SEBASTIAN BACH - Angel Down

\r\nAbout twenty\r\nyears ago, there was a spot on TV about a huge Metal festival that would take\r\nplace in Moscow, and that was something that would happen for the first time\r\nbehind the ‘Iron Curtain’. Obviously, as well as all the metalheads of that\r\nera, I watched the show, waiting for the Scorpions and Ozzy Osbourne to go on\r\nstage, but I remember well the opening act, because I couldn’t believe how bad\r\nwas their singer, and how all the tracks had no inspiration whatsoever! A\r\ncouple of years later, Skid Row (the opening act I was talking about), was a\r\nreally big band, and I welcomed myself to the ‘credible’ world of Music\r\nIndustry (or Music Business in this case).\r\n

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\r\nTwenty years\r\nlater, Sebastian Bach, the ex-Skid Row singer anymore, releases ‘Angel Down’,\r\nbacked by a super band (of sessionists), including the really huge bassist\r\nSteve DiGiorgio (Sadus, Death, Iced Earth, Testament, etc), guitarists ‘Metal’\r\nMike Chlasciak (Halford, Painmuseum) and Johnny Chromatic, drummer Bobby\r\nJarzombek (Riot, Spastic Ink, Halford, etc) and Roy Z in production (Tribe Of\r\nGypsies, Bruce Dickinson, Halford). All the prerequisites for a great album\r\nsomeone would think. The result is definitely heavier than Skid Row, but just\r\nbecause some things never change, it’s equally bad unfortunately! \r\n

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\r\nFourteen tracks\r\nthat reveal a complete lack of originality, substance, inspiration, and on top\r\nof that, Sebastian Bach’s voice remains annoying and completely thin! Although\r\nthe production is quite good, and ‘Metal’ Mike did a good job, DiGiorgio\r\nunfortunately can be rarely spotted, and additionally the outcome is really\r\ncheesy overall. And of course, when an American mainstream artist releases a\r\ncheesy album ‘experts’ call it class, when Europeans do the same, it’s just\r\ncheesy…\r\n

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\r\nThere is one\r\nmore surprise on this album though, regarding the guest appearances, and that\r\nis of Guns ‘n’ Roses singer Axl Rose, in three tracks. It’s really amazing how\r\ntwo of the worst singers ever in the history of mainstream music ‘sing’ on the\r\nsame album, and together decided to cover (and kill) Aerosmith’s ‘Back In The\r\nSaddle’. I know that many will disagree, but the truth is that, technically\r\nspeaking, these two persons are not singers; there were just two people that\r\nwere at the right place on the right time, and the fans were rather attracted\r\nby their attitude and looks, than by their abilities, but that’s life.\r\n

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\r\nOut of the\r\nfourteen tracks, there are barely two of them that are above average, the Iron\r\nMaiden-esque ‘You Don’t Understand’, and the (cheesiest of the album) ‘Falling\r\nInto You’. All the rest is the kind of music that makes you wonder why it was\r\never created. EMI of course is pushing the album, so don’t be surprised if you\r\nsee it album of the month here and there, that’s just money talks, and the way\r\nthat Music Business operates. \r\n

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\r\nTerry Nikas\r\n

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