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Remember the debut of Skid Row, all of the videos on MTV seemingly 24/7? They ignited a huge following and after three stellar albums thy had amassed a huge devoted following before the crash.  Its now over a decade later and Sebastian Bach, the enigmatic former singer of said band, has unleashed his deadliest Salvo since those days in the form of Angel Down.  Sebastian took the time to speak to Metal Exiles about Angel Down and what it is to be Sebastian.

Jeffrey Easton interviewing Sebastian Bach!

Jeffrey:  It has been seven years since Bring Em Bach Alive was released.  Why so long of a wait for a new solo record?

Sebastian:  Well I did an album in 2005 called Frameshift II: A Absence Of Empathy and it deserves a mention because it was voted one of the top 10 records of the year by Metal Edge.   I sang every note on that record and co wrote some of the songs on the album.  It may be called Frameshift II but if I am singing on it then what’s the difference?  It is worth a mention but Angel Down is the first full blown Sebastian Bach studio solo CD.  This is by far the best thing I have put out in years.  Rolling Stone actually picked my cover for Back In The Saddle as Number 2.   It was very cool to get the thumbs up from Rolling Stone.  I also have a guest star  on the new record as well.

Jeffrey: I know, I cannot miss Axl Rose’s voice all over your record.

Sebastian:  That’s Right, Axle Rose is back!

Jeffrey:  First off, what made you decide to cover Back in The Saddle?

Sebastian:  That was 100% Roy Z., the producer.   I had 13 songs done and I did not really want to do a cover on the record but Roy explained to me the logic behind doing the song  (Back In The Saddle, last name is Bach) and I can run out on stage and say I am back and do that song.   I was not fully committed to doing it until I heard the band do it, with the way Metal Mike and Roy Z played the guitars on it.  I just jumped in and started singing it and a lot of that one take ended up on the record because it was such a great moment.   I usually do my vocals as an overdub but they were kicking so much ass on the track.  The really tricky part was figuring out who was going to sing where on the track as far as Axl on lead or me on lead.  Radio is really responding to that track and I could not be happier. 

Jeffrey:  How did you convince Roy to produce the record?

Sebastian:  I played the material for him after I asked him outside of a restaurant .   Bobby Jarzombek

(former Halford drummer and current member of Sebastian’s band) took me to the Rainbow to meet Roy Z. and Roy wanted to rewrite the stuff but he had not heard it yet.  He told me it is all about the songs and I told him he needed to listen to the material I had so we went to his truck and after he heard what I had he said “Ok, we can make a record”. 

While we were out with Guns N Roses last year we had a break to record the material and here we are. 

Jeffrey:  When you went into record the album did you know how you wanted it to sound?  This album is almost as heavy if not heavier than Slave To The Grind.

Sebastian:  You just made my day by saying that.  I love Slave To The Grind and my favorite bands are Rush and AC/DC and they have so many records so why cant I have Several albums as well?  Slave, I Remember You, Youth Gone Wild,  18 And Life, those songs are played everyday on VH1 Classic, Sirius radio, XM, everywhere I go I hear that stuff.

Jeffrey:  You have staying power.

Sebastian:  I have realized that if I go for it and do not compromise what I am capable of doing I can go far.  There are a lot of bands out right now that have great records that are so heavy and I Love their sound Like Hell Yea and Rebel Meets Rebel. I told Roy that I do not want to come out with some old sound, I want current drum sounds and rude guitars that are modern.

Jeffrey:  You do have a retro tune on here called American Metalhead, sounds like it could have been recorded in 1985.

Sebastian:  That is a metal anthem, which was written by Metal Mike.  It has a Balls To The Wall feel to it, it has that vibe.  You cannot beat a metal anthem.  Youth Gone Wild is one of the all time metal anthems and if I did not have a metal anthem I would not be ready to put out a record.  When Metal Mike played the song for me in my living room it crushed my head.  I am the American Metalhead.  When I was 19 I was the Youth Gone Wild and now I am the American Metalhead until the day I die. 

Jeffrey:  As far as the other material is concerned, where did it come from?

Sebastian:  All I do is make music that I like, I really do not have any rules.  I first started getting music together for this record in 2000, which was Falling Into You.  It took me seven years to get 13 songs that I was comfortable with to release but where do they come from?  I do not know, maybe the air?  (Laughter)   Johnny came up with the riff to Stuck Inside, which he showed me at a Sound check for a show we did in Budapest.  It was a great riff and great riffs are hard to find.

Jeffrey:  Falling Into You is just as good as the ballads you did with Skid Row, do you think it has a shot at airplay?

Sebastian:  I hope it gets on the radio, I Love the song.  I think By Your Side has a great shot as well.  I also want to say this, if you are a fan of rock, you have to support rock.  The CD is out so go out and buy it.  MP3s are not as good as CDs and not enough people say it.  You have to get off your ass and go out and buy it.  Do not download it, do not burn it off of a friend, Buy It.  The packaging is great, I put a lot of work into it and there is a double sided poster included in every CD.  If you download it, you get none of that and again I put a lot into this. 

Jeffrey:  I fully agree, I love CDs for the sound and the art, you cannot look at an MP3.  To wrap this up with a few more questions, what is your best memory from the Skid Row days?

Sebastian:  Slave to the Grind debuting at Number One on the Billboard charts. 

Jeffrey:  Subhuman Race is my favorite Skid Row album, what are your thoughts on it now?

Sebastian:  I love My Enemy, it is classy and cool and it has a great sound as well as unique.  I love Firesign as well along with breaking Down, very underrated song.  Those are my favorites from that release.

Jeffrey:  Will you be going out for this Disc?

Sebastian: Yes I will be going out but I want to put on a big tour.  I spent a year on the road with G N’ R so I want to stay on that level of huge shows.

Sebastian Bach was the poster boy for hard rock in the late 80’s/early 90’s and with the release of Angel Down he has proven that you can grow up and still party like its 1989.

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