SKID ROW have released their new, long-awaited album “The Gang‘s All Here”!
“The Gang's All Here” is bursting with energy and exceeds all expectations for the band's return. The album is not only the uncompromising evolution of the Skid Row trademark sound: with the addition of singer Erik Grönwall (formerly of H.E.A.T. and one of the best hard rock frontmen of all time) to the family, Skid Row is also boldly exploring new paths.
Producer guru and long-time fan Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush, Alice In Chains, Halestorm, Evanescence) ignites a musical wildfire together with Skid Row that secures them a place on the hard rock throne.
In November, the band will come to Germany for 4 shows, with the dates found at the end of this news.
Do you remember the first time you heard Skid Row?
“Youth Gone Wild” was playing on MTV. “18 and Life” was the summer hit, and the band was prominently featured on the covers of rock magazines. That intoxicating sound of youth was everywhere. We saw ourselves in the band and gathered around their catchy choruses about camaraderie and rebellion. Rob Hammersmith identified with that gang mentality. “I was looking for that,” he recalls. “Everyone goes through the ‘me against the world’ phase where you just have to stand up for yourself and prove yourself. Every kid goes through that phase, and Skid Row helped realize that you’re not alone in it.”
Snake Sabo knew that he wasn't alone after he entered into a songwriting partnership with Rachel Bolan. “I saw all the talent he had and still has, and it sparked something in me. I thought, ‘Man, this is the beginning of something big. This is exactly where we should be at this moment in our lives.’ That was the birth of Skid Row.”
This something - and the band name - represented the impulse of wild kids who could channel their love for punk and metal into something understood worldwide by like-minded individuals. The moment we came up with Skid Row as a band name, I realized we were building something really special that reflected all our influences,” Rachel recalls. Their attitude and presence were palpable in those songs. It was obvious. A demo of songs that Rachel and Snake had written together was the first that Scotti Hill of Skid Row heard, and he wanted to be part of it. “There were three songs on it — including ‘Clock Strikes Midnight’ — and I loved all three. Right from the start, I liked the direction the music was taking. I just had to be in that damn band!”
That very band created something so powerful and timeless that years later it captivated a young Swedish singer on the other side of the world. “You’re young, a little crazy - fist in the air and fuck yeah - that kind of feeling,” recalls Erik Grönwall. “Skid Row is ‘the youth gone wild’, and I wanted the same. I wanted that lifestyle.”
It’s a cliché to say that a band needs its whole life to write a first album. The truth is, they spend the rest of their lives trying to understand how they managed to do it. “The Gang's All Here” is the catalyst of an attitude that has been smoldering since the band’s founding in 1986. Producer Nick Raskulinecz ignited a creative fire by getting the band to construct good ideas and transform them into something even better. Something timeless. He became the referee of their legacy, allowing the band to trust their instincts and be the same wild kids who created their first two albums.
“For ‘World On Fire’ I had written this really cool riff. Nick said, play the chord up here, an octave higher than the original notes. I didn’t know how to physically pull that off at first; it was hard. But it challenged me. And when I got it right, Nick just said: ‘That is Skid Row.’ That was a tough moment. There was this guy who had to coax Skid Row out of me… even though I’m a founding member of the band! We were kids,” says Rachel about writing songs that propelled “Slave To The Grind” to number 1 on the Billboard charts and made the self-titled album a #6 multi-platinum hit. “We were writing from a completely different perspective back then. Nick brought us back: what approach did we take on the first two records? What did we do back then? In the end, I felt just like I did back when we were writing ‘18 and Life’ and ‘Youth Gone Wild’,” he says. “There was this feeling: Wow! We’re creating something really cool here!”
The album production felt really like back then when the gang was meticulously crafting songs in a garage in New Jersey. “It’s so much fun to be able to let everything out in a room,” says Scotti. “It felt like back then, like we were back in our garage, like in the old days. The only difference is that we now have air conditioning and don’t have to breathe in the fumes from kerosene heaters anymore.”
