Chris Jericho feels Sebastian Bach checked every box as “perfect” rock star during ‘Slave To The Grind’ era

Chris Jericho feels Sebastian Bach checked every box as “perfect” rock star during ‘Slave To The Grind’ era

AEW wrestling star and Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho was recently interviewed by the Shout It Out Loudcast podcast, which reviews non-KISS albums once per month. This time around, the Shout It Out Loudcast podcast reviewed Skid Row‘s second studio album Slave To The Grind, which was released back in 1991, and Jericho provided his views on the album, the band and singer Sebastian Bach. Jericho was perhaps surprisingly very complimentary towards Bach even though the duo have seemingly feuded publicly against one another in past years.

In terms of Skid Row and the album Slave To The Grind, Jericho revealed (as provided by the Shout It Out Loudcast podcast with slight edits): “Skid Row is one of my favorite bands as far as those three albums go. They’re a band much like the Sex Pistols in that they never made a bad record because they broke up before they had a chance to. It was a very monumental record in a lot of different ways, which we’ll get into, and a monumental record for me as well.”

With respect to Sebastian Bach as a rock star, Jericho opined: “The chicks, the chicks’ music. And they love Sebastian Bach, who at the time I used to say, if you could go into a laboratory and you’re a mad scientist and create the perfect rock star, Sebastian Bach would be the perfect rock star all across the board, checks every box and everything.”

Jericho also commented on a number of Skid Row songs off the Slave To The Grind album:

“Monkey Business”

“Still one of the greatest riffs from this era or any era of hard rock, heavy metal. I love the fact they started the album with this.  Once again, I can’t tell you how much I love Sebastian‘s vocals, especially at this time. That scream is second to none. It’s just like, ‘Holy shit.’ It gives me goosebumps thinking about it now. Like I said, one of the greatest tunes from this era, one of my favorite Skid Row’s songs. And if I had to compute in my mind, which will probably be able to do in a few years and have a computer printout of my favorite songs, this one would probably be in the top 30 or 40 for sure to this day.”

Skid Row‘s “Monkey Business” video:

“Slave To The Grind”

“When it came out, I remember just like, ‘Holy shit.’ Because my friend had told me this is heavy. And I’m like, ‘Okay, well, that was heavy.’ And then, ‘Oh my gosh, this is really heavy. What are they doing?’ Because it just comes out like that’s an opening song [if] I’ve ever heard one, but they chose to put it on second. And it was just like, this is not your sister’s Skid Row. This is a whole new vibe. And to the point where when I wrestled in Japan, I used “Slave To The Grind” as my theme song and really, yes, I used it for a little while because I just like, I remember you sit in the back behind the curtain or the door or whatever it is, and then start to come running out. It has that vibe to it. It’s a great opening song. It’s a great opening track to the record, except for it’s not. It’s just once again, still a strange positioning for me, but just really blows your head off. Super heavy. I love the way Sebastian sings. It kind of a lower register. It’s almost an Axl Rose foreshadowing, Phil Anselmo type of a concept. And then, he just opens up for the chorus, and there’s a great screen right before the solo and then a great guitar solo. Once again, it’s super heavy, but it’s also very melodic and catchy too, which is another reason why it’s one of the highlights of the album.

I remember, especially in my ’20s, if something was bugging me or something was getting me down or something wasn’t going right, I remember always thinking like, I won’t be the one left behind. You can’t be king of the world if you’re slave the grind, like, fuck this. And I also always loved ‘The noose gets tighter around my throat. But I ain’t at the end of my rope.’ Those are lyrics that you can. They’re almost like, I don’t want to say lyrics, but kind of [James] Hetfield style, where you’d be at the end of your teenage rope, early ’20s rope. The noose gets tighter around my throat, but I haven’t reached into my rope. Like, I’m going to fucking cut the noose and I’m going to start fighting back. I just like that imagery. And at that time, because when this came out, I was 20. This was really prime crossroads of lifetime. So these types of lyrics could inspire you.”

Skid Row‘s “Slave To The Grind” video:

“The Threat” (and rock and roll stars being dangerous)

“This is why it worked. He was dangerous. Exactly. You guys will all know what I’m talking about. There’s no rock and roll bands that are dangerous right now. And that’s why rock and roll is a little bit down. There’s a few burgeoning. But at this point in time, when you had Axl and you had Sebastian, you had these types of guys that jump in the crowd and punch you in the face. It’s like that, to me, is very rock and roll. He even says in his book, like, you guys are bagging on me for doing this stuff. But Atlantic Records told him to be a rock and roll frontman. That’s what you asked me to do. So I’m doing it. Maybe it was a little forced, I don’t know. But he had that element of danger.”

“Livin’ On A Chain Gang”

“One of my favorites on the record. Love how it comes in with just vocals and kind of down. But I just think this is dirty. Once again, I like dirty Skid Row to me. That’s Skid Row‘s wheelhouse. Yeah. And once again, Sebastian‘s voice. I’m going through the song in my head. The way he sings this chorus is really good. Can’t say enough about his vocals on this record, but this song to me, is a great way to open side two. They never played it live. I wish they would have, but it’s one of the standouts for me for all those reasons.”

“Mudkicker”

“So when I first heard the song, I didn’t quite like it as much. But the more I listen to it, the more I really dig it. It’s super heavy. I love that vibe to it. Now at this point in time, it’s one of my favorites on the record because it really kind of epitomizes this album for me, going back to what we said from the start with the “Monkey Business” vibe and “The Threat” vibe. It’s more of this real kind of cool. I keep saying dirty and slimy riff. I think Sebastian sings it really well. It’s got a pretty cool pre-chorus. ‘I ain’t the child of your disgrace. You’re mudkickin’ into my face. I’ve healed the wounds, been crucified. Mudckicker kick. Ha! Here’s mud in your eye.’ One of my favorites on the record.”

“Wasted Time”

“This one to me is this is an epic tune. It’s a great album closer. I think this song is the epitome of his vocals. He sings it so well and every note, I don’t know, maybe thrills and his vibrato and everything. This is definitely one of the highlights on the record for me and one of the highlights of Skid Row‘s entire discography.”

Skid Row‘s “Wasted Time” video:

You can check out the Shout It Out Loudcast podcast via Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Group Page, Instagram and YouTube, and/or listen to the Album Review Crew Episode 27 Slave To The Grind with Chris Jericho below: