Skid Row

Skid Row 雖是一支偶像味極濃的 Pop Metal 樂隊，但是與其他同類的樂隊相比，他們音樂顯得暴戾了許多。除此以外，樂隊還能寫出像“18 And Life”、 “Wasted Time”之類其他同行寫不出震撼的優(yōu)秀作品，當然也不乏像“I Remember You”這樣優(yōu)美的情歌。特別值得一提的是主唱 Sebastian Bach 極端的高音，緩時有如靜水清澈見底，噪時有如濁浪咆哮翻騰。
Skid Row 與 Bon Jovi 是老鄉(xiāng)，都是來自新澤西。 1986 年，吉他手Dave Sabo 和貝司手 Rachel Bolan 組成了樂隊的雛形，此時的 Skid Row 可謂毫無名氣可言。在 Bolan 的推薦下，Scotti Hill 加入進來，成為樂隊的第二
吉他手。一次偶然的機會，樂隊結識了鼓手 Rob Affuso，Affuso 迫切的想加入樂隊，并且成為 Skid Row 的一員。最后是歌手 Sebastian Bach，他在聽了樂隊的一首小樣后，決心加入。 Bach 人如其歌，十分狂野，常常在演唱會進行高潮處從舞臺上撲向臺下觀眾，曾經(jīng)就有過歌迷向法院起訴他從太上躍下將其壓傷的案例。樂隊后來取得的巨大成功，很大程度上歸功于 Bach 極其出色的演唱。
樂隊成立初期只是為一些知名的搖滾樂隊暖場，但他們的聲望與實力都已壯大，有時侯甚至他們?yōu)槠渌麡逢犈瘓鼋Y束后，真正唱主角的樂隊上場后，臺下的觀眾還在大喊“Skid Row，Skid Row…”。一切時機成熟后，Skid Row 在重金屬最紅火的 1989 年推出了首張傳統(tǒng)流行重金屬風格同名專輯，在專輯中有一首描寫青少年犯罪問題的“18 And Lives”非常經(jīng)典，是樂隊的代表作。專輯一炮打響，僅在美國的銷量便超過 500 萬張。而在此后的巡演中，他們夸張的臺風、談吐使得他們成為新一代的搖滾偶像。
樂隊在 1991 年推出了第 2 張專輯《Slave To The Grind》，讓每一個人都大吃一驚，樂隊竟然成功的駕馭了 Trash Metal 這種難度極大的音樂風格。一首又一首真正的勁歌讓人聽的渾身冒火，Bach 逼近極限高音發(fā)揮的可謂淋漓盡致，使這支年輕的樂隊顯得非常老練。雖然專輯的商業(yè)味并不濃，但還是迅雷不及掩耳的登上了 Billboard 專輯榜的榜首，但專輯的最終銷量不及上張同名專輯。不過,《Slave To The Grind》的成功也給樂隊帶來了巨大的壓力。1992 年，樂隊推出一張 B 面歌曲 EP 專輯《B-Sides Ourselves》，在隨后的巡演過后，樂隊一度消失達兩年之久，為的是新專輯的錄制。
1995 年，Skid Row 出版第 3 張專輯《Subhuman Race》，專輯的制作人為著名的 Bob Rock。與前兩張專輯不同的是，Bach 開始用一種非常沙啞、壓抑的嗓音來演繹歌曲，同時還要把這種感覺以最極限的高音喧泄出來。樂隊將一堆又一堆的噪音強行加在你的頭上，顯得非常非常的頹廢、沉重，樂隊原先的偶像味早已蕩然無存。《Subhuman Race》是一張高水準的作品，使樂隊走出了傳統(tǒng)重金屬風格的圈子。但 1994 年以后的搖滾樂壇已不再適合于重金屬音樂的發(fā)展，喜新厭舊的人們已將注意力轉移到一堆堆不知從哪里冒出來的另類上去了，專輯的銷量明顯低與前兩張。
此后的 Skid Row 矛盾四起，主唱 Bach 與其他成員矛盾加劇，最終離開樂隊，也有說是其他四人把他排擠出樂隊的。 Bach 雖說是樂隊的核心人物，但他音樂創(chuàng)作能力顯然不及他的演唱能力，樂隊音樂風格牢牢得由 Dave Sabo和
Rachel Bolan 掌握著，而且樂隊的作品絕大多數(shù)都是有樂隊的其他四位成員所寫。很多時候 Bach 讓人覺得只是一個演唱機器，這可能是他離開樂隊的一個原因。但一支優(yōu)秀的樂隊就此夭折真的讓人感到很可惜。
1998 年，Atlantic 公司為 Skid Row 象征性的推出了一張名為《Forty Seasons: The Best Of Skid Row》的精選專輯，也算是對當年重金屬的一種懷念吧，畢竟已經(jīng)十年過去了。當然大家都沒閑著，Bach 在 1999 年推出個人專
輯《Bring 'Em Bach Alive》，他在日本東京的一次成功的演唱會的真實記錄，里面大多是他在 Skid Row 時期的歌曲。樂隊其他成員找來了新主唱 Shawn McCabe，改名為 Qzone Monday，不過 Qzone Monday 最終因為經(jīng)營不善而解散，Shawn McCabe 和 Rob Affuso 都離開了樂隊。
　　2000 年，Skid Row 宣布重組，樂隊加入了兩位新成員——鼓手 CharlieMills 和主唱 Johnny Solinger.
