For those of us that have grown up in the eighties, heavy metal was not only emerging thrash metal bands like Slayer, Anthrax and Metallica, but much more radio friendly at the time and mainstream bands like Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, Warrant and Def Leppard just to mention a few. Those days of spandex leggings, long hair full of hair spray, bandanas, colorful shirts and jackets are long gone and stayed back three decades ago. Or so we thought … That is until Steel Panther walked straight out of a time machine brought here by Doc Brown and Marty McFly from Back to the Future. Or is it other way around and all twisted, horny and profanity laden boys are bringing us back to the past?
But let’s get back to our times first. On their extensive Heavy Metal Rules tour, Steel Panther brought special guest, Los Angeles based Stitched Up Heart. Founded and fronted by Alecia “Mixi” Demner, the band has released one studio album called Never Alone, all the way back in 2016. Now the band is working on their second album called Darkness slated to be released sometime next year.
The band plays modern hard rock with some elements of heavy metal. Mixi is absolutely sensational on vocals, she can hit any note imaginable, and provide a wide range of vocal possibilities to her songs. The band’s main core has stayed pretty much intact during the last few years, and seems like it has become a solid four piece to go forward.
On this tour they have a solid set of seven best songs. They start off with This Skin, Warrior and Catch Me When I Fall and for the last one Mixi also played guitar. All songs were flawlessly played, with great passion. However, though the public was appreciative for their effort, they were not as active as the band wanted them to be. Most efforts to get people jumping or waving for a quick crowd video by the band mostly went in vain. The difference between the styles of Stitched Up Heart and Steel Panther is just too wide, and it showed. Still everybody loved their music and performance.
Of course they played their biggest hits. Finally Free, released in 2015 and reached 22nd position in the mainstream rock charts, and Monster, the similarly successful follow-up single, as usual were left for desert to close up their set. The band definitely earned some new fans during the show and got much needed exposure to a larger audience. Both shows in New York City were sold out.
As you already understand Steel Panther is a whole different animal. It’s hard to really put my thoughts on where they belong in today’s music industry. One thing is for sure, they are loved by a large audience. Is it because of their unapologetic glam style, is it because of their bombastic shows? Personally I don’t see their music as something meaningful, songs like Let Me Cum In, All I Wanna Do Is Fuck, Asian Hooker, Fuck Everybody and so on speak for themselves.
Steel Panther is a show band, with over the top on stage persona, that will make you forget all your life troubles, free your mind and don’t care about a thing. People laughed, got engaged in standup comedy acts, danced, and laughed some more. Their show is a must see for those longing for a nostalgic 80’s show, and oh boy, do they deliver it, or for someone just wishing for a darn good time.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Andris Jansons
Steel Panther
Stitched Up Heart
