''Subhuman Race'' (stylized ''sUBHUMAN rACE'') is the third studio album by American
heavy metal band
Skid Row, released on March 28, 1995, by
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
. This is the last Skid Row album with singer
Sebastian Bach
Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and ha ...
and drummer
Rob Affuso
Robert James Affuso (born March 1, 1963, in Newburgh, New York) is an American heavy metal drummer best known as a member of the band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996.
Affuso is currently the band leader and drummer for Soulsystem, a band he forme ...
, and the last one to be released on Atlantic. Despite receiving positive reviews, ''Subhuman Race'' was not as successful as the band's first two albums. Certain tracks from the album were remixed for the band's compilation ''
40 Seasons: The Best of Skid Row'', given more tender, slightly cleaner mixes to fit better with the other tracks.
Overview
Released during the decline of
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
and heavy metal, ''Subhuman Race'' marked a significant change in the band's sound, with
Bob Rock replacing
Michael Wagener as its producer, and resembling a mixture of heavy metal with
grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...
,
alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
,
punk rock,
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
and
groove metal
Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre achieved success in the 1990s and continued having success in the 2000s. Inspired by thrash metal and traditional heavy metal, groove metal features raspy ...
influences.
It has also been noted as more of a dark album than previous works.
To promote ''Subhuman Race'', Skid Row supported
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
in North America on their ''
Balance'' tour. Following the album and tour, they released a live EP titled ''
Subhuman Beings on Tour'', featuring live performances from the ''Subhuman Race'' tour. The band has not played any songs from ''Subhuman Race'' since the album's tour in 1995–1996,
though Bach has occasionally played them on his solo tours, including "Beat Yourself Blind", "Frozen", and the singles "
My Enemy", "
Into Another" and "
Breakin' Down
"Breakin' Down" is a song by Skid Row and released as a single from their third album, ''Subhuman Race''. The song was released in 1995 and written by Dave "the Snake" Sabo.
Background
The song is known for its use in the Christopher Walken film ...
". "Beat Yourself Blind" was the only song from this album to be performed live since Bach's departure, until
ZP Theart performed "Medicine Jar" in 2018, while "Remains to Be Seen" has never been played live once.
The album debuted at #35 on the Billboard 200, staying for nine weeks, being a significant drop off from ''Slave to the Grind''
's #1 debut. By 1999, ''Subhuman Race'' has sold 165,424 copies, falling significantly behind their previous records.
Critical reception
''Subhuman Race'' received mixed to mostly positive reviews from music critics.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
wrote that it saw the band "strip back their music to the basics" and was their "strongest and most vicious record to date."
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' reviewer called it "the freshest
riff
A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...
age since last year's
Soundgarden record" and also noted the "tight, hot guitar lines and radio hooks that burn themselves into your brain".
[ '' Q'' praised both the guitars that "grumble and mutter more menacingly than ever" and Bach's "awesome vocal pyrotechnics", summarizing that "Skid Row has come up with an outright winner."][ Canadian journalist ]Martin Popoff
Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has additionally ...
found the album quite complex, with Skid Row "absorbing the best elements of grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...
into their over-the-top love of all things metal." He praised Bach's performance and the band's "street-savvy" attitude and "prog ethic" shown in the record.
Conversely, Jim Farber of ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' considered ''Subhuman Race'' made of "the same squealing, yowling, third-rate metal that made Skid Row pariahs in the first place", calling them an "unrepentant hair band
Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ro ...
of the '80s" which had mangled their melodies "to get over their old 'power ballad
A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...
' stigma." Dean Golemis of the ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' criticised Skid Row's "campy
Camp is an aesthetic style and sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. Camp aesthetics disrupt many of modernism's notions of what art is and what can be classified as high art by inverting aes ...
, formulaic arrangements that still cater to commercial appeal and offer nothing new to a genre plagued by cliches and copycats", but remarked as "Bach's vocal bravura stands as the album's saving grace." Thomas Kupfer in his review for the German ''Rock Hard
"Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...
'' magazine wrote that "Skid Row will offend a lot of old fans with this disc", where "mediocrity dominates, the songs seem uninspired, and only the compact sound and the solid craftsmanship of the band members" save the album.
The band members also do not reflect positively on their work on ''Subhuman Race''. In an interview in November 2006, bassist Rachel Bolan expressed his negative feelings about the album: "That record was a nightmare. Internally the band had fallen apart but we were forced to go in and do another record and it was a nightmare with the recording, writing and producing. We worked with someone we had not worked with before after being so successful with Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
and we were used to the way he did things. I am not slighting Bob
Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to:
Places
*Mount Bob, New York, United States
*Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica
People, fictional characters, and named animals
*Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
*Bob (surname) ...
at all, he is a genius producer but it was bad timing. I did not have the greatest time, it was nobody's fault, it was just the way things were. Also the record absolutely sucks." In a June 2018 interview on the "Rock Talk with Mitch Lafon" podcast, vocalist Sebastian Bach
Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and ha ...
indicated that, despite featuring "some good tunes", the "very dated production sound" of ''Subhuman Race'' has made it an unlistenable album: "In the same way, probably, Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...
might think '' St. Anger'' is dated to that time, I think ''Subhuman Race'' might be our ''St. Anger''."
Track listing
† The song "Iron Will" ends at 4:45 followed by 2:15 of silence before a hidden track plays.
Personnel
Skid Row
*Sebastian Bach
Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and ha ...
– lead vocals
*Scotti Hill
Scotti Hill (born Scott Lawrence Mulvehill on May 31, 1964, in Manhasset, New York) is an American musician best known as a guitarist in the New Jersey heavy metal band Skid Row.
Overview
One of the last glam metal bands to hit the big time ...
– guitar, backing vocals
*Dave Sabo
David Michael Sabo (born September 16, 1964), nicknamed "The Snake", is an American musician best known as one of the guitarists of heavy metal band Skid Row.
Biography Pre-Skid Row
Sabo was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey and grew up in near ...
– guitar, backing vocals
* Rachel Bolan – bass guitar, backing vocals
*Rob Affuso
Robert James Affuso (born March 1, 1963, in Newburgh, New York) is an American heavy metal drummer best known as a member of the band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996.
Affuso is currently the band leader and drummer for Soulsystem, a band he forme ...
– drums, percussion
Production
* Bob Rock – producer
* Randy Staub – engineer, mixing at The Warehouse Studio, Vancouver, Canada
*Brian Dobbs, Darrin Grahn – assistant engineers
*George Marino
George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s.
Biography
Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...
– mastering at Sterling Sound
George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s.
Biography
Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...
, New York City
Charts
Certifications
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1995 albums
Skid Row (American band) albums
Atlantic Records albums
Albums produced by Bob Rock
Albums recorded at Greenhouse Studios