What Rock Music Is All About (Slave To The Grind - Skid Row)

Member Name: wampyrii

Product:	Slave To The Grind - Skid Row
Date:	26/01/01 (302 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: musically, lyrically excellent, faultless energy, apssion, strength, just awesome

Disadvantages: follow up albums stank, grunge killed rock scene shortly afterwards

This was one of the first albums I ever bought, having been totally blown away by the ferocity of 'Monkey Business' - the first single released from it. Slave To The Grind is a real powerhouse of rock music and one which goes down as one of my favourites of all time.


Skid Row Are:

Sebastien Bach..........Vocals
Rachel Bolan............Bass Guitar
Rob Afuso...............Drums
Scotti Hill.............Lead Guitar
Dave "the snake" Sabo...Lead Guitar


~Bit Of Background~

Skid Row were formed in 1986, when band members Dave Sabo and Rachel Bolan began songwriting together, later taking on Scotti Hill and the Rob Afuso to form an awesome lineup of instrumental talent. The line-up was completed when Canadian born singer Sebastien Bach heard a demo tape featuring the Skids anthem tune 'Youth Gone Wild' and joined up straight away saying it could have been written for him it was so perfect.

A legend in 'hair-metal' was formed.

Their first album, imaginatively entitled 'Skid Row', went quadruple-platinum. They opened for Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue...and blew them all off the stage so that when the headliners came on the 'fans' were yelling out for the Skids to come back on again. The success of the first album left a big act to follow...but they achieved it in style with the release of 'Slave To The Grind' in 1992. This album totally blew the preceding offering out of the water and lead to an 18 month World tour headlining in 20 countries and a place in the annals of rock history. Skid Row, have released other albums since, although the band have spent much of their free time following Kiss around the US on their reformation tour apparrently(?), but none have really matched this one for sheer brilliance.


~The Review~

Playlist
========

1) Monkey Business
2) Slave To The Grind
3) The Thr
eat
4) Quicksand Jesus
5) Psycho Love
6) Get The F**k Out
7) Livin´ On A Chain Gang
8) Creepshow
9) In A Darkened Room
10) Riot Act
11) Mudkicker
12) Wasted Time


There are NO weak tracks on this album - that is what sets it apart from so many others. From the time it opens with the uproarious 'Monkey Business' until its conclusion with the ultimate rock ballad 'Wasted Time', there is not one single second where you could think to yourself..."hmm, thats an album filler". No single song stands out from the rest as being weak, although some are simply superb, whilst others only make the grade of excellent.

The album opens with a bluesy instrumental, Bach's voice almost a whisper over the top, but full of malicious intent, the kind of whisper that speaks volumes. And then the intent becomes clear as the whisper rises to a snarl to a scream as the biggest pair of lungs in rock music lets rip with full force, before launching into what I believe to be the finest example of Heavy Metal rock music ever laid down on vinyl. 'Monkey Business' is simply the most powerful piece of rock you will ever hear, combining Bach's unbeatable vocal power with adrenaline-pumping riffs in a song which would probably serve as excellent backing music for a riot. Suddenly the lead breaks off as the accoustic returns, again accompanied by Bach's snarling menace and some haunting effects before a screaming guitar solo snaps your mind back into focus, taking the song into its final chorus repetition and sudden conclusion, leaving the riff still ringing in your ears.

But the respite is short-lived. The title track Slave To The Grind kicks in, an raucous rant against the norms and values of modern industrial society.

"you've gotta force to crack my lids in two,
I'm still stuck inside this rubber room,
I've gotta punch the clock that lead
s the blind,
I'm just another gear in your assembly line,"

This song spits at authority, and Bach's anger takes on almost tangible form here in a very powerful piece of music. The guitar chugs along at pace, sounding almost like machinery itself, relentless in its aural assault and by the end of the track believe me you have got the message and "Tear down the rat racial slime" we would have done, had we not valued our liberty so much...

The next track is heavily influenced by Bolan's bass and it is easy to see that he had a large part to play in its production. The Threat is another rage against the societal machine and to be fair not one of the more memorable tracks on the album - although still excellent in its own right...just not in this company.

Track 4 on the album shows another dimension to Skid Row. Quicksand Jesus is an absolutely beautiful and incredibly powerful ballad with some amazing lyrics. Haunting is not the word. Here Skid Row show a spiritual side which would be highly unexpected having listened to the previous three tracks. This is not your average Heavy Rock combo, they combine the aggression of punk, with a lyrical expertise which could make Dylan proud. Quicksand Jesus is an amazing piece of music, which will appeal to anyone, fan of rock music or not.

