WARNING: This review contains explicit content!
Steel Panther deserve an award for managing to be the most lewd, crude and offensive yet enjoyable, hilarious and ass kicking band I've ever heard. These guys are all about doing one thing and that is having FUN! The band plays in the vein of 80's Sunset Strip hair metal and they certainly dress the part in the booklet giving the likes of Dokken, Twisted Sister and Poison in their prime a run for their money.

Panther's second album "Balls Out" features a mix of paint by number hair metal rockers (still no shortage of humor and entertainment on these tracks) and some more rather infectious tunes that really stand out musically. The albums opening intro ‘In The Future’ (taking place in the year 6969) is clearly a parody of Motley Crue's ‘In The Beginning’ from "Shout At The Devil". My two favorites tracks are ‘17 Girls In A Row’ (the guitar work here would make Warren DeMartini proud, this song could have easily fit on Ratt's "Detonator") and ‘Tomorrow Night’ whose heavy opening intertwined with classic metal guitar recall Stryper's "To Hell With The Devil" though the topic of this song "jerking off tonight cause the party with lots of pussy and drugs is tomorrow" is a far cry from anything Stryper would ever talk about! ‘It Won't Suck Itself’ features a verse from Nickelback mainman Chad Kroeger and a smokin guitar solo from the great Mr. Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme). The ending of ‘I Like Drugs’ is hilarious as a police officer asks lead singer Michael Starr if he has any warrants and his response is "I got their first CD but you can't have it mother fucker!"

I found it fascinating to learn that the bands guitarist Satchel (aka Russ Parrish) is actually from Rob Halford's former band Fight. Satchel does one hell of a job with Panther and plays some really killer solos. From start to finish this album is one hell of a ride and the songs are so catchy that you will find yourself singing along in the middle of the first listen.

This album comes highly recommended as long as you can take its Rated X content and if you can't then you better grow a pair of BALLS!