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Skid Row - Subhuman Race Audio CD

A fair review of the Skid Row "Subhuman Race" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Skid Row reviews here, or go back to the Skid Row tabs.

Skid Row Band: Skid Row
Title: Subhuman Race
Rating:
Release Date: 1995-03-28
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: My Enemy 2: Firesign 3: Bonehead 4: Beat Yourself Blind 5: Eileen 6: Remains to Be Seen 7: Subhuman Race 8: Frozen 9: Into Another 10: Face Against My Soul 11: Medicine Jar 12: Breakin' Down 13: Iron Will

H-E-A-V-Y = HEAVY, nothing "Glam" about it!
But the lyrics and riffs are amazing. This album is has the heaviest and most memorable riffs of Skid Row's albums, the songs are ground into your brain by the heavy metal machinery!

My only criticism of the album is that its so heavy, you almost can't listen to it all the way through, but it's great to throw on and listen to your favorite tracks.

My review is going to consist of the most memorable lyrics from each song:

MY ENEMY: "The weather's fair, does that change where you stand? My back is turned and the knife is in your hand"
FIRESIGN: "Beaten, burned I'll take the fall and get up right in your face, walk all over what I believe, I'm still here you disappear without a trace!"
BONEHEAD: "If you're a new God let me see a miracle"
BEAT YOURSELF BLIND: "A piece of paper that's fallen out a window, has got a better chance of knowing where it lands"
EILEEN: "There are people we won't remember that dance with her at night"
REMAINS. . . : "Trip, the lightning spastic, Captain Fantastic, the 1970's"
SUBHUMAN RACE: "Your jumping into the Subhuman Race"
FROZEN: "So I build a fire, So I can sit and stare"
INTO ANOTHER: "Should this scar, then it was meant to be"
FACE. . . : "You build a wall, inside a wall, and there's no door"
MEDICINE JAR: "Caught the Mother jacknifin', little bit low lifin'"
BREAKIN DOWN: "Not for a second did I believe you, not for a minute did I believe that"
IRONWILL: "Break the molds of beg and submission"

Buy today and get ready to rock, with Bach!.


Subhuman = Subpar, for Skid Row
But this is deluded nonsense. Some think this is Skid Row's best work, perhaps in an attempt to go against the grain or to avoid anointing their more famous albums, Skid Row and Slave to the Grind, as their best. Neither as catchy as their self-titled debut, nor as aggressive as the stellar Slave, Subhuman Race comes off as a band that has lost its identity, and is trying to compete with more recently successful bands like Pantera by taking the aggression in a new, clearly thrash influenced direction.

But, for the most part, it doesn't come across as an incredibly successful effort. Most of the tracks lack the character that was to be found, in abundance, on Slave and the highlights of the album are barely equal to the filler on that, the most outstanding of Skid Row's efforts.

There are some quality tracks, which salvage the album for the hardcore fan ("Remains to be Seen" in particular), though they're just not up to Skid Row's best, overall.


Not what you might expect
They seemed to be just another band that mirrored the LA glam scene. I gotta admit, when I first heard Skid Row, I wasn't too impressed. Then came Slave to the Grind, which had a few promising tunes but still had the overall tone of its predecessor.

Subhuman Race is a far cry from their "MTV" days. It rocks hard and has major riffs and hooks. If you're a big fan of their earlier material, then this effort will probably not be to your liking. On the other hand, if you disliked the first 2 albums but saw the potential for them to take it to another level, then this will have you grinning widely. All those tours with bands like Metallica and Pantera finally rubbed off on their songwriting and pushed their musical ability to the limits. Crushing songs like "My Enemy", "Medicine Jar" and "Firesign" prove that they can also do downtuning, odd time signatures and dual guitar riffing, as well as a good mix of melody and make it sound good. Great album!.


Favorite of the bunch
Welcome to the Sub-human Race. It's the heaviest, detuned, keyed down, close to Metallic-runch there is of all of them.


Solid, if forgotten, metal blast
But it was 1995 and they were few and far between as it was basically illegal to like Skid Row at the height of grunge and alterna-rock hegemony. Honest magazines of the time agreed that this rocked mightily.

But bugger the mainstream - this rocked! A mature slice of corporate metal still with Bachs trademark pipes soaring and growling their way through tunes that had more in common with Slave to the Grind than the debut. Which is as you'd expect. Heavy rockers abound here as hard riffing is the order of the day, personal faves bein the lead cut My Enemy, the title track and Medicine Jar. That's not to deny the impassioned Bach efforts on Frozen or Beat Yourself Blind. And the band weren't above a few gimmicks, such as the single Breakin' Down being issued in two versions, effectively trying to double sales for the single. But hey, Maiden relentlessly issue all sorts of versions of everything to siphon the last cent (or pence) from their fans wallets and let's not even start on KISS! So I can forgive 'em and really this solid metal outing should of sufficed to silence critics and to ensure the bands survival.

Other tidbits you may find helpful in making your choice would be A) bob Rock production, B) nifty foldout packaging on the initial pressing and C) a defiant will to win. Though to be fair, reasons not to buy this would be A) not quite the kill factor of Slave to the Grind, B) knowing the band were disintegrating from within - yeah it's a downer and C) the absence of chilling slower numbers - there is nothing approaching In A Darkened Room, Wasted Time or Quicksand Jesus.

Still, recommended metal.


You can see a complete list of all Skid Row discography, or go back to the Skid Row tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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