The haunting beauty of Quicksand Jesus leads into the dirty bass of Bolan, introducing us to delights of 'Psycho Love'. We are invited to 'Check out Clementine, Cleaning needles in her wine...' as the Skids again slip on their aggro. boots an assault us with a verse-chorus-verse driven rant, itself leading into the ultimate childish(and in the late 80's/early 90's obligatory) swear word driven anthem - Get The F**k Out! Despite its nature this is a still an excellent track and the perfect anthem for live shows...well another one anyway, 'Youth Gone Wild' already having taken that mantle after the r
elease of the first album. This is a real 'pump your fist in the air and yell' type of song and naturally was an instant hit amongst concert goers and schoolboys (snigger he said the 'F' word).

The next two tracks are to be fair are quite weak in comparison to the rest of the album. Anywhere else and they would probably have been strong points, but here they are weak. 'Chain Gang' is another track in the style of 'Slave To The Grind', whereas 'Creepshow', whilst being humourous ('hit me with a shovel, coz I can't believe I dug you') has little to offer the overall content. However, this all changes with another ballad in the form of 'In A Darkened Room'. Again this is a beautiful track, although entirely electric guitar driven, as opposed to the accoustics of 'Quicksand Jesus'. This was released as a single and made top 20 lists everywhere (no mean feat when you consider the lack of radio support afforded this style of music). Lyrically it is stunning, musically it is faultless and Seb Bach's vocals are almost too painful to bear as he morns love turned sour

"Tell me when the kiss of love becomes a lie
that bares the scar of sin too deep
to hide behind this fear of running unto
Please let there be light in a darkened room"

However, any hanging threads of this track are blasted away by the punky 'Riot Act' which blasts through the speakers taking us on a non-stop aural roller coaster ride before dumping us unceremoniously at the hobnailed boots of 'Mudkicker'. An extremely dirty guitar kicks in unaccompanied, knocking out a riff which sets the tone button to 'frown' before being joined by the rest of the ensemble and Bach's voice turned down a few octaves to an angry growl. 'Mudkicker' curls its top lip, goes nose to nose with authority and snarls its rebellion. We nod in agreement...then don the uniform of confo
rmity and stand in line...

The closing track is the most powerful ballad on the album. The effects of heroine abuse are its subject, a close friend of the band having died as a result of their own misuse of the drug. Hence, the angst in the lyrics is highly evident and this is a moment in which to reflect upon the incredible waste and human misery which results from this and other drugs of its kind. 'Wasted Time' is deeply disturbing in its content, the anguish is tangible and leaves a feeling of sorrow and emptiness at its close. A more fitting end to a powerful album there could not have been than this song.

"Paranoid delusions they haunt you,
where's my friend I used to know?
He's all around around,
he's buried deep within a
carcass searching for a soul.
Can you feel me inside
your heart as its bleeding?
Why can't you belive you can't belong?

You said you never let me down
But the horse stampedes and rages
In the name of desperation
Is it all just wasted time?
Can you live with yourself
When you think of what
You left behind?”

...I never thought you'd let it get this far boy...

This album is the epitomy of what rock music should be all about. Sebastien Bach has the most angst ridden, powerful vocals ever to come bursting through a set of speakers, making Axl Rose sound like Betty Boop in comparison. In terms of Song Writing, this is a faultless display, lyrically excellent and musically accomplished. Michael Wagner's production on the record has alot to be said for it as well, producing the band's sound but the musicianship would have shone through whatever. Raw talent such as this comes along very rarely, especially in today's world of manufactured bands and plasticine personalities, these guys were the real deal. Not afraid of what they said, or who to, they created a number of enemies inside and outside the re
cord industry but they didn't care and neither did we.

I remember seeing them in concert when I was 14, at the London Arena, the last heavy metal band to play there. Someone from the Daily Star had been rather less than impressed with their music so Seb Bach responded in true rock 'n' roll style...by dropping his trousers and wiping his sweaty butt on the newspaper. That is what Rock music should be about - the excesses, the larger than life characters, the pointless displays of petulence, the kind of thing which prissy little bands like Oasis and Blur try to recreate...and fail miserably. Its not an act with the originals and for all its mindless stupidity it was fun...but it seems to be gone and it will be sadly missed by those who remember it...



nb. to hear some of these tracks then visit http://www.launch.com and search for Skid Row.

Otherwise beg, borrow, steal or even buy(yes a student recommended you BUY) this album - if you like you music with a bit of bite, then you won't be disappointed.

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