Singles

Steel Panther - I Want It That Way

Charlie Ralph 25/06/2010

Rating: 0.5/5

One of the frequent points Steel Panther fans use to defend the Californian quartet is that "it's just a bit of fun". This is because it is undoubted that the music lacks depth when it comes to lyrics (although in this case these are the work of the Backstreet Boys, their writers hardly poets) and melody, and should purely be enjoyed on a basic, fun level. This argument however, lacks sense, as all music is listened to for enjoyment or "as a bit of fun". So, next time you're looking for something to listen to for fun, you're probably best off looking for absolutely anything other than Steel Panther.

One might consider negatively reviewing Steel Panther covering a Backstreet Boys song as shooting fish in a barrel, but if that's the case then these particular fish deserve to be chopped up into sushi and fed to rabid dogs. The choice of song for a start is purely intended as an act of ironic humor as no-one can deny that as pop music, Backstreet Boys were about as much of a guilty pleasure as you could find for a lot of people. The transition of the song into a "sleaze-rock" tune is minimal, seemingly adding heavy guitars and little else, basically a note-for-note cover. Steel Panther's style is effortlessly irritating, grating on the listener before the first chorus is reached, the song barely varies throughout and even fans of the bands balls-out debut album and lead single 'Death To All But Metal' would struggle to be entertained by this plodding trudge through mediocrity.

Steel Panther once again seek to cash in on the obsessive fanbase of the genre of music they play. Whilst many of them will defend these bands and their rock for toddlers approach to music, I struggle to believe that even they would find listening to 'I Want It That Way' by Steel Panther an entertaining way to spend two minutes and forty-eight seconds.