Sebastian Bach is the Liza Minelli of heavy metal, which isn’t to critisize his drinking or liberal use of eyeliner, but rather his diva-worthy egomania.
“Sebastian is basically the same kid we found when he was 17-years-old,” said his Skid Row-era manager, Doc McGhee. “Low IQ, high RPM.”
That description conveniently applies to Sebastian’s newest offering Angel Down and honestly, is anyone more respect-worthy than a man whose music is true to his personality?
Bach fronted Skid Row and led them to the top of the charts, blessed with one of the most powerful voices of the ’80s and among its most boisterous personalities. With songs like “Youth Gone Wild” and “18 and Life,” Skid Row brought metal to a group of teenagers for whom Rob Halford’s tiny leather vests were just a little too rebellious. Yet the ’90s were famously unkind to Bach and his glam metal contemporaries: he was fired by his bandmates for his eccentricities. His rekindled fame is thanks to numerous high-profile television appearances (VH1’s Supergroup, and, oddly enough, a recurring role on the WB’s popular Gilmore Girls).
This is where things get a bit strange. Sebastian post-Gilmore Girls rocks harder than any other time in his career. This album has enough aggression to satisfy nearly any metal fan. With only two ballads padding the 14-track length, it never lets up. Angel Down becomes an endurance test: it chugs along as if to say, “How much can your little head bang?” No one says rock has to have a brain, subtlety or even tonal variety, but RPM is an absolute necessity (or so it would seem). If loud, dull rock sounds like your idea of a good time, consider this your invitation.