Former SKID ROW lead vocalist Sebastian Bach is back for more heavy metal mayhem in 2014 with his fifth solo album entitled “Give’Em Hell”, which was produced by Bob Marlette (Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Filter). It’s amazing to me that after all these years this bad mother trucker still has got plenty of fuel left in his gas tank. The album opens with the catchy rocker “Hell Inside My Head”, followed next by the totally goddamn electric “Harmony”, a punk fast thriller complete with a superb guitar solo. Duff McKagan (Guns N Roses) handles bass duties like the musical bad ass that he is, and the drums are pounded by the ever so reliable Bobby Jarzombek. Guitarists Devin Bronson (Avril Lavigne), John 5 (Rob Zombie) and Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) all appear on the record. Track three’s “All My Friends Are Dead” is very well crafted and while it has a more radio rock feel I must admit I found myself totally blown away at the explosive singing.
People give Sebastian Bach a hard time because of his brutal honesty in interviews and his comical ability to mock the sheer stupidity of his former band for not wanting to reunite with him. Let’s face it, he is one of the greatest heavy metal singers of all time and, believe it or not, his voice is actually stronger now today than it ever has been. How does he do it? The dude is a true rock soldier that just will not turn in anything less than a stellar performance. After one listen of this album, you will experience a man that is undoubtedly still on a rock and roll crusade. Most vocalists that started out 25+ years ago like Bach are not even in the music business any longer. They are stuck in shitty ass jobs that they said they would never work. Not Baz. And for the jack asses who are still around in their ten sizes too tight ripped jeans from their glory days making an ass of themselves like anybody really cares what you are doing, you need to take some notes from this cat on how the job is to be done. Whenever I go to see one of these grizzled 80’s performers these dicks never sound anything remotely close to how ‘great’ they were in their early days but they still expect for you to buy their shitty new music and go to the over priced concerts. Well Bach is not one of those resting on his past success. He is like the Energizer Bunny of metal music, man. He just just keeps head banging like a madman, displaying the same full-throttle passion and high energy he had when first achieving stardom with Skid Row back in his early 20’s.
Track three’s “All My Friends Are Dead” is both haunting and powerfully moving. No doubt, Bach has lost his share of friends in the rock game, most notably Dimebag Darrell of Pantera fame, who was shot in the head while performing with his new band Damageplan on December 8, 2004 by a mentally ill former Marine. Track four’s “Temptation”, is brilliant, grabbing your interest with a cool riff and memorable chorus, but without a doubt, song number five, “Push Away”, is my personal favorite. I had to play it a second time after first hearing it because I did not believe what I heard was truly that good. Guess what? The second time only confirmed that Bach is at the top of his game. There aren’t many vocalists alive, man or woman, who have such a devastating set of pipes. Track six’s “Dominator” is an absolute keeper too, rattling your head with its thunderous riff and balls to the walls attitude. Up next is the potent ballad “Had Enough” followed by the outstanding “Gun To A Knife Fight”.
“Rock N Roll Is A Vicious Game” is a rocking country gem, that will have you tapping your foot whether you like it or not. The album closes out with the hard charging tracks “Taking Back Tomorrow”, “Disengaged” and “Forget You”. Any fan of well written rock music will want to add “Give ‘Em Hell” to their album collection. And if the dudes in Skid Row have any brains left in their heads they will put aside their futile feuding once and for all to jam again with a true rock icon named Sebastian Bach.
ROCKET REVIEW:
[starreview tpl=16]
SEBASTIAN BACH – “Give ‘Em Hell” (CD)
(Frontiers Records/2014)
1. Hell Inside My Head
2. Harmony
3. All My Friends Are Dead
4. Temptation
5. Push Away
6. Dominator
7. Had Enough
8. Gun To A Knife Fight
9. Rock N Roll Is A Vicious Game
10. Taking Back Tomorrow
11. Disengaged
12. Forget You
https://www.facebook.com/sebastianbach
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