Judging by the number of band t-shirts in the audience, Skid Row was certainly among the most anticipated acts at Summer Breeze Brasil this Saturday, the 29th.
And it's no wonder. Icons of 1990s hard rock, the band is in a rebirth phase with the arrival of Swedish vocalist Eric Grönwall , replacing ZP Theart in the challenging mission of taking over as frontman of a band that became famous with the voice of another.
Despite the show being slightly delayed due to technical problems at the Andre Matos tribute, the band took to the stage with incredibly high energy, with Grönwall running and jumping from the very first moment.
Whether it's his impressive raspy voice, infectious and energetic stage presence, or old-school rockstar mannerisms, from masturbation gestures to the way he challenges the audience to react more, the new vocalist manages to bring youth back to Skid Row and effortlessly proves the value of the band's new lineup.
With an album released in 2022, The Gang's All Here , the group balanced career classics with tracks from their new work, an exemplary hard rock album with renewed energy, featuring "Timebomb" and the celebrated title track, which was the first sample of the current lineup to the public .
Alongside original members Dave Sabo and Rachel Bolan , the 35-year-old frontman possesses the erratic charisma of the rock stars who influenced him. He made a point of learning to say "sons of bitches" in Portuguese and wasn't satisfied when the audience showed little reaction to the mention of the new album. "Make some noise, for God's sake," he exclaimed.
The show's highlights were the band's classics, such as "18 and a Life," "Monkey Business," the ballad "In a Darkened Room," and "Youth Gone Wild," closing the set with the audience already convinced and won over. "This is my personal favorite," Eric said before the last song of the set.
With renewed energy and an extremely skilled vocalist, capable of honoring classic songs with the perfect vocal timbre of someone who grew up listening to Sebastian Bach, but possessing his own originality, Skid Row shows that there is much to be done in the coming years beyond nostalgia.
Wikimetal 's full coverage of Summer Breeze Brasil 2023 here and also on our Instagram .
See the photo gallery from our contributor Leca Suzuki below (swipe to the side to see more photos).
