ALBUM REVIEW : STEEL PANTHER — Lower The Bar
It had been three long, clean, filthless years almost to the day since the Californian glam metal band Steel Panther released an album, but with spring came another bright and sunny gift: A new Steel Panther LP named Lower the Bar released on March 24th 2017. Even though the band drip-fed tracks from the new album to their fans since late 2016, waiting for the official release of the shocker rockers’ 5th full-length effort had me champing at the bit. Thankfully, it did not disappoint but, if we’re honest, how could an album whose first song is called “Goin’ in the Backdoor” be anything but amazing? Lower the Bar is a quintessentially Steel Panther album. Though it contained a few more power ballads than I was expecting, the album as a whole is still filled with catchy riffs, singer Michael Starr’s signature high screams and low grunts, innuendos, lyrics so filthy you feel the need to take a shower once you’re done listening to the album, and all the other key Steel Panther ingredients that have made them the unexpected sensation that they are. Tackling their usual subjects like their liberated sex life with “Anything Goes,” partying to excess with the song “Now the Fun Starts,” and their manhood with the catchy-as-herpes “I Got What You Want,” the new songs on Lower the Bar are sure to leave you singing the most inappropriate of lyrics at the top of your lungs in no time. The timeless rockers have also broached more – dare I say – grown up topics such as the economics of getting laid (“Pussy Ain’t Free”), the dangers of sticking your dick in crazy (“Poontang Boomerang”), being true to yourself as you age (“Walk of Shame”), and knowing when to walk away from a bad lay (“Wasted Too Much Time”). Though the material may seem more mature, the comedic spin put on it by the quartet ensure that it really isn’t.
Steel Panther - "Poontang Boomerang"
Thankfully, despite the album being called Lower the Bar, it does anything but for the rockers. Through their musical talent and their hilariously trashy lyrics, Steel Panther has scored another home run. Their new offering will leave you feeling exactly the same way a good lay should: delighted, sticky, and reconsidering your life choices that led to that very moment.
Open E Records
Release date: March 24, 2017
