American glam metal group is known for its outrageous lyrics, to the point of drawing criticism for misogyny
Since becoming known, the Steel Panther is the target of criticism. The band, formed in 2000 in Los Angeles, in the United States, aims to parody glam metal, or hard rock, from the 1980s. To do so, it uses the sound and visual aesthetics of the period, but with outlandish lyrics.
Sometimes the content comes up against sexist and sometimes even racist stereotypes, as in “Asian Hooker”. On the album track Feel the Steel (2009), the group sings the following verses, as freely translated from English to Portuguese: “I’m in Tokyo looking for a slut; I tried to get some dick, but I don’t speak Japanese; I found a geisha, took her for a walk; She wrapped a tuna roll around my dick and av*dia is on her knees; Suck ef*de, it smells like sushi”.
Although this and other songs feature controversial verses, the members guarantee not to be sexist or prejudiced. In an interview with Igor Miranda websitethe drummer Stix Zadinia — who makes up the group alongside Michael Starr (voice), Satchel (guitar) and Spyder (low) — states that “half of the Steel Panther audience is made up of women” and that “they love” the show.
“We do what we do. If the person doesn’t like it, that’s okay. If you want to call us sexist, if you want to insult us, go ahead. We know who we are, we know our feelings, we know the relationship we have with our audience, which is made up of both men and women. To be honest, our audience is probably the loudest at a heavy metal show and if you look at them, you’ll see that half the audience are women — and they love it. It doesn’t matter what they call us.”
Another type of criticism is common to Steel Panther: the humorous approach to the heavy metal scene, which is not so open to it. Bands like Brazilian massacre It’s the English Spinal Tapboth derived from other productions (the humorous Hermes and Renato and the film This is Spinal Taprespectively), even address comedy in the segment, but they are rare examples — and, not by chance, also responsible for dividing the public’s opinion.

Regarding this, Zadinia admitted that he was worried about the criticism at first. However, he no longer cares, as “we are established musicians and we know what we are doing”.
“We don’t apologize for that. We do what we do because we love it. And then, people may like it or not. It’s their choice, it’s okay. But when people criticize the band, I don’t pay much attention to it. The proof is that even with the criticism, we have a solid fan base. You can say whatever you want, it doesn’t matter.”
Idol support
Despite the negative comments, several established rock and heavy metal musicians have already shown support for Steel Panther. Names like Corey Taylor (Slipknot), Justin Hawkins (The Darkness), Scott Ian (Anthrax) It is Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard, Dio, Whitesnake) have already participated in his albums. O Kiss took the band to be their opening act, including in Brazil, in 2015.
Another artist who recently linked up with Steel Panther is Dweezil Zappason of the legendary Frank Zappa. He participated in the song “Is My D*ck Enough”present on the most recent album, On the Prowl. Regarding the collaboration, Stix Zadinia comments:
“I know him a little, but Satchel and him are friends. He recorded it straight from home, so that’s the beauty of the internet. We sent the song and asked if he would play it. He said yes, so we sent it and he did his homework, sending it back, then we mixed it. Satchel and Michael Starr went to his studio, as he has a mixing studio using Dolby Atmos technology. He’s a great musician and an amazing guy, it was a great honor for us. We like collaborating with other people.”
Source: Rollingstone

Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.