Friday, April 1, 2011
In 1986, this American heavy metal band was formed in Toms River, New Jersey. They have already sold over 20 million copies with their five Skid Row albums to date. This certainly puts the band at the front of the heavy metal scene worldwide. What is amazing about the band is that it took them very much less than a decade to record and release their debut album. The late 80s and the early 90s can be considered the most successful period for the group.
It was Dave "The Snake" Sabo and Rachel Bolan who started the band. Through the years there have been some changes in the line up with the most famous of their former members was Sebastian Bach who was their vocalist back then. Sebastian's departure happened when he tried to get the band to open for KISS. The other members did not like the idea and said that they are too big to be just an opening act. As a result, Sebastian left the band. Their current line up, aside from the two founders, are Rob Hammersmith, Scotti Hill, and Johnny Solinger.
They had a bleak moment with their relationship with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. The band signed over their publishing rights to the two, at that time Bon Jovi was looking for new acts to sign up for their new publishing company, Underground Music Company. The band was left with little percentage of their publishing rights. However, some of it was returned to them later on.
On January 24, 1989 the band released their debut album simply titled, 'Skid Row'. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has already recognized it as a five-time platinum record holder. The album reached the no. 6 ranking in the Billboard 200. At around this time that demand for Skid Row merch started to gain some ground.
'Slave to the Grind' was released on the 11th of June 1991. It was considered a major success for the group as it ranked number 1 on Billboard 200. It was also considered an improvement for their music as it contained heavier lyrics that deals with wider social problems.
'Subhuman Race' is the third of the Skid Row albums and was released on March 28, 1995. It was the last album in which Sebastian Bach recorded with the band. The album was notable for the shift in the band's sound from pure heavy metal to more of an alternative metal sound.
'Thickskin', their next album after almost 10 years since the last, was released on August 5, 2003. It was notable for featuring for the first time their new lead vocalist, Johnny Solinger. But another band member had also left and this time it was Phil Varone.
On October 24, 2006 the band released their latest album to date, the 'Revolutions per Minute'. However, the album was not accepted well by the critics and yet it still enjoyed healthy sales. It was produced by Michael Wagener, the same producer who helped them with 'Slave to the Grind', more or less 15 years ago.
While it takes them a few years to come up with the next album, it is safe to say that we can expect more Skid Row albums in coming years. The band's fame has not diminished, as proved by the demand for their band merch and studio albums.