Skid Row was one of the last hair metal bands to hit the mainstream before grunge took over in the early '90s; they were also arguably the last of such bands to exhibit much originality. While the band's 1989 self-titled release employed standard pop-metal riffs and generic lyrics (albeit to great commercial success), 1991's Slave to the Grind and 1995's Subhuman Race broke away from the pop-metal mold with uncharacteristically hard, thrashy guitars and unique songwriting while still relying on varying '80s metal formulas. Though personal differences and changing trends would eventually tear the core lineup apart by 1996, Skid Row showed a tremendous amount of promise during their short time in the spotlight.
Based in New Jersey, Skid Row was formed in 1986 by bassist Rachel Bolan and former Bon Jovi guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo. The pair added guitarist Scott Hill, drummer Rob Affuso, and a larger-than-life vocalist named Sebastian Bach to the lineup by early 1987, and the band spent the next year and a half playing a series of local clubs in the eastern U.S. Having remained in contact with Jon Bon Jovi, Sabo convinced the established rock star to land Skid Row a record deal with Mercury Records. In 1989, the band released their first album, Skid Row, which went multi-platinum on the strength of the Top 40 singles "18 and Life" and "I Remember You." Success was not without backlash, however — the band had naïvely signed away much of their royalties, and Sebastian Bach's wild, often childlike behavior landed the group in additional trouble. During the subsequent tour, Bach garnered harsh criticism for a T-shirt he publicly sported displaying the message "AIDS KILLS FAGS DEAD." Suits were also filed against Bach after a concert during the supporting tour, where the singer allegedly threw a glass bottle into the crowd, injuring a young female fan.
Nonetheless, Skid Row's muscular songcraft retained a devoted audience. 1991's Slave to the Grind debuted at number one on the Billboard chart, an unprecedented accomplishment for a metal band. While the album did not chart any real radio hits, Grind received stronger critical praise and eventually reached platinum status. However, like so many of their peers, Skid Row lost much of their fan base during the grunge invasion of the '90s. As Nirvana stormed the scene in 1992, Skid Row took a hiatus, waiting out the grunge period and pondering breakups (ironically, Nirvana had once gone under the name Skid Row in the '80s). Skid Row returned in 1995 with Subhuman Race, which surprisingly charted in the Top 40 but otherwise did not attract any real attention.
During the supporting tour, tensions between the group members ran high and Skid Row disbanded shortly afterward. Bach went on to form the Last Hard Men with Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, but the group broke up after recording a cover of Alice Cooper's "School's Out" for the Scream soundtrack in 1996. Plans to record new songs for the Skid Row greatest-hits album, 1998's Forty Seasons, fell through, as Bach went on to form a solo project and portray the title role in the Broadway musical Jeckyll and Hyde. In mid-2000, Skid Row re-formed with new singer Johnny Solinger and toured as the opening band for Kiss' farewell tour. They released Thickskin with Solinger in 2003, followed by Revolutions Per Minute in 2006. Meanwhile, Sebastian Bach enjoyed a surge in popularity when he appeared in a VH1 reality show opposite Ted Nugent and Scott Ian.