![]() ![]() ![]() The situation to me was very reminiscent of the Tim “Ripper” Owens era of Judas Priest, where a fan of the band becomes the singer of said band. Bolan, Hill, and Sabo all looked elated to be playing these songs for their fans. The band hit the stage to the pummeling rhythm of “Slave to the Grind.” Grönwall raced from one side of the stage to the other, without missing a note. On Saturday night, Grönwall wasted no time staking his claim to the stage. Singles “The Gang’s All Here” and “Time Bomb” sound like they could have come from 1991’s “Slave to the Grind” or 1995’s “Subuman rACE.” The band itself, including longtime drummer Rob Hammersmith, seemed to be rejuvenated by this new addition. The 35-year-old Swedish import seemed to have injected life back into the band. Skid Row released a new record last year entitled “The Gang’s All Here” with their new singer Erik Grönwall. When I finally bit the bullet and saw Journey last year, Pineda won me over by the second verse of the opening song. For years I refused to go see Journey in concert even though I heard how amazing Arniel Pineda is. There are different schools of thought on replacement singers. The show was good, and Sollinger was a decent singer, but I felt that something was missing. I caught them once with singer Johnny Sollinger. Over the years the band has recorded and toured with a number of different singers. I would still listen to the first few albums from time to time but I wasn’t the die-hard fan that I had once been. Somewhere along the way, my music tastes changed and I lost track of Skid Row. Some band in-fighting led to Bach and Affuso leaving the band. It is still in my top ten concerts of all time. It was my first exposure to Pantera and it blew me away. Can you imagine the confidence it takes to bring a Vulgar Display of Power-era Pantera out as your opening act? I caught this show at RPI Fieldhouse. A band that had once been unfairly lumped in with the “hair-metal” bands of the same era brought Soundgarden and Pantera out as openers for the tour. They also gambled with their headlining tour. “Slave to the Grind” became the first heavy metal album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 in the Nielsen Soundscan era. Skid Row took a hard turn with “Slave to the Grind.” The drums were heavier, the riffs flashier. Most bands would keep the same winning formula for their sophomore album. I was able to catch them at Glens Falls Civic Center opening for Aerosmith on the “Pump” tour. They followed up “Youth Gone Wild” with a pair of power ballads, “18 and Life” and “I Remember You” both of which were in heavy rotation on MTV. Sebastian Bach had a voice unmatched in rock at that time. Topping it off was a twenty year old Canadian singer with an operatic vocal range. This band had it all, from the hard driving rhythm section of Rob Affuso on drums and Rachel Bolan on bass to the dual guitar attack of Dave “Snake” Sabo and Scotti Hill. Lead single “Youth Gone Wild” was everywhere that year. Their eponymous debut record dropped in January of 1989. ![]() I first got turned onto Skid Row in 1989 by my much cooler older sister. ![]()
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