Steel Panther are no joke, despite the fact that their first two albums debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Comedy chart. These guys have been routinely topping rock charts and selling out shows all over the world since releasing their major label debut Feel The Steel back in 2009. Having paid their dues playing covers of ’80’s hair metal hits on LA’s storied Sunset Strip as well as doing time as a Van Halen tribute act, Steel Panther have proven time and time again they are more than a mere Spinal Tap type parody of a mock rock band but rather a quartet of skilled musicians sincerely dedicated to celebrating their passion and exuberance for the spirit of ’80’s hair metal. There is no denying the hard rock pedigree of both lead singer Michael Starr (Ralph Saenz), once the lead singer for L.A. Guns, as well as lead guitarist Satchel (Russ Parrish) who, after graduating from The Guitar Institute of Technology at Hollywood’s Musician’s Institute in the late ’80’s, played guitar for Judas Priest singer Rob Halford as well as Sebastian Bach. Ironically, Lower The Bar is anything but, with Starr and company actually toning things down a bit lyrically from 2014’s All You Can Eat homage to certain oral proclivities whose infamous cover blasphemously parodied Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. Perhaps taking cues from critics who felt the band had gone too far Lower The Bar’s innocuous song titles “Anything Goes”, “That’s When You Came In”, “Wrong Side Of The Tracks”, “Now The Fun Starts”, “Wasted Too Much Time”, “I Got What You Want” and “Walk Of Shame” seem to indicate a slight shift away from the more extreme x rated nature of their previous efforts “Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin'”, “Party All Day (F*ck All Night)”, “It Won’t Suck Itself”, “Gloryhole”, “Bukkake Tears”, “Gangbang At The Old Folks Home” and “F*cking My Heart In The Ass” to name a few. Still, make no mistake, there are few if any euphemisms here, Steel Panther continue to revel in their own brand of in your face let it all hang out shock rock.
Rating: 7.5/10
