SKID ROW will release ‘The Atlantic Years 1989-1996’ on December 3rd

A few weeks ago, a series of Overkill albums was released as a box set called ‘The Atlantic Years’. On December 3^rd, 2021 another box set will be available, sharing the same header. The difference, this time it is one of the most impactful metal and hard rock bands whose classic albums will be combined to an interesting box set for collector. We are talking about Skid Row.

The band from New Jersey formed in 1986 and their self-titled debut was a first blast. Combining the best of rock and metal led to stellar songs like ‘Youth Gone Wild’ and ’18 And Life’. With having had such a strong album as a starting point, expectations rose, and Skid Row could deliver. Their sophomore album ‘Slave to the Grind’ pushed Skid Row to the top and the album is a timeless classic. The title track, the opener ‘Monkey Business’ and ‘Quicksand Jesus’, each of these songs is a shining pearl in rock music and so are the other songs on the album.

To keep the ball rolling and to bridge the waiting time for a next longplayer, Skid Row released an EP ‘B-Side Ourselves’ with five cover songs. The wide spectra (Ramones, Kiss, Judas Priest, Rush, Jimi Hendrix) showed that Skid Row is a band that is not one-dimensional when it comes to their influences, one of their success factors.

Skid Row’s successful rise is even more impressive if one considers the decade. The ‘90s have been the time of grunge and nu metal. That Skid Row could get to the top in such a time is remarkable and shows the quality of their songs. That also goes for the 1995 release ‘Subhuman Race’ as it is valid for the first two longplayers. The third album couldn’t get to the level of ‘Slave to the Grind’, although ‘Subhuman Race’ is anything but a weak record.

Each of the mentioned albums is part of the box set that includes with ‘Subhuman Beings on Tour’ also a live album with seven songs. Disc 5 is not overproduced and comes across very authentic. It gives a good impression of a Skid Row show in the mid ‘90s.

‘Subhuman Race’ was the last Skid Row album that came via Atlantic Records and it was also the last album with Sebastian Bach being the frontman of this powerhouse. It took a while for the band to recover and regroup before a next album hit the shelves in 2003, but that is another story.

‘The Atlantic Years (1989-1996)‘ from Skid Row features the best, the band ever released and the fact that ‘Slave to the Grind’ is included in this box set will be a treat especially for vinyl fans. By the way, all five albums are also newly remastered.

The five-album, 7LP side-loading box set includes: