“An album more than 10 years in the making.” That’s how former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach you describe his new solo LP, “Child Within The Man”set for release on May 10 via Reigning Phoenix Music.
The 11-track album was recorded in Orlando, Florida; produced and mixed by Michael “Elvis” Baskette; engineered by Jeff Mollassistant engineered by Josh Saldate and mastered by Robert Ludwig of Gateway Mastering. Bach wrote or co-wrote all the album’s tracks and sang all lead and backing vocals.
“Child Within The Man” features guest appearances from John 5 (MÖTLEY CRÜE, ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON),Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL) and Orianthi (ALICE COOPER, MICHAEL JACKSON) — who all co-wrote their respective tracks with Bach — and two tracks co-written with ALTER BRIDGE‘s Myles Kennedy (“What Do I Got to Lose?” and “To Live Again”). Devin Bronson (guitars),Todd Kerns (bass) and Jeremy Colson (drums) round out the players on the album. The album will be available on jewelcase CD, cassette, and double LP in a variety of color options.
Today also marks the release of Sebastian‘s first-ever lyric performance video for the album’s latest single, “Everybody Bleeds”. The song — with lyrics by Bach — addresses the universal truths of pain with such lines as “Everybody bleeds / Everybody burns / Everybody drowns…”
“I have been putting out records since the year 1989,” Sebastian says. “Thank YOU for 35 years of Bach N’ Roll…all leading up to ‘Child Within The Man’! If you like the records I have put out in the past, I can GUARANTEE that you will enjoy the new album. THIS is the kind of Rock N’ Roll that keeps you young! Can’t wait for you all to crank up ‘Child Within The Man’ — a magical elixir to the Fountain of Youth! Gone Wild! Forever! It’s all one big song! TURN IT UP!”
The album artwork holds special meaning since it was designed by Bach‘s father, noted visual artist David Bierk.
“This album artwork was started in 1978 and finished in 2024!” Sebastian quips.
Bach adds: “RPM Records you have provided me with the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll fantasy dream come true…to make my ultimate rock ‘n’ roll record! With the team of players & production on this album, I can honestly say we have made the best record that we could possibly make! The packaging is of the highest standard in every way. The vinyl, CD, & cassette formats have all been made to exact specifications! The 45 RPM double gatefold sleeve vinyl editions come in three eco-formats which are the highest standard of vinyl sound. Plus multicolored variations including a Glow In The Dark special for all you rock collectors out there!”
“Child Within The Man” track listing is as follows:
01. Everybody Bleeds
02. Freedom (featuring John 5)
03. (Hold On) To The Dream
04. What Do I Got To Lose?
05. Hard Darkness
06. Future Of Youth (featuring Orianthi)
07. Vendetta
08. FU (featuring Steve Stevens)
09. Crucify Me
10. About Break
eleven. To Live Again
The album’s first single, “What Do I Got To Lose?”, continues to build momentum at rock radio. It was co-written by Sebastian, Kennedy and baskettethe latter of whom also served as the track’s producer.
In advance of the album’s release, Bach will hit the road in 2024 for an international tour with dates in Latin and North America. The “What Do I Got To Lose?” tour is a mix of solo gigs and festival appearances that kicks off with an international run of performances in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile before North American shows in the US and Mexico. The stateside tour gets underway May 10 in Jefferson, Louisiana before wrapping June 29 in San Diego, California.
Bach performed “What Do I Got To Lose?” live for the first time during his February 24 concert at Palace Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Bach released the official music video for “What Do I Got To Lose?” in December. The clip was directed by Jim Louvau and Tony Aguilera. For the video, which shows Bach cruising through the desert in a convertible and performing with a full band, Sebastian was joined by his former SKID ROW bandmate, drummer Rob Affuso. The clip also features an appearance by actor and comedian Craig Gass and Sebastian‘s wife Suzannewho plays a scantily clad car wash attendant.
“Take, ‘What Do I Got To Lose?’ is the perfect feeling for me right now,” Sebastian said about the track. “It’s an anthem for coming back and crushing it. It’s time to lay down the law and put the hammer down old school-style.”
Four years ago, Sebastian told The Aquarian Weekly that his new album would be “heavy. In many ways it is my follow-up to [2007’s] ‘Angel Down’,” he said. “I am trying to make the best record I have ever made. There will be a lot of heavy [music] coming your way.”
Bach hasn’t released a full-length disc since “Give ‘Em Hell”which came out in March 2014. Like its predecessor, 2011’s “Kicking & Screaming”the disc was released through Frontiers Music Srlthe Italian label which specializes in what’s commonly called AOR, a term that once meant a popular radio format (“album-oriented rock”) but nowadays applies to acts whose airplay is marginal.
Although Bach had said in some of his interviews a few years ago that his next record would be less musically aggressive and it would be “more uplifting and fun,” he told WRIF in 2018 that he has since had a change of heart.
“Well, before [the new record deal] happened, I was thinking of doing more of an acoustic-based record because I’ve done a lot of solo records,” he said. “I’ve done ‘Angel Down’, which I’m very proud of that album,. Then ‘Kicking & Screaming’which is a great album. ‘Give ‘Em Hell’…Not to mention ‘ABAchalypse Now’which is a three-record set. ‘Forever Wild’ DVD, ‘Bring ‘Em Bach Alive!’…I’ve put out a lot of records. And putting out the last one, when I put so much time and effort into it and it doesn’t get the attention that it deserves, for me as an artist, I’m, like, ‘Fuck!’ So I was, like, you know what? If I’m going to put out another heavy metal, hard rock album, I need help. I need a company around me that’s gonna put the same kind of attention and time and effort into it as I am. So now that looks like it’s happening. So now I’m changing the way I’m looking at things.”