Heavy metal is at times inherently ridiculous. It’s a genre that’s both made for satire and one that seems to already be engaged in self-satire. Spinal Tap, the Darkness and Tenacious D all have engaged in varying degrees of comedic metal. Steel Panther is in that same fertile zone.
Think of the band as a musical codpiece. The band zeroes in on hair metal for full skewering, with its oversexed vibe, relentless innuendo and bizarro kabuki androgyny. Other subsets of the metal world might dwell on Norse mythology, satanism and morbid obsessions, but Steel Panther mostly makes do with teased-out tresses, spandex and a porn-centric So-Cal aesthetic.
The first track on the band’s new record, “Lower the Bar,” is called “Goin’ In The Backdoor.” Most of its material seems to be about what some would call non-standard sex acts. Steel Panther sound like Van Halen meets Motley Cru meets Ratt meets Wayne’s World, complete with operatic shrieks, misogyny, shredding guitar solos and libidinal overdrive. In a world that already has Ted Nugent, it’s hard to see why we need Steel Panther, but the same could be said of Nugent, and the excess of it all might be the entire point. Too much is never enough.
Steel Panther performs at Webster Theater, 31 Webster St., Hartford, on Sunday, April 29, at 9 p.m. Tickets are $25 to $30. 860-525-5553 and webstertheater.com
