Satirically pretending to be a hair metal band that missed its big break in the '80s, singer Ralph Saenz ("Michael Starr"), drummer Darren Leader ("Stix Zadinia"), bassist Travis Haley ("Lexxi Foxxx"), and guitarist Russ Parrish ("Satchel") hit the club circuit on the Sunset Strip around the turn of the millennium under the name Metal Shop (later changed to Metal Skool, and then Steel Panther). With big spiky wigs, leather jackets, zebra-striped spandex, chops earned from playing in a Van Halen tribute band, and lots and lots of machismo, their comic take on sex, drugs, and rock & roll to the extreme caught on quickly, leading to sold-out shows and some unexpected brushes with mainstream success. As their popularity increased, the Hollywood crowd started frequenting their sets, often making appearances on-stage. This led to some opportunities: the band fittingly played the role of a metal band as "Danger Kitty" in a Discover Card commercial; they appeared on The Drew Carey Show as themselves; and their song "FF" was used as the theme for MTV's Fantasy Factory. In May of 2008 the band signed to Universal Republic. After releasing the singles "Death for All But Metal" and "Community Property," Steel Panther's full-length Feel the Steel was released in October of 2009.

Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Phathom-Matthew Sikora (Vocals, Guitar), Jason Stone (Guitar, Vocals), Yannick d’Assignies (Bass, Vocals) and Anton Tilgren (Drums) have been rocking the Los Angeles music scene since 2001. Since the band’s formation and in the spirit of DIY Phathom has remained independent of any record label aid and currently resides with Hardline Entertainment under the management of Ken Seaton.

Independently, Phathom has toured the US extensively with the Vans Warped Tour ‘06 being invited back by Warped Tour promoter Kevin Lyman through Warped ’08 and looking forward to a stint of dates on the ’09 trek. They have performed with Avenged Sevenfold, Strung Out, Unwritten Law, No Use For A Name and also had local radio success with their single “Moving Slowly” on KROQ's Locals Only in Los Angeles.