The term ‘legendary’ is overused when it comes to rock stars. However, when considering the towering, hair-flinging motormouth Sebastian Bach, a man today’s Skid Row can barely bring themselves to discuss, ‘legendary’ is the only word. Some of what you hear about him is true; some has simply grown through the telling.
The man’s voice, as instantly identifiable as that of Axl Rose, remains an air raid siren of a thing on this, incredibly his first album in 10 years. But for the fact that he’s as mad as a sieve without holes, you’d pick him for your band every day. That voice, that persona, just screams ‘rock star’, and so it proves on killer opener Everybody Bleeds and surging, heavily melodic rip-snorters like Crucify Me and Hard Darkness. Being Sebastian Bach isn’t something you can do at half speed, and he’s admitted to screaming his way to a hernia, requiring surgery in 2017, but thankfully, and despite its introspective-sounding title, Child Within The Man is Bach at full force.