Friday night in London and there is no way of wandering around without something to do; this city is bursting out of life, is incredible. Just some time after 19:00 I arrived at Brixton Academy, for a unique gig. After their successful mini tour in the U.K, in autumn 2009 -which I think was their first- STEEL PANTHER came back to England for a great performance.

SIRENS, was the supporting act, as I found out by the time I entered the venue. "Cool name and appropriate for a show like that", I thought, "it would be even better if it is an all-female band". After an hour since the doors had opened, the lights went down and a pompous musical intro started playing, four ladies dressed as nurses paraded on stage and I agreed with my mates that this is to impressive entrance for an opening band, just because it requires money, so I assumed that somehow I missed the support act. For about twenty minutes there were girls on stage performing a stripping show…. And yes, these were SIRENS. How cool is that? The support act to be a bunch of ladies who are professional strippers? Personally, I found that really unique. It is the first support "band" I am reviewing that I do not have to comment on sound arrangements!!! Wicked!!!!

For STEEL PANTHER, feels like we waited for ever, until the moment that some blown up condoms appeared and people started playing with them, forgetting about the time. Around 21:00, STEEL PANTHER hit the stage leaving in everybody's mind the impression that SIRENS made a more stunning start. But that was only at the beginning, because what followed was really awesome. First of all, the sound quality was something more than great, despite the fact that there was only one guitarist on stage. "Eyes Of A Panther" proved that the arrangements were perfect. This gig was something between a live concert and a stand up comedy show, not only because STEEL PANTHER's lyric content but also because till now, with one album released, a specific time period had to be filled. Songs followed like "Eating Ain't Cheating", "Fat Girl" and more. For "Stripper Girl" there was another group of ladies that joined the band on stage for that special song! The whole gig was an amazing party, the band seemed to enjoy it and definitely the fans. "I Want Pussy" is a new song, and for that special song(!) the band gave out love dolls!!! They finished with "Death To All But Metal" and left the stage with us wondering which cover are they gonna play for encore, as all the tracks from "Feel The Steel" album had been heard.

After a couple of minutes the band came out and played "Shout At The Devil" (MOTLEY CRUE) and "Paradise City" (G 'N' R). Personally I expected one of the cover tracks to come from an English band, like DEF LEPPARD, hopefully they will play it next time that the band will perform in Sheffield.

What is important to mention is that, STEEL PANTHER is not a band that came up with new ideas and things. That is obvious to everyone I believe. What makes it special though, is the passion of these guys. I have to admit that for a moment I became sick of the enormous time they spent referring to great bands, and how much they mean to metal… and the great MANOWAR moment came when we altogether had to shout "Fuck You" to the "traitors" of the scene, hahahaha. After a couple of hours in Brixton, the party continued in Camden, where we shook the moneymaker.

P.S: Looking forward for the upcoming DVD, as the gig, was filmed.

STEEL PANTHER setlist:

1. "Eyes Of A Panther"
2. "Eating Ain't Cheating"
3. "Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)"
4. "Party All Day (Fuck All Night)"
5. "Hell's On Fire"
6. "Stripper Girl"
7. Guitar Solo
8. "Asian Hooker"
9. "Turn Out The Lights"
10. "Girl From Oklahoma"
11. "I Want Pussy"
12. "Community Property"
13. "The Shocker"
14. "Death To All But Metal"

Encore:

15. "Shout At The Devil"
16. "Paradise City"