Rob knows the feeling. “The way we spent eight to ten hours a day trying out ideas and playing things brought us back to the feeling of being a kid playing in the garage with friends,” he says. “This album is really a group effort, and I really enjoyed how close this whole experience was with the guys.” This creative closeness led to new songs being spontaneously written during rehearsals. As soon as someone played new riffs, songs like “World On Fire” and “Not Dead Yet” were born on the spot. “That was really a premiere,” says Rachel. “When everyone contributes from the start, you can really work instinctively.”
Still, Scotti believes that the collaborative writing of Rachel and Snake is the most characteristic of Skid Row. “The best stuff is what they create together, just the two of them. Let them do what they do. That’s how it was in the beginning, and that’s how it works great now. This combination of the guy who writes those powerful guitar riffs and the guy who was influenced by punk and has that poetic street poetry.”
“I wish I had written those songs,” laughs Erik. “There are a lot of great songs here. It’s a nice problem to have too many potential singles. These songs have a lot of ‘old school’ Skid Row in them, like on ‘Tear It Down’, which I like as a fan.” This old-school style makes “The Gang's All Here” instantly familiar. It’s the sound of a good time. “Many of the songs are fun,” says Rachel. “They’re songs you can sing and move to, just like on our first two albums. You can fight to these songs. Drink to them. Strip to them. All areas are covered.”
Raskulinecz encouraged Skid Row not to shy away from putting typical accents that characterize their classic songs. The band should sound like they sound. He pursued the same philosophy as producer Michael Wagener many years ago. “Nick is very aware of the past and respects it,” says Snake. “But it’s more about the essence and the soul of why we started this thing in the first place. He said everything from 1985, when I met Rachel, to 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee, is Skid Row, and he was there to remind us of that.”
Another déjà vu is Erik Grönwall and his growling sound, which can range from a jagged grin to a sweet whisper. “We wanted him to show his full range,” says Rachel. “We wanted him to really tap into his influences - Skid Row just happens to be one of them. But above all, we wanted him to just let loose and do what he does best.”
“That was exactly my approach,” says Erik. “Finding a good balance between the old-school stuff and the way I sing. I just had so much fun recording this album because I really love singing this kind of music.” The first song he heard was “The Gang's All Here,” and Erik felt immediately transported back. “That was Skid Row old school for me – the Skid Row I fell in love with. I thought, wow, they’re really going back to the old school sound, and I can contribute something here. I knew right away what I wanted to do with it when I heard it for the first time.”
From songwriting to performance, the entire band agrees that the ten tracks on “The Gang's All Here” are among their best songs ever. There’s a palpable connection to the songs that too often gets lost in the mechanics of making music. “There’s a piece that came about between Snake and me – ‘October's Song’ - where we ended up playing a double lead. That’s really cool, and it was so much fun. He was on the left side of the room, I was on the right, and we played together. That’s how it should be, and not many people do it that way these days.”
There will always be expectations of how Skid Row should sound. Erik expects strict comparisons with other singers in the band’s history. But the fact that people care so much is a good thing, he believes. “That speaks to the greatness of the band. If people care that much, it means the band is relevant.” “Many people have taken this journey with us,” says Snake. “But even though we’ve all gotten older - and a bit wiser - our essence is still there.”
You won’t be disappointed. “The Gang's All Here” is a revival of everything you’ve ever loved about Skid Row. Snake calls it a rebirth. “There’s a newly discovered energy and passion - and excitement - because we were challenged. When we’re challenged, we rise to the occasion! There’s still so much in us that needs to be told. Recording this album showed me that our tank is far from empty.”
The Gang's All Here - you, the band, and the attitude of being forever wild and young at heart. The album will bring back to life everything you felt the first time you heard this band. It’s like the first time you heard Skid Row, again and again.
Pre-order the album “The Gang’s All Here” HERE
The album will be released as CD Digipak / 1LP Gatefold (black, 180g) / Ltd. Splattered 1LP Gatefold (splattered black/white/red, 180g) / Ltd. Coloured 1LP Gatefold (red transparent, 180g) / Ltd. Coloured 1LP Gatefold (white, 180g)
Skid Row Live
09.11.22 Hamburg, DE Fabrik
10.11.22 Oberhausen, DE Turbinenhalle 2
12.11/22 Giswil, CH UR Rock Festival
13.11,22 Bruchsal, DE Fabrik
14.11.22 München, DE Backstage (Werk)
