Having lived through the era of the hair bands and their hated nemeses Christian Metalheads, I have to say: It’s real. Unbelievable and wonderful, and real. Gay metal band Pink Steel released their debut album, Out at the Devil.

Claiming to hail from the Germanic North, the band writes of itself:

PINK STËËL make heavy metal gay, and gay heavy metal funny as hell–blurring the lines between music, comedy, Motley Crüe and Mary Poppins to create a fabulous, fist-pumping arena rock concert experience that will leave you singing tunes like ‘We Fight For Cock’ ‘I’m Comin’ Out (All Over You)’ and ‘Sausage Party’ for days–whether you want to or not. Their crossover comedy-rock cabaret co-mingles gay culture and heavy metal bluster with punch-line songwriting–giving every audience front row seats to a stadium-style rock show unlike any other.

As for whether they’re actually Nordic-enhanced, I shake my head suspiciously: isn’t there some sort of law in Germany about umlaut usage, especially since topping the E’s? But what is a shredding, howling, gay-Satan-worshipping metal band or a gay cabaret without a little hoaxing?

Read more at Eros Zine. Thanks to Rachel Kramer Bussel for the tip.