Sebastian Bach - Angel Down

[WACF]

Caught Sebastian on Eddie Trunk's XM show last week.

He played the whole album..hilarious show.

The album kicks some decent ass IMO...much better than I expected.

Axl Rose sings on 3 tracks..."Stuck inside" they both fucking wail.

The band is 'METAL' Mike Chlasciak playing geetar, Drummer Bobby Jarzombek and I think bassist Steve DiGiorgio.


Samples at this site...

http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Down-Sebastian-Bach/dp/B000WM72KM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1196097747&sr=1-1

[binnie]

I was going to start a thread about this record, it fuckin' kills!!!!

Admitedly I am seriously biased (huge Bach fan, love his voice.) I heard him do some of the tunes live and they are very heavy. The album is more "metal" than SKid Row, kinda "Slave to the Grind on Steroids".

It was produced by Roy Z so it has that big, crisp production that still allows room for the songs to breath. This is a straight up metal record and his backing band is astounding, well worth a listen (and not just cos Axl happens to be on it...).

You will bang your head, I guarentee!

If I get chance later I'll post some reviews...

[binnie]

From heavymetal.about.com

4/5

We've been seeing a lot of Sebastian Bach on TV the past few years. He just wrapped up a stint on MTV's Celebrity Rap Superstar and prior to that was on VH-1's Supergroup with Ted Nugent, Scott Ian, Evan Seinfeld and Jason Bonham. Bach was also a regular on Gilmore Girls for several seasons. But the former Skid Row frontman has turned his attention back to what he does best.
Angel Down is Bach's first solo CD since 1999, and his band includes guitarists Metal Mike Chlasciak (Halford) and Johnny Chromatic, bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Sadus) and drummer Bobby Jarzombek (Painmuseum). Bach and his band toured with Guns 'N Roses last year, and got along extremely well with Axl Rose, who he had also toured with back in the day. Rose lends guest vocals to three tracks on the album.

The songs on Angel Down are really diverse. They range from old school power ballads to mainstream modern rock to more intense thrash-influenced metal. Bach's voice sounds as good as ever, and he can belt out the high notes, croon the ballads and use an edgier style on the aggressive songs. His band is excellent, especially the guitarists. It's also great to hear Axl Rose singing again, who seems to have a great time with Bach, especially on the Aerosmith cover "Back In The Saddle."

There's no doubt Sebastian Bach has always been one of the most interesting and charismatic figures in his genre of music, but he is not content to rest on his "18 And Life" and "Youth Gone Wild" laurels. Angel Down is one of the most pleasant surprises of 2007, and definitely exceeded my expectations.

[binnie]

http://rayvanhornjr.blogspot.com/2007/11/cd-review-sebastian-bach-angel-down.html


In an interview I conducted with Sebastian Bach this week for Hails & Horns magazine, one of the messages Sebastian wanted to urge to his fans is that he wants to make more albums instead of t.v. shows, to make sure that a music release bearing his name isn't such a media shock, to paraphrase his words.

Angel Down is Sebastian's first solo album in eight years since Bring 'Em Bach Alive, and without a doubt, metal's ever-enduring wild child (who now has a 19-year-old son himself) hasn't forgotten how to devour a mike and own the space he contains, making just enough room for his pal Axl Rose on a few raucous cuts including a game cover of Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle," which is assuredly the motto and mantra for both constituents bearing something to prove to the rock 'n roll world.

If anything, the former Skid Row singer has remembered what made Slave to the Grind and Subhuman Race such great albums while dipping a ladle into the commercial stew that was the self-titled Skid Row album that unscrewed many a beer bottle and popped open more than a handful of jeans buttons throughout history. Angel Down is not a Skid Row album, but you can certainly hear some of that anger from Subhuman Race on "Stuck Inside" and "You Bring Me Down," two of the album's heaviest songs. What's fascinating is how terrific Bach 2007 sounds and how easily he sells the younger Bach to a crowd that misses his voice, along with a generation that missed out originally. Of course, if you get the pleasure of talking to Bach directly for a few minutes, you'll find him to be warm, excitable and a lot of fun. In other words, Sebastian Bach, for the occasional negative press and intermittent reports of outlandish behavior that's been tagged to his back like every spotlight rocker has had to field at one point or another, the bottom line is that Sebastian is a hard rock musician and there's no transfusing it from his blood. Bach is a metalhead and a comic book lover at heart and this is why Angel Down is so effortless to dive into.

Bach still the panache for slipping out the lighters-tossing ballad on Angel Down such as "By Your Side" and "Falling Into You," the former being sweet and mesmerizing, the latter coming off like metal's answer to the Peter Cetera-era Chicago. Still, the meat and potatoes of Angel Down is the rock anthem, which Sebastian Bach gives us in hearty Hulk-Smash! doses on "American Metalhead," a reflective shout-out to the old league that refuses to grow up, much less give up. The Accept-like riff guiding the song makes it a real fist-pumper along with the headbanging nirvana of "Negative Light," which is one of Angel Down's fiercest songs.

Bach is savvy with his varying latitudes of rock on Angel Down, so much you can honestly say there's something for everybody on this thing, be it the old school rawk of "Our Love is a Lie" to a more contemporary neo-punk-metal ala Avenged Sevenfold with "You Don't Understand." Of the three songs featuring Axl Rose (including "(Love is) a Bitchslap" and "Stuck Inside"), it's "(Love is) a Bitchslap" where two faces of a lost era strap it on and go nuts together. Rose sounds like he's ready to put something viable together (which may or may not equate in Chinese Democracy finally unearthing; the long-publicized delay is more a corporate issue than Axl Rose issue, Bach opined to me this week), so stay tuned...

For Sebastian Bach's purposes, Angel Down isn't what you'd call a surprise (unless you're of the younger persuasion who only know of Bach through VH-1, MTV and Gilmour Girls), so much as you'd call it a confident return to the hard rock forum from which he's largely made his bread and butter. His vocals are blazingly sharp and his band featuring established pros such as "Metal" Mike Chlasciak, Rob DeLuca, Jason West and Johnny Chromatic give him all the fuel Sebastian needs to keep that metal torch inside his soul burning loud and proud...

[binnie]

It was a match made in heaven, one for the ages. Jagger and Richards bonded over gritty American blues; Elvis and Liberace bonded over repressed sexuality; and former Skid Row screamer Sebastian Bach bonded with Guns N’ Roses survivor Axl Rose over a common interest in not releasing albums. Rose’s cautious (read: non-existant) approach to the commercial music market is well known, while Bach’s chosen to remain, for the most part, off the map since acrimoniously parting company with the Skids in 1996, limiting his creative output to cover albums and the odd original composition with low-key side projects. As public personae, they could hardly be more different: Rose is quiet and withdrawn; Bach, a loudmouth party animal (in the nicest way possible). When he was invited to support Guns N’ Roses during the band’s first successful European tour in a decade, Sebastian set aside plans to record his first solo album of original material, Angel Down, and laid it down it on his own dollar in the gaps between performance runs. His virtual ever-presence on successive tours was likely a major reason why there were tours plural, and his own raised profile earned him a major label deal with EMI subsidiary Merovingian Records as a result. The irony will no doubt be lost on his former bandmates; they’ve suffered from limited distribution and limited interest since resurrecting the Skid Row name in 1999.

As Skid Row frontman, Sebastian Bach pushed the “metal” in pop metal just about as far as it would go with the landmark 1991 album Slave To The Grind- the scene collapsed shortly after. Angel Down pretty much picks up where that album left off, except in place of the punk-influenced players of old, Bach’s assembled a squad of revered old school heavy metal players: virtuoso bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Sadus); progressive drummer Bobby Jarzombek (Painmuseum, Demons and Wizards); and powerhouse guitarists Metal Mike Chlasciak (Halford, Testament) and Johnny Chromatic. Their skills are immediately apparent with opening pairing ‘Angel Down’ and ‘You Don’t Understand.’ The title track is a dynamic, crushing number which somehow reconciles the notion of the cowbell with the 21st Century and boasts one of Bach’s most incisive, piercing vocals, though, at an almost constant scream, it’s difficult to make out the words. Changing tack completely, standout track ‘You Don’t Understand’ is a highly melodic NWOBHM number, hinging upon harmonised lead guitar lines and the singer’s Dickinson-like higher register theatrics.

