The first rebellion started in 1986.
New Jersey kids, punk and metal attitude, determined to conquer the world. All for one, banded together with single-minded purpose. The battlefield was the stage, the songs their arsenal in an us-against-them musical coup d’état.
Top Ten singles. Gold and multi-platinum sales. No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. The world was theirs, the rebellion won, until there was nothing left to fight for — so they fought each other. Following an ill-advised South American tour in 1996, the band was finished.
But the core camaraderie never died.
“When we put the band back together, we needed to reintroduce Skid Row as relevant without relying too much on past success,” explains bassist Rachel Bolan.
“We wrote songs and hit the road. We sunk our heart and soul into it, letting people know we weren’t doing it for lack of anything better to do.” Snake Sabo continues, “We seem to be at our best when we’re faced with adversity.
It’s us against the world again — and by us I mean the band and the fans who stick with us and carry the Skid Row torch without fail.” Now, Skid Row is gearing up to record the final installment of the United World
Rebellion trilogy.
Recording new songs means capturing the signature Skid Row energy for drummer Rob Hammersmith. “That sound and energy is what resonates with people and knocks them on their ass! We have a lot of great ideas to work with, so we’re all really excited about this new music.”
As the energy for the new album and tour is reaching fever pitch, enter ZP Theart. “I’ve been a mad fan of this band since I was a teenager, and to now be a member of Skid Row, is beyond any sense of my imagination!” “We’ll be hitting the studio to get started on some new material and I’m beyond excited to say the least. This is a whole new deck of cards and there’s gonna be no holding back!” Theart adds.
Classic dual-guitar teams are a key component of great songs — K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton. Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson. Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. Add Snake and Scotti Hill to that list. “Playing as a team for over thirty years, our styles are still as unique as our personalities — as unique as our band,” Scotti says. “Combine them together on United World Rebellion – Chapter Three and you have the Skid Row guitar sound.”
That sound is rambunctious exuberance. They got older, but Skid Row never really grew up. United World Rebellion – Chapter Three is still the youth gone wild, their musical spark still burning gasoline.
“I will always be that 16-year-old kid in front of the mirror, pretending to be Ace Frehley or Michael Schenker,” Snake admits. “It’s still about writing a great song with your friends, praying it connects with someone. That has never left me. That willfulness will always exist, and there’s so much left to say!”
And so the rebellion continues.