PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach is releasing his first solo live album as a CD and DVD package. Entitled “ABachalypse Now” it includes previously unseen footage from 2012’s GrasPop Festival in Belgium, the full Hellfest set from France and a remixed and remastered Club Nokia show from Los Angeles (originally broadcasted on AXS TV).
On the face of it then this is a great package for fans – three live shows on one album, but lets dig a little deeper. Taking the CD first of all, yes there are two shows here, but there is a huge overlap in terms of songs with six of the ten songs from the Hellfest set also appearing in the Club Nokia set. Admittedly there are special guests on the Club Nokia show, but that doesnt change the similarity between set lists. The biggest difference between the two shows on the CD isn’t the special guests – it’s the vocals and sound. While the Club Nokia disc sounds great, I really can’t understand why the Hellfest set was chosen – it really doesn’t sound like Seb at his best – more one of his off days vocally. On his last UK tour his performances were erratic, being superb one night then poor the next, and that really does come across on this album.
The DVD includes the same shows as the CD with the addition of the Graspop set. I can’t comment on the DVD contents at all as I’ve only had the album to review, but Seb is a great performer so I’d expect the DVD to be well worth watching for his fans.
While this is a Sebastian Bach solo release, it does expose how reliant his live shows are on the Skid Row material with almost everything on this album dating back to the first two Skid Row albums. Ok that may be partly explained by the fact that festival shows tend to focus on the hits as you get a different crowd to one at a band’s own gigs, but you’d have thought he’d include a club show rather than the Hellfest set so he could include more of his own material.
A disappointing release – and I say that as a Sebastian Bach fan.
‘ABachalypse now’ will be released on 22nd March 2013
Rating: 6.5/10
Track listing:
CD1 – Live at Hellfest, France 2012
Slave to the Grind
Kicking & Screaming
Here I Am
Big Guns
Piece of Me
18 & Life
American Metalhead
Monkey Business
I Remember You
Youth Gone Wild
CD2 – Live at Club Nokia, Los Angeles CA 2012
Big Guns
(Love Is) a Bitch Slap
Piece of Me
18 & Life
American MetalHead
Monkey Business
I Remember You
TunnelVision
Youth Gone Wild
DVD Contents:
Live at Hellfest, France
Slave to the Grind
Kicking & Screaming
Here I Am
Big Guns
Piece of Me; 18 & Life
American Metalhead
Monkey Business
I Remember You
Youth Gone Wild
Live at Club Nokia, Los Angeles
Big Guns
(Love Is) a Bitch Slap
Piece of Me
18 & Life
American Metal Head
Monkey Business
I remember You
TunnelVision
Youth Gone Wild
Live at Graspop, Belgium
Kicking & Screaming
Dirty Power
Here I Am
Big Guns
18 & Life
American Metalhead
Monkey Business
I Remember You
TunnelVision
Bonus Music Videos:
Kicking & Screaming; TunnelVision
I’m Alive