Continuing in the chronological vein, three tracks featuring Rose follow, the first sanctioned recordings of the singer to emerge since 1999. Aerosmith cover ‘Back In The Saddle’ (or should that be ‘Bach In The Saddle’) is laced with double meanings for both singers, but that’s not the only reason it sticks out. Stylistically it’s different from everything else on the album and, while in retrospect Joe Perry’s aggressive funk-blues riff seems tailor-made for its metal makeover, the band are subdued and seem to play within themselves. It would be the dullest of covers were it not for the riotous vocal performances of both Bach and Rose, trading lines and raucous screams with a carefree abandon 1970s Steven Tyler would be proud of, and 2000s Steven Tyler would kill or be killed for. Lead single ‘(Love Is) A Bitchslap’ is one of five tracks co-written with producer Roy Z, of Bruce Dickinson fame. A braindead stadium rocker in the ‘Riot Act’/‘Big Guns’ mold, it’s burdened with lyrics so bad they almost can’t be ignored and another unusually disinterested instrumental showing, but it’s catchy and instantly memorable. Rose himself requested to be featured in the sludgy rocker ‘Stuck Inside,’ and his raspy supporting melodies during the track’s final phase add depth to the sub-Alice In Chains refrain.

Aside from a few hiccups, Angel Down is instrumentally and vocally superb. Bach sounds more confident and more agile than he’s ever been, while the drumming in particular stands out as an important feature in the mix. Roy Z’s touch is so deft as to be scarcely noticeable; the mix is clear and distinct without sounding polished, and bassists will be delighted to know that Steve DiGiorgio’s talents are well accounted for. His nimble-fingered watery bassline opens ‘Negative Light’ which, alongside Metal Mike’s ‘American Metalhead,’ ‘Stuck Inside’ and ‘Our Love Is A Lie,’ highlight the central fusion of styles which define the album: the dynamic intercourse between aggressive Bay Area thrash and grungier, Sabbath-esque sections. While technically impressive, the formula becomes a little predictable after a while, and its limits are glaringly exposed when the melodies themselves fall short of the required standard, most notably with ‘Our Love Is A Lie’ and ‘Live & Die.’

http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=14088

The album’s one great track is a throwback to the best of Skid Row’s ballads. ‘By Your Side,’ co-written by Sebastian and Roy Z, bears a vague resemblance to 1991’s ‘I Remember You’- which, coincidentally, Bach had no role in writing. Sparsely arranged and mostly acoustic, the five-and-a-half minute track is carried by the strength of the melody and a stunning vocal which, though not technically perfect, is deeply passionate and physically felt. Closing ballad ‘Falling Into You,’ written with Bon Jovi’s unofficial fifth member Desmond Child, doesn’t even come close. Similarly, Angel Down is a little too inconsistent to consider the equal of Skid Row’s classic first two records, but with strong songwriting and one of the best instrumental sections in modern metal, it’s a big step in the right direction.

[binnie]

http://hardrockhideout.wordpress.com/2007/11/20/sebastian-bach-angel-down-2007/


9/10

Former Skid Row singer, Sebastian Bach blazes the comeback trail with his first new album since his collaboration on the Frameshift disc from 2005.

Not only is this an exciting return for Bach, but it is also one for Axl Rose. This disc features 3 songs with Guns ‘N Roses frontman. These are the first new tunes available (bootlegs don’t count) with Axl Rose since his work with Alice Cooper on the 1999 Box Set, The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper.

When Bach’s first mainstream success in 1989 with the first Skid Row album, there was no doubt that they were part of the whole Glam Metal scene. With Skid Row’s 2nd release, Slave To The Grind, they moved toward a more heavy metal sound. In my opinion, Angel Down carries on where Slave to the Grind left off.

Why mention this during Glam Month? This glam metal star has crafted what is
possibly the best hard rock record of 2007. Bach has brought in some pretty good players for this record, including Metal Mike Chlasciak, and Bobby Jarzombek from Halford. I have had the pleasure of seeing Chlasciak play live, and his is one hell of a guitar shredder. Jarzombek and his pounding double bass drums is his equal on the drums. The band is rounded out by former Iced Earth bassist Steve DiGiorgio and Johnny Chromatic on guitar.

Roy Z. produced this disc, and like most recordings he touches, Angel Down is a well produced, great sounding disc from beginning to end.

Most of the tracks on Angel Down, were written by Sebastian Bach, but he did have a little help from Roy Z, Axl Rose and Desmond Child. Most importantly, his bandmates wrote a lot of the music. This wasn’t a bunch of hired hands playing Sebastian’s music. This was a complete band output.

Sebastian Bach has been a fan favorite of several years now. Those of you that thought Bach couldn’t sing anymore, are about to be proved wrong in a major way. Bach’s voice soars on this disc. Everything from the screams to the higher pitched songs, he does it all, and does it quite well.

Not every song on Angel Down is perfect, but it is one of the best classic metal discs to be released not only in 2007, but quite possibly this decade. This record has some extremely heavy numbers with tracks like American Metalhead and Negative Light. It also has a couple of tracks Falling Into You, and By Your Side that could have been at home on the first Skid Row record. It is going to be quite hard for me to listen to anything else for a while after hearing this record. This is a fucking great record, and it will be near the top of my best of list at the end of 2007. I can only hope that Bach will put out more quality releases like Angel Down in the future.

Do yourself a favor and go buy this record today!

[ELVIS]

The programmed drums are great...:rolleyes:

Those samples SUCK !!

Back in the Saddle is PATHETIC!

The heavy songs sound like the last King Diamond album with vocals that even King blows away...

You lose all respect from me when you telling me how great his vocals are...


:elvis:

[binnie]

http://www.metalsucks.net/?p=2793


I understand being overly effusive about an album you love, especially when you’ve just discovered said album and it’s all so fresh in your mind (in fact, I’m more than a little tempted to jizz a few thousand words about A7X’s self-titled, which, it’s fair to say, I like wwwwaaaaayyyy more than I thought I would, and is almost certainly the pop-metal release of the year).

But Paul Cashmere’s review of Sebastian Bach’s forthcoming Angel Down, posted now over at Undercover.com, makes me wonder if the dude isn’t getting a little ahead of himself:

“I can tell you that without a doubt… Angel Down is the metal album of the year, if not the 21st Century so far… This is the album you want Chinese Democracy to be… It is a statement.”

Stupid rapping aside, I don’t think it’s a secret that we’re Bach fans around here; still, it’s really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hard to believe that Bach just made the best metal album of the 21st Century so far. But if this dude has a copy, the whole thing should leak any second now, so I guess we’ll know soon enough.

[binnie]

Originally posted by ELVIS
The programmed drums are great...:rolleyes:

Those samples SUCK !!

Back in the Saddle is PATHETIC!

The heavy songs sound like the last King Diamond album with vocals that even King blows away...

You lose all respect from me when you telling me how great his vocals are...


:elvis:


Well, each to his own I guess. His voice isn't for everyone, but to me it sounds as strong as it did in the mid-90s: if you didn't like it then, you won't like it now.

Programmed drums? I can't hear any on there but I'll take your word for it. I've always liked Roy Z's production, the Halford and Dickinson albums he did sounded immense, and I think that this one does too....

Agreed that "Back in the Saddle" was a mistake though: something that iconic should be left alone, no matter who's doing the cover, it will always pale into comparison compared to the original.

I would also say that the second ballad "Falling into You", co-written with Desmond Childs, is a weak song, and sounds out of place on the album.

But those criticisms aside, I think this is a kick-ass metal record. However, even I wouldn't go as far as one reviewer and say that this is the greatest metal record of the 21st century! There's always one, lol!!!

[ELVIS]

I can see someone who likes Sebastian Bach liking this a lot...

He sounds better than ever, but I just don't like him, never did...

As far as programmed drums, just let your mind focus on the snare drum for an entire sond, then do it on a second song...

Try it Bin...


:elvis:

[Anonymous]

Originally posted by binnie
The title track is a dynamic, crushing number which somehow reconciles the notion of the cowbell with the 21st Century

Alright! COWBELL!!!


Originally posted by binnie
while the drumming in particular stands out as an important feature in the mix.


Originally posted by binnie
I have had the pleasure of seeing Chlasciak play live, and his is one hell of a guitar shredder. Jarzombek and his pounding double bass drums is his equal on the drums.


Originally posted by ELVIS
The programmed drums are great...:rolleyes:

Wait a minute... I'm confused... :confused: Are you SURE the drums are programmed? I've learned long ago not to pay too much attention to critics, but I'd like to know the deal here.


Originally posted by ELVIS
I can see someone who likes Sebastian Bach liking this a lot...

He sounds better than ever, but I just don't like him, never did...

Yeah, I buy most anything that has Sebastian's name on it. Like Bin, huge fan here, almost to a gay-like point, but never quite reaching that. In fact, I'm in larve with Bach's wife.

I'll have to check this shit out.

Cheers! :bottle:

[ELVIS]

Originally posted by Imapus Sylicker
Are you SURE the drums are programmed?
Cheers! :bottle:


Yes...

[binnie]

Originally posted by Imapus Sylicker

In fact, I'm in larve with Bach's wife.

I'll have to check this shit out.

Cheers! :bottle:

Do check it out, you won't be disappointed!

Oh, and, hands off she's mine!

[WACF]

I see where Elvis comes from...he never did like Bach why would he now.

I'll have to listen for the programmed drums like Elvis says...on the show Bach spoke of how the band played their asses off on this record.

For me...this is where Subhuman Race left of...I liked both of the last Skid albums with bach.

I did not expect as much I got when I heard it.

I had already heard Love is a bitchslap and Back in the saddle(bad move covering this)...and I really do not like either.

But...there are some killer tracks on this...if you liked the Skids with bach...you will like this.

[binnie]

Originally posted by WACF


For me...this is where Subhuman Race left of...I liked both of the last Skid albums with bach.

I had already heard Love is a bitchslap and Back in the saddle(bad move covering this)...and I really do not like either.


Wow, you must be the only person in the world besides me who likes "Subhuman Race" - I thought it was a great record and liked the heavier sound.

I really dig "Love is a Bitchslap" though - kinda reminds me of something off the first Skid Row record, although with much rawer production. I can see why it was the single, it's the most "Skid Row" song on there.

Have you heard the side project he did? The band was called "Frameshift" and the album was "Abscence of Empathy". It's nothing like Skid Row or anything you'd expect, it's a prog rock concept album. Well worth checking out, there is some heavy stuff....

[WACF]

Originally posted by binnie
Wow, you must be the only person in the world besides me who likes "Subhuman Race" - I thought it was a great record and liked the heavier sound.

I really dig "Love is a Bitchslap" though - kinda reminds me of something off the first Skid Row record, although with much rawer production. I can see why it was the single, it's the most "Skid Row" song on there.

Have you heard the side project he did? The band was called "Frameshift" and the album was "Abscence of Empathy". It's nothing like Skid Row or anything you'd expect, it's a prog rock concept album. Well worth checking out, there is some heavy stuff....


The heavier sound worked for me...some wanted 18 and Life over and over.

My problem with Bitchslap is the vocals...for some reason that song just does not grab me...but...pretty much the rest of the CD did.
Very catchy...

I have been meaning to snag that Frameshift cd but keep putting it off.
I heard Bach had a falling out with the guy that formed Frameshift...the dude changed Bach's lyrics just enough to cut Bach out of some cash.

[binnie]

Originally posted by WACF

I heard Bach had a falling out with the guy that formed Frameshift...the dude changed Bach's lyrics just enough to cut Bach out of some cash.

I heard that too, I think he also remixed the record without letting Bach know. I'm guessing that means that there won't be a follow-up record..lol!

[WACF]

I will still have to check it out...