By the time of 2013's
United World Rebellion: Chapter One
, it had been seven years since hair metal vets
Skid Row
had released an album and decades since their late-'80's heyday. Though their days of multi-platinum sales came when ex-vocalist
Sebastian Bach
was the outspoken frontman of the band, current singer
Johnny Solinger
had been with the band since 1999, logging more active years than
Bach
did, though in a considerably different phase of the group's career. With this five-song EP (slated to be the first of several in the months following its release), it seems all the years and changes
have gone through haven't done much to affect their sound. The songs, all still penned by masterminds
Rachel Bolan
and
Dave "The Snake" Sabo
, still hold true to the attitude-soaked punk-leaning riffs the band built its name on. Sleazy uptempo guitar rockers like "Kings of Demolition" and "Stitches" wouldn't sound out of place on the first
record, and the EP's sole ballad, "This Is Killing Me," approaches a more
Hendrix
-influenced rewrite of the group's massive late-'80s hit "I Remember You."
Solinger
's throaty screams could easily pass for
's metal virtuosity in a blind comparison test. The only thing that's noticeably different from the group's earliest days is that the lyrical fixation with sex, partying, and rebellion has been replaced with a strangely isolated sense of anger, pain, and vague political angst. While the days of "Youth Gone Wild" have faded into adulthood,
haven't really moved too far from the sound of their salad days. [A 2014 release added two bonus tracks, "Sheer Heart Attack" and "Rats in the Cellar."] ~ Fred Thomas