and band info can be found at www.steelpantherrocks.com.