Sebastian Bach has left his mark in the world of show business, in movies, theater, radio, television and of course in music. However we had to wait 10 years to hear new material from Sebastian. His new studio album was baptized under the name of Child Within The Man, an album where he is accompanied by guest stars such as John 5, Steve Stevens, and Orianthi. For the recording of this new album, Sebastian Bach moved with his band to Studio Barbarosa in Florida, studios owned by Elvis.
The opening track, 'Everybody Bleeds' is a perfect start with this new Bach work, a solid composition with Bach singing like in his best years. The next track 'Freedom,' opens with a destructive riff by John 5, and Bach screaming for freedom as the name itself says whilst playing with the powerful metal of the previous track and with a summer hard rock vibe.
'(Hold On) The Dream,' is the third track of the album and I have no trouble saying that despite being only the third track, you can easily place it as the best song of the album. An air of an eighties sound that reminds us of the first album of Skid Row, a song that comes from the bottom up. The riff that accompanies it is simply whipping, a slow song, but extremely heavy and with Bach singing like a beast. Curiously it is the longest track on the album with 5 minutes and two seconds; a real treat.
'What Do I Got To Loose?' still keeps us in the spirit of early nineties Skid Row, especially with Slave To The Grind. If there is something I like about Sebastian Bach, is that his compositions don't need to be fast to sound heavy. Bach sounds too comfortable in the following tracks with his current vocal level, not forced at any time and with enough patience to know what high notes he can still reach. An example of that are songs like 'Future Of Youth' (a song that personally sounds to me a lot like an eighties Mötley Crüe song), 'Vendetta,' or 'F.U.' where little by little he starts to increase the speed.
For the final course of the album there is a downturn in terms of the metal sound of the first half of the album. Perhaps I would remove a song like 'Crucify Me,' but I can applaud 'About To Break' with a more alternative, current and fresh touch. It should be emphasized that the guitar solo here is exquisitely much more technical than the others. A theme that I would have put it as the final track for a great closing, instead of the power ballad 'To Live Again.'
Credit photo: Jim Louvau
The 10 long years that Sebastian Bach kept us waiting to hear new music will undoubtedly be completely worth it. Child Within The Man is a solid, strong album with a lot of heavy and hard rock that old and new fans will undoubtedly enjoy.
Rate: 8.5/10
Track List
01 - Everybody Bleeds 02 - Freedom 03 - (Hold On) To The Dream 04 - What Do I Got To Lose? 05 - Hard Darkness 06 - Future Of Youth 07 - Vendetta 08 - F.U. 09 - Crucify Me 10 - About To Break 11 - To Live Again
