SEBASTIAN BACH
1. "Angel Down"
(3:38) |
 Sebastian Bach, Jesus Christ Superstar Playbill |
Sebastian Bach is one of the most well-known singers to come out of the 80's hair metal movement. The former Skid Row front man has been doing a lot of things since leaving his band, but I haven't heard a whole lot that has interested me, that is until "Angel Down". First of all, recording an Aerosmith cover is almost always a guarantee to peak my interest, and indeed that was the case here. I had to hear it. Bach & Friends do a great job on this song with Sebastian screaming his best Steven Tyler impression. However, the entire album turned out to be quite good. Reaching back into the 80's for the overall sound, he mixes the good-times, hard rock and metal sounds with a modern production and some killer hooks. While "Angel Down" may not be considered "heavy" by today's standards, it is most certainly a heavy record. Had this album been the follow-up to Skid Row's "Slave to Grind", I have to wonder if it wouldn't have taken the band further up the latter of success. Some of this album has some similarities to Rob Halford's "Resurrection" CD. In particular "American Metalhead" could easily have been on Halford's album. Much of this has to do with Roy Z's production techniques. However, on top of this, Bach also has Halford's guitarist ("Metal" Mike Chlasciak) and drummer (Bobby Jarzombek) performing on this album. On bass is none other than Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Sadus, etc.). Sebastian hasn't lost anything with age. He still has an edge and range to his vocals, just like he did in the Skid Row days. On this album he waffles between wild screams and his more melodic singing. Also along to give the album some more flavor is everyone's favorite schitzoid, Axel Rose (Guns n Roses). Axel shares lead vocal duties on tracks 3, 4 & 5. (Yes, Axel and Bach sharing vocals on "Back in the Saddle"! Simply outstanding!) Without going into a song by song analysis, "Angel Down" is a guitar driven heavy metal heavy metal album that is just as fun and vital as the music he made with Skid Row.