Musical Instruments

With five full featured studio Skid Row albums, this heavy metal American band has tasted sweet success in the late 1980s up to the early 1990s. Formed in Toms River, New Jersey the band has sold over 20 million copies of their album. One of the most admirable things that the band achieved is that it took them just three or so years to come out with their first album. This is something that most bands do not experience.

The band was started by Rachel Bolan (bass guitar) and Dave “The Snake” Sabo (guitar). Their current line up also includes Scotti Hill (guitar), Rob Hammersmith (drums), and Johnny Solinger (vocals). Their original vocalist was Sebastian Bach who had a falling out with the rest of the group after he booked the band as an opening act for KISS. The rest of the guys did not like it and as a result Back left the band.

Back when they were still starting out, they signed a great percentage of their publishing rights to the Underground Music Company of Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. This became quite a problem for the two camps as the band slowly gained popularity. After some pressure from the band and also from the transaction getting exposed to the media, a percentage of the rights was returned to the group.

Their debut album, ‘Skid Row’, was released on the 24th of January, 1989. The album was been given the platinum record five times by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Impressively for a first album, it was able to rank no. 6 in the Billboard 200. Because of their new found popularity, a lot of fans started to look for some Skid Row merch and other items.

‘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.

The third of the Skid Row albums was the ‘Subhuman Race’ which was released on the 28th of March, 1995. It was notable for being the last album that featured Sebastian Back in the vocals as he had left the band soon after album was released. The album featured the chance in the band’s sound from heavy metal to alternative metal.

‘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.

Their latest album was released on the 24th of October, 2006 and was titled ‘Revolutions per Minute’. It was negative received by many music critics. The album was notable for it again paired the band with Michael Wagener, the famed producer who also produced their second album.

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.

Experience The Best Skid Row Merch. Visit: http://www.planet13.com.au