Sebastian Bach has rejected a fan's claim that he did not contribute to the songwriting of Skid Row .
Bach joined Skid Row in 1988 as a replacement for the band's original vocalist, Matt Fallon , who sang on demo versions of songs that were re-recorded for the band's multi-platinum 1989 LP.
The discussion began on Monday on Twitter, in response to the announcement that the band's current lineup will be performing their second album, Slave to the Grind , in its entirety at a show in California next month.
When one fan wrote that Sebastian “made Skid Row the band they were,” another fan chimed in: “It’s hard to say a guy made a band what they were when he didn’t write anything on their best-selling album. You get another good vocalist and you’ll probably get the same result.”.
With that, Sebastian wrote: “Did you notice that the songwriting credits are on the album, right? Can you read them?”. When the same Twitter user said that “Fans need to move beyond the ERAs”, Bach replied: “Fans have moved beyond the ERAs, they started in 1996, idiot. You can listen to Angel Down , Kicking and Screaming and Give 'Em Hell ”, referring to his last three solo albums, “or you can listen to Rise Of The Damnation Army United World Rebellion, Chapter 2 ”, which was the band's recently released post-Bach EP. “The choice of songwriters is up to you”.
The argument continued, with Bach defending himself and telling the fan to read the song credits. He went on to say: “I co-wrote five songs on Slave To The Grind , if you could learn to read, you’d know that. I co-wrote five songs on Subhuman Race , so shove that up your ass too. Go listen to my solo albums and the albums they make without me and have fun.”
In another tweet, Sebastian Bach added: “Read the credits if you want facts. […] You have no idea what you’re talking about and you haven’t read the liner notes. The albums they wrote without me are the ones I don’t sing on. My solo albums were written without them. Enjoy.”.
Six years ago, Bach criticized his former Skid Row bandmates for claiming to have written all the songs on their early albums without him.
Snider Comments podcast with Dee Snider of Twisted Sister , Sebastian Bach said: “The biggest lie these guys always tell is, ‘We wrote all the songs on all the records.’ If you listen to my albums and the Skid Row albums, and then listen to the Skid Row albums without me, and then listen to my solo albums, that will give you everything you need to know about who wrote what.”
Also in the interview, he believes that specifically for Skid Row, if another singer wants to imitate his vocal style and compositions, the band's name should change. Bach also believes he is the best-known member of the band's classic lineup.
In a 2013 interview with Metal Covenant , the band's guitarist, Dave "Snake" Sabo, confirmed whether Bach actually had a significant role in the early albums.
“To be totally honest, yes. I mean, he contributed to things here and there. There’s no doubt about it; you can’t deny that. But to the extent that Rachel [ Bolan , bass] and I put into the songs, no. I mean, Rachel and I spent three months on 'Quicksand Jesus'. So, to say that he didn’t contribute anything, then I’d be lying. But to say that he contributed in the same way that we did, that would be a lie,” he explained.
In a 2010 interview, Bolan spoke about the band's breakup, mentioning Sebastian Bach.
“There was so much tension and so many internal fights that it was difficult to write songs. Snake and I formed the band, wrote the songs, and then other people played and sang. People wanted to break with what was working, and that hindered songwriting,” he said.
Regarding the decision to reform Skid Row in 1999 without Bach, Bolan stated that the differences between the members were so bad after the release of Subhuman Race that they already knew it wouldn't work anymore.
“We decided that we preferred to remain happy with what we were doing rather than go back to all the tension and dissension. We love music, we love playing, and we knew we could do it and have fun again. So we decided to continue there even without him,” she concluded.
Check out some of the tweets from the discussion below:
