FOZZY frontman and AEW superstar Chris Jericho recently discussed Skid Row’s landmark 1991 album, “Slave to the Grind,” on the Shout It Out Loudcast. Talking about the band’s split in 1996 with singer Sebastian Bach, Jericho said: “Had there not been a complete sea change and shift in musical styles, and had Sebastian and the guys not completely broken up forever, they could have been a Judas Priest level. Not an Iron Maiden level — not a Guns N’ Roses (level) either — but they could have been that second tier of main-event-level bands. Because, two reasons — one, dudes like us like the music; heavier guys like Pantera like the music; and here’s the most important thing. You know what I’m gonna say.”
“The chicks love the music and they love Sebastian Bach,” Jericho continued. “Who, at the time … I used to say, if you could go into a laboratory and you were a mad scientist and create the perfect rock star, Sebastian Bach would be the perfect rock star — all across the board; he checks every box in everything. And so I think that’s another reason why Skid Row was able to bridge the gap. It could have even gone farther because the girls really enjoyed the band as well.”
“… if you could go into a laboratory and you were a mad scientist and create the perfect rock star, Sebastian Bach would be the perfect rock star — all across the board; he checks every box in everything.“
Chris Jericho on Sebastian Bach
Jericho also said Skid Row’s appearance as a band helped make them appeal to a wider audience than some of there contemporaries. “The first (Skid Row) album, pictures aside — you look at the first Guns N’ Roses album pictures; there was a lot of hairspray and all that sort of stuff — but (Skid Row) had an East Coast Guns N’ Roses vibe, where even though Sebastian Bach was pretty, he was tall, we know he was off his rocker because we heard the stories. Other guys looked pretty nutty. Rachel (Bolan, bass) was very punk rock. They weren’t pretty guys. Snake (guitarist Dave Sabo) is not a good-looking guy. And if he was on the show right now, he’d be laughing, saying, ‘I’m the ugliest guy ever.’ Best guy in the world, by the way — Snake and Rachel are just amazing guys… But they never tried to be that way; they weren’t trying to shove it into the bag. They knew what they looked like, and they knew it was cool, ’cause they did look cool. But they didn’t look pretty. But that worked to their advantage, much like Guns N’ Roses as well.”
“Slave to the Grind” produced 5 singles, “Monkey Business,” “Slave to the Grind,” “Wasted Time,” “In A Darkened Room” and “Quicksand Jesus.” It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 134,000 copies in its first week. It was the highly-anticipated follow-up to the band’s 1989 self-titled debut, which featured four singles, “Youth Gone Wild,” “18 and Life,” “I Remember You” and “Piece of Me.”
Jericho and Bach had previously clashed on social media.
