Released: June 11, 1991 on a record of the same name.
Written by: Sebastian Bach, Rachel Bolan (a man) and none other than Dave “The Snake” Sabo.
This record, and song in particular were much heavier in contrast to Skid Row’s debut record (Self Titled, released in 1989) that I adamantly despised as a youngster. However, when I heard what I believe was the first single “Monkey Business” from their newest effort, I was taken by complete surprise. At that time I was already well into the journey of Metal with harder stuff and thought that the ‘hair bands’ were really lame (even Motley Crue “Theatre Of Pain” sucked to me), and while Skid Row wasn’t entirely of that ilk, they still had that sort of vibe. For me they just couldn’t stand up to acts like Slayer or Sepultura (Arise era).
When I first heard the riff to “Slave To The Grind” though, it made me all the more shell shocked, as it sounded as if this ‘pretty boy’ ballad-band had managed to grow some fortitude and become a little rough around the edges. Up until that point they were the type of band that square girls liked, or so my misguided mentality was some 15 years ago, and therefore I was unwilling to accept their efforts. Even giving a few specific songs on their first record some credit (mainly Youth Gone Wild), I never considered them a “real” Metal band (and to this day “I Remember You” still makes me see red in a “Stairway To Heaven” high school slow dance kind of way). However, when pressed on the issue this sophomore record proved me wrong, as my friends who were fans would later reveal on dubbed cassette tapes. The above-mentioned song, and the title track of this album (and article) were and are in fact crucial jams. More recently this record has even been described stylistically as if one were to take the Gun N’ Roses classic “Appetite For Destruction” and cross it with the aggression of early Pantera (pre-heroin Anselmo, Cowboys From Hell era).
Regardless, the unfortunate reality to come for the band (and many others) at this time was that this top-notch opus would flop and remain an oversight in music history due to a mammoth stylistic shift known as Grunge (another title which I reluctantly use) that emerged in popular aggressive music in the early 90s. This could have been seen as the greatest ambush in history, as the release of Nirvana’s Nevermind (an excellent record) in September of 1991 (only 4 months later) completely decimated anything in its way and exploded like a modern Beatlemania, spawning unfortunate and second rate counterparts for years to come. As one would guess, this left the now suddenly outdated bands like Skid Row doomed to everlasting embarrassment and commercial failure.
However, history isn’t always honest because aside from a business-related oversight you can still find gems or interesting parallels when you begin to look for them, and if for not only that fact alone Skid Row’s "Slave To The Grind" actually stands the test of time. Another interesting and off topic bit I’d like to include is that there was a song called “Get The Fuck Out” on this very album. Apparently due to its profanity there were two versions of the album, and it only appeared on the uncensored one. On the clean version, geared toward a ‘moral majority’ or ‘parents concerned about buying obscene content for their children audience’ that track was replaced by a song called “Beggar’s Day.” All of that aside though – it is said that “Get The Fuck Out” was recorded as a slighting response to the band Extreme’s (another pop rock contemporary) “Get The Funk Out” hit.
In conclusion and in the interest of saving face – I’d also like to mention the primary friend (who shall remain nameless to avoid embarrassment) responsible for my Skid Row exposure and said change of heart was also huge on Cinderella’s “Long Cold Winter” album, which I also felt was complete rubbish at the time and still do. So to give myself at least some benefit of doubt, and with all opinions on Skid Row’s second album aside, I was completely bang on with one of my original assessments at least – Cinderella always sucked.
Slave To The Grind lyrics.
