Skid Row: The Atlantic Years 1989-1996 Box Set Due in December
Someone is releasing a new box set, Skid Row: The Atlantic Years 1989-1996 this December. As you can probably guess from the title, the set will include remastered editions of the five albums Skid Row made while on Atlantic: the full-lengths Skid Row, Slave to the Grind, and Subhuman Race, along with the covers EP B-Side Ourselves and the live EP Subhuman Beings on Tour!!.
I say “someone” is releasing the set because I don’t know to what extent, if any, the band was actually involved with this. There’s no statement from any current or former members of the band in the press release, and as of this writing, there’s no mention of the set on Skid Row’s socials. The label may very well have just decided to put this thing out.
That possibility seems especially plausible given that another appropriate title for the box set would be Skid Row: The Sebastian Bach Years. Baz has made it very clear that he’s down to reunite with the band, and the band has made it very clear that they have no interest. So I don’t quite see them voluntarily releasing a box set that focuses solely on Bach’s tenure with the band.
Regardless, I hope people purchase this thing — maybe if it makes enough money, Skid Row will finally reunite with Baz (and if they wanted to invite original drummer Rob Affuso back into the fold as well, I’m pretty sure he’d be down for that). Plus Subhuman Beings on Tour!! has previously only been available on CD in Japan, and is not currently on streaming services. It might not be a Metallica-style super-duper-deluxe edition with a billion bells and whistles, but it’s not quite a straight double-dip, either.
Also, I feel compelled to mention that the band’s cover of Judas Priest’s “Delivering the Goods” — which appears as a studio recording on B-Side Ourselves with a live iteration on Subhuman Beings — features Mr. Rob Halford himself (on the studio version and the live version). I know sometimes younger fans are surprised to realize that once upon a time this band actually had metal cred. But there ya go.
The set drops December 3 on CD and vinyl. Pre-order it here.
Incidentally, Sebastian Bach is on tour playing Slave to the Grind in its entirety right now. Remaining dates are below.
Oct. 25 – Virginia Beach, VA – Elevation 27 [tickets]
Oct. 26 – Greensburg, PA – Palace Theatre [tickets]
Oct. 29-Nov. 3 – Miami, FL – Kiss Kruise* [tickets]
Nov. 06 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room [tickets]
Nov. 07 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live [tickets]
Nov. 09 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse [tickets]
Nov. 10 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl [tickets]
Nov. 12 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom [tickets]
Nov. 13 – Cleveland, OH – MGM Northfield [tickets]
Nov. 14 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts [tickets]
Nov. 17 – Grand Rapids, MI – Intersection [tickets]
Nov. 18 – Ft. Wayne, IN – The Clyde [tickets]
Nov. 19 – Detroit, MI – Harpos [tickets]
Nov. 21 – Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theatre [tickets]
Nov. 27 – Denver, CO – Gothic [tickets]
Nov. 29 – Billings, MT – Pub Station-Ballroom [tickets]
Nov. 30 – Great Falls, MT – The Newberry [tickets]
Dec. 02 – Suquamish, WA – Clearwater Casino [tickets]
Dec. 03 – Portland, OR – Aladdin [tickets]
Dec. 06 – San Francisco, CA – August Hall [tickets]
Dec. 11 – Blue Lake, CA – Blue Lake Casino [tickets]
Dec. 16 – Los Angeles, CA – Fonda [tickets]
Dec. 17 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues [tickets]