Skid Row Could’ve Hit ‘Judas Priest Level’ With Sebastian Bach, Chris Jericho Says
Chris Jericho, the AEW wrestler and Fozzy bandleader, recently opined how glam rockers Skid Row could've advanced to another stage of popularity had they not parted ways with singer Sebastian Bach amid a changing musical landscape.
Jericho made the call on a January edition of Shout It Out Loudcast's "Album Review Crew," where the musician and athlete joined hosts Tom, Zeus and Sonny to review Skid Row's second album and penultimate studio effort with Bach, 1991's Slave to the Grind.
Watch the video down toward the bottom of this post.
Jericho said, "Had there not been a complete sea change and shift in musical styles, and had Sebastian and the guys not completely broken up forever, they could have been a Guns N' Roses level, a Judas Priest level. Not an Iron Maiden level — not a Guns N' Roses either, but they could have been that second tier of main-event-level bands." (via Blabbermouth)
He elaborated, "Two reasons. One, dudes like us like the music; heavier guys like Pantera like the music. And here's the most important thing. … The chicks love the music. And they love Sebastian Bach."
"If you could go into a laboratory and you were a mad scientist and create the perfect rock star, Sebastian Bach would be the perfect rock star," Jericho continued. "All across the board, he checks every box in everything. I think that's another reason why Skid Row were able to bridge the gap. It could have even gone further because the girls really enjoyed the band."
Having a good-looking vocalist front a rock band isn't a bad way to get some listeners, of course. But the Fozzy rocker jokingly admitted that he didn't think the rest of Skid Row were as attractive.
Jericho remarked, "[Their] first album, pictures aside — you look at the first Guns N' Roses album pictures, there was a lot of hairspray and all that sort of stuff. But they had an East Coast Guns N' Roses vibe, where even though Sebastian Bach was pretty, he was tall."
The rest of the band "weren't pretty guys," he quipped. "Snake [Skid Row guitarist Dave Sabo] is not a good-looking guy. And if he was on the show right now, he'd be laughing, saying, 'I'm the ugliest guy ever.' Best guy in the world, by the way."
"Snake and [bassist] Rachel [Bolan] are just amazing guys," Jericho added. "They never tried to be that way; they weren't trying to shove it into the bag. They knew what they looked like, and they knew it was cool, 'cause they did look cool. But they didn't look pretty. But that worked to their advantage, much like Guns N' Roses."