Interview by Kris Peters
Speculation has been rife for years regarding a possible reunion between Sebastian Bach and Skid Row, and it will probably continue until one or both parties pulls stumps on their career, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter when both parties are still doing their thing, and doing it well. Of course, there are going to be those fans who would love to see the band as it once was, but for the realists, that will likely never happen.
Luckily for them - and everyone who loved hard rock and metal - that Sebastian Bach will always possess a love for the music he was part of bringing to life, and as such, always champions the cause wherever and however he can.
That cause comes to Australian shores this November, when Bach returns to these shores to play Skid Row's debut self-titled album in its entirety for the first time on Australian soil.
Fans can expect an explosive set featuring hits like Youth Gone Wild, 18 and Life, Big Guns, and I Remember You alongside select tracks from Slave To The Grind and throughout Bach's solo career, including last year's well-received Child Within The Man.
HEAVY spent some time with Sebastian Bach recently to talk about the upcoming tour and playing some of those songs for the very first time Down Under.
"The first record is only 45 minutes long, so that's not a full show," Bach pointed out when we asked what to expect. "We'll be doing new songs from my new record, Child Within the Man, and we'll be doing a couple of songs from Slave to the Grind. But we got some really good new songs like What Do I Got to Lose, which is the closest thing that I've had to a hit in 35 years."
We ask if there were any difficulties in playing the debut record in full due to the fact that when it was written, the band likely would not have given thought to the whole album being played in full one day.
"There's certain notes that are very challenging," he nodded. "In America, we did another tour where we did the album Slave to the Grind in its entirety with 40 cities, but what I learned, when you said was it challenging relearning the first record? I learned that the first record was more about singing, and Slave to the Grind was more about screaming. A song like Living on a Chain Gang off Slave, that is just me screaming at the top of my lungs for the whole song. On the first record, there's more pop and a pop sensibility. Slave to the Grind is way more metal, but the first record, Skid Row, it captures a real innocence about us as a band and about the times. It just has a real innocent quality to it."
In the full interview, Bach talked us through the touring schedule and his preference of playing more shows as opposed to having days off, the musical climate that spawned Skid Row's self-titled debut album and where the band fit in at the time.
We spoke about the massive intensity lift between the first album and the more aggressive follow-up Slave To The Grind and why the band went that way instead of playing it safe and rehashing a successful formula, what he has learned as a vocalist over his 40-year career, the significant changes in the music industry, how he maintains his vocal range and more.
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