“Skid Row’s “18 and Life” remains a timeless classic. Vocalist Sebastian Bach left the band a short time later after it was revealed the group turned down an opportunity to open for Kiss. The group went from selling out stadiums to barely filling a smaller venue. When the band finally resurfaced with Subhuman Race in 1995, it received more critical acclaim than album sales. Consider 1991 from a musical standpoint, Nirvana was about to ruin mainstream metal so what would the ‘90s have been like without Pantera?Īfter this release Skid Row went on a self-imposed hiatus, waiting for the ‘grunge movement’ to end. That’s right mutherfuckers it was Pantera, supporting Cowboys from Hell!! In retrospect, I thank the metal gods Skid Row weren’t selfish pricks. The band remembered their roots and selected an unknown thrash act from Texas to open for them. Skid Row started the tour opening for Guns N’ Roses ( Use Your Illusion) but by the end of it they were headling stadiums on their own. Hell, even Kerry King of Slayer admitted Slave to the Grind was one of his favorite albums of 1991. The band’s record label may have done a head spin but the metal community embraced this change immediately. The song “Get The Fuck Out” was rejected by mainstream retailers and a ‘clean’ version of the album was released to appease the politically correct. Instead trying to firebomb the airwaves with more media friendly hits they went in the complete opposite direction releasing Slave to The Grind, a heavier darker album which immediately created controversy. Skid Row followed up their debut release by doing the unthinkable.
The song proved Skid Row could be as real as the broken streets they are named after. The story is an age old tale that still holds a moral relevancy today. Firing a gun drunk, he accidently kills a child playing on the street. The loser couldn’t put his weapon away when he drank. Over played on MTV until it was overrated, the plot follows a party hard headbanger from the wrong side of town. The song and video that put this self-titled effort over the top was “18 and Life”. The self-titled album went platinum five times! Sambora gave his rights back to the band but Bon Jovi did not. Part of the deal was a lopsided contract which essentially gave John Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora ownership to the publishing rights of Skid Row’s debut release. When Bon Jovi hit the big time, their band manager sought out Skid Row and helped land them a deal with Atlantic records. Together they made a pact, if one of them ever ‘made it’ in the music business they would help the other.
Guitarist and founding member Dave Sabo was a childhood friend of John Bongiovi. Skid Row has been around since 1986 and began their career in New Jersey. Unfortunately not everyone knows their improbable story. Whether you admit it or not, Skid Row was once a dominant force in metal.
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