It was only a couple of months ago that Skid Row announced their alignment with Megaforce Records – also releasing the title of their upcoming release of this EP United World Rebellion – Chapter One. Consisting of five tracks (plus a couple of extra covers thrown in for some editions) – “Kings of Demolition”, “Let’s Go”, “This is Killing Me”, “Get Up” and “Stitches” – the EP marks the beginning of Skid Row’s return to form in order to re-connect with their current fans after a seven-year lapse. This EP is just the first in a series with which the band will attempt re-introduce themselves to the world, with the “reincarnated” line up consisting of Johnny Solinger (lead vocals), Snake Sabo (guitars), Rachel Bolan (bass), Scotti Hills (guitars) and Rob Hammersmith (drums).
The EP definitely does the job of reigniting the passion of the old Skid Row music, especially with the addition of Johnny Solinger, whose voice is strong enough to rival that of previous singer Sebastian Bach, and certainly more than adequate to win over old and new fans alike of this classic ‘80s rock band. The tracks heavily resonate that classic ‘hair metal’ sound that Skid Row were well known for, although they do give an increasingly modern twist to these new tracks showing that they don’t rely on the success of previous albums when Bach was involved: “It’s still about writing a great song with your friend, praying it connects with someone” – Sabo
“Kings of the Demolition” opens the EP exceptionally well, with some heavy riffs and equally heavy lyrics, and each song driving forward towards the next with empowering style. The rest of the EP follows in similar vein – upping and slowing the tempo as they go along to showcase their talent and versatility throughout.
One track in particular, “This Is Killing Me” has some cause for controversy and has stirred conversation over its incredible likeness to “I Remember You” – a track from the band’s former glory days when Bach was the lead. However, despite sporting the same tune, “This Is Killing Me” can be seen as a tribute of sorts (rather than outright lifting), which only serves to cement their new image as a mere re-introduction rather than a new beginning altogether: “When we put the band back together, we needed to re-introduce Skid Row as relevant without relying too much on past success. We sunk our heart and soul into it, letting people know we weren’t doing it for the lack of nothing better to do.” – Bolan
Skid Row – Kings of Demolition
