In recent years, there have been a lot of tribute bands popping up, or musicians who dress up just like their rock heroes and play covers of their tunes.
It’s gotten to the point where some of them have been able to take their acts out on the road, and the metal parody band Steel Panther grew out of this phenomenon.
They first started out as Metal Skool, with Ralph Saenz, who played David Lee Roth in the Van Halen tribute band Atomic Punks, on vocals, then changed their name to Steel Panther. (They also went under the monikers Danger Kitty and Metal Shop.)
The band recently put out their second album, Balls Out, alongside an online game aptly dubbed Steel Panther’s Balls Out Battles. (Yes, this may seem a bit late after the whole Guitar Hero phenomenon came and went, but when has a hair band been out of step with the times?)
Fortunately, it’s a free game you can play at SteelPantherRocks, and prizes include a signed t-shirt and photo of the band.
As Guitar World speculates, this could be another way to get a band’s music out there, and considering the promotional power that Guitar Hero had several years ago, doing your own game could indeed be a good way to get people to buy your music in tough, free download times.
Like the band, apparently the game is pretty funny stuff, with Entertainment-Focus calling it a “cheeky, naughty, tongue-in-cheek affair that you have to see to believe,” and the band asking you on their website, “Do you have the balls?”
The Balls Out Battles game came out right before their album, so considering the game is free to play, it’s obviously a way to try and bring more people to the band, and one would think they may be getting paid every time their music plays, right?
If not, again it’s not a bad promotional idea, and the Devil Wears Prada set up a similar game, Zombie Slay, where their music provides the soundtrack to the undead meltdown.
