SKID ROW - USA

SKID ROW - REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE - SPV  
Skid Row is back with a new album and the immediate question logically would be how things are going musically given the tepid reaction to the band’s 2003 comeback album Thickskin. Safe to say this album with get loads of kudos for its generally heavy direction and strong songs. Then again, the album’s drawback is its inconsistency and several notable weaker songs. For whatever reason, commercial inclination or not, Skid Row hops into a couple of pop genres it has no business in. One doesn’t expect the band to sound like 1991’s Slave To The Grind (or look as hot with all the long hair) after 25 years - although nothing wrong with that - but The Offspring is not the future either. After seeing the band play the Hard Rock Café several years ago and being disappointed Revolutions Per Minute will go a long way in restoring my faith in these guys’ ability to deliver again.
Let’s take it from the top, shall we? Disease is a good start for the album. It is a hard song that proclaims the boys’ return. Another Dick In The System is even harder. It lashes and thrashes as it releases a lot of pent-up energy. Self-censorship is out of the door as the New Jersey boys throw caution to the wind. Pulling My Heart Out From Under is a disposable song though and the first of several weak tracks on Revolutions Per Minute. Still, the angry lyrics keep coming. Humanity doesn’t get treated too well on this disc! When God Can’t Wait is nothing but a teenage pop punk disappointment that one hopes Skid Row will never repeat. Right, moving on then. Shut Up Baby, I Love You is next and is the sweet sound of redemption. The tune tickles my Dokken Erase The Slate bone. The band’s bile poetry is on track and the music reminds this girl of Dokken’s Mad Hatter. Strength is the album’s longest track. The song is catchy to the point of reminding one of U2. Scratch that for hard rock fans will love the driving and enjoyable guitar and backing vocals. White Trash is all about that and, as my editor points out, has a whiff of the hardcore band Suicidal Tendencies. The inclusion of the harmonica is funny as the band unleashes upon the white trash American culture. You Lie has even more vitriol out of the box and goes back to the white trash theme. Hear singer Johnny Solinger go! Who made these guys so mad? It is all funny as hell, even after it goes into hardcore mode. Nothing is a good title for a song that wants to fit on a Green Day album/ Love Is Dead proves that the album is based on the lyricist’s battles in the love arena. Although one part of the song goes into November Rain territory this is still a weird cut on a Skid Row track. Let it Ride is a good song and leads to the polka punk version of You Lie. Did I mention that the band is mad as hell? - Sheila Wes Det

SKID ROW - THE GANG’S ALL HERE - EARMUSIC  
Looking back now it seems we here at Metallian were in a minority of people who liked the last two full-lengths from Skid Row. Those records, Thickskin and Revolutions Per Minute, were the sum total of Skid Row’s new output this century. They featured Johnny Solinger on vocals. Solinger died in 2021. A couple of musical chair-type project singers came and went before the band picked up current singer Erik Grönwall. Whatever the case and whoever the singer, many a fan’s and Sebastian Bach's dream of reuniting the 1990s’ line-up did not come true.
In the meantime, it is difficult to say whether some people genuinely did not appreciate the music of the last two albums or the band was constantly juxtaposed against its Bach-era output and never given a chance. Either way, years have passed and following the aforementioned comings and goings here is the gang with a new singer and a new album. Amazingly, the new singer battled cancer in 2021, followed by joining Skid Row and the pressure that brings. It must have been a whirlwind.
With that said, one cannot really imagine Skid Row doing much better and being more true to its sound than The Gang's All Here. Even more so when we take out the old abacus and notice that it has been more than 30 years since the first couple of albums.
Hell Or High Water immediately kicks off with a good sound representing the guitar-oriented headbanger. The singer screams his lungs out. He is not hitting the higher registers outside a couple of screams, but the combination of the powerful bellows, backing chants and hard guitars make this a successor to a song like Youth Gone Wild. The ripping solo is also indicative and, while it helps the song be even better, is all but too short. Liked Living On A Chaingang? You will like Hell Or High Water. The title track is next and shows off Rachel Bolan’s bass and a surprising sleazy riff straight out of a Faster Pussycat album from 1987. The vocal is energetic and catchy while holding the line on the heaviness front. It is another impressive vocal performance. The track’s ending is the type of powerful delivery that is easy to appreciate. The band is firing on all cylinders, the singer is screaming his heart out, the guitars are thick and the drummer is bashing away at his kit. Simple as that. A southern boogie touch and what sounds like slide guitars are up next and an inkling that the band is not ready to slow down yet. The singer’s higher pitches mix with his more typical delivery, all trading punches with the backing vocals. Kudos go to producer Nick Raskulinecz who has worked with both crap like Danzig and greats like Rush in the past. Raskulinecz has done a good job for Skid Row on this record. Time Bomb takes the foot off the pedal for a second. No matter, this is the good old '80s hard rock fans remember. This is Skid Row sticking to its gun and not selling out for the times or whatever excuse bands offer when they change their sound. The sound is thick and modern, but this is Skid Row being both authentically hard and hard rock. Tick tick tick tick tick tick.. Yeah! With Resurrected, it would be interesting to know how old the song is and whether the band chose the title deliberately to send a message about its new album. Or could the title be simply unrelated?. As mentioned, nothing Skid Row has done came across as contrived or unappealing, but it is clear the gang is energised and invigorated here. Heavy song by the way with vocals ridden with attitude.
Nowhere Fast has a heavier riff and distorted bass, but is not one of the disc’s better songs. Despite its title and phrases like "speed of sound" it also happens to be slower and simpler. Aggressive lead work though! Triumph had the lights go down. Skid Row has When The Lights Come On. Checking the lyrics, it does not make much sense either way. At least it is not a story about being horrified by the ugliness, tattoos and amount of cellulite on the groupie. The band goes for a more melodic lead guitar tone on this track. October Song is the obligatory slow song. The mention of “mother” and “father” make clear that this is not that kind of a love song. The music is melodic, the strings weave in the acoustic guitars and make for a track reminiscent of quicksand Jesus. Not a favourite. World On Fire… is, well, on fire. It is a heavy metal track prior that begins like a vintage George Lynch/Dokken song and quickly transitions to a melodic hard rocker with a socially conscious message. It probably contains the album's most soaring and aggressive guitars. The album ends as it began: hard.
Only complaint: two competent soloists in this band and yet the leads do not trade off and are shorter than desirable. It is still rock solid hard rock and heavy metal needing fans and non- fans alike to give it a chance. Don’t expect 18 And Life and it is good to go. - Ali “The Metallian”