Subhuman Race
Subhuman Race is the third full-length album by the New Jersey heavy metal band Skid Row. It was released on March 28, 1995, and shows the band moving from their original heavy metal sound to one more influenced by alternative metal, with hints of Anthrax, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, while retaining the Guns N' Roses-style hard rock aesthetic on which they based their sound. The album's sonic range runs the gamut from the blazingly fast and aggressive "Bonehead" and title track, to chugging midtempo "Iron Will" to the saccharine "Firesign". Subhuman Race is the last Skid Row album recorded with singer Sebastian Bach and drummer Rob Affuso.
Subhuman Race charted at #35 on the Billboard 200.[1] Despite obtaining gold status and receiving positive reviews, it was not as successful as the band's first two albums. Certain tracks from the album were remixed for the bands compilation 40 Seasons: The Best of Skid Row, given more tender, slightly cleaner mixes to fit better with the other tracks. To promote Subhuman Race, Skid Row supported Van Halen on the North American tour.
Critical reception
Subhuman Race received mostly positive reviews. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it four stars out of five, and said that it saw the band "strip back their music to the basics" and was their "strongest and most vicious record to date."[2] Rolling Stone gave it three stars, calling it "the freshest riffage since last year's Soundgarden record" and also noting the "tight, hot guitar lines and radio hooks that burn themselves into your brain".[3] Q gave it four stars praising both the guitars that "grumble and mutter more menacingly than ever" and Bach's "awesome vocal pyrotechnics", summarizing that "Skid Row has come up with an outright winner."[4]
Subhuman Race has also been criticized by fans and critics, who call it Skid Row's "worst album". Bassist Rachel Bolan has made known his mixed feelings about Subhuman Race. In an interview in November 2006, Bolan stated: "That record was a nightmare. Internally the band had fallen apart but we were forced to go in and do another record and it was a nightmare with the recording, writing and producing. We worked with someone we had not worked with before after being so successful with Michael and we were used to the way he did things. I am not slighting Bob at all, he is a genius producer but it was bad timing. I did not have the greatest time, it was nobody's fault, it was just the way things were. Also the record absolutely sucks."[5]
Track listing
- "My Enemy" (Rob Affuso, Rachel Bolan, Scotti Hill) – 3:38
- "Firesign" (Sebastian Bach, Bolan, Hill, Dave Sabo) – 4:54
- "Bonehead" (Bolan, Sabo) – 2:16
- "Beat Yourself Blind" (Bolan, Hill, Snake) – 5:02
- "Eileen" (Affuso, Bach, Bolan, Snake) – 5:36
- "Remains to be Seen" (Bolan, Hill, Snake) – 3:34
- "Subhuman Race" (Bolan, Hill, Snake) – 2:40
- "Frozen" (Bolan, Snake) – 4:43
- "Into Another" (Bolan, Snake) – 4:02
- "Face Against My Soul" (Affuso, Bach, Bolan, Snake) – 4:20
- "Medicine Jar" (Bolan, Hill, Snake) – 3:36
- "Breakin' Down" (Snake) – 4:30
- "Ironwill" (Affuso, Bolan, Hill, Snake) – 7:43
- Untitled hidden track – 0:40
Personnel
Band
Other
- Bob Rock – producer
- Randy Staub – engineer
Chart performance
| Chart |
Peak
position |
| Australian Albums Chart |
5 |
| Canada Albums Chart |
31 |
| Japan Albums Chart |
6 |
| Swedish Albums Chart |
21 |
| Swiss Albums Chart |
49 |
| UK Albums Chart |
8 |
| U.S. Billboard 200[6] |
35 |
Singles
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 1995 |
"Into Another" |
Mainstream Rock Tracks[7] |
28 |
| 1995 |
"Breakin' Down" |
UK singles[8] |
48 |
| 1995 |
"My Enemy" |
|
|
References
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Studio albums |
|
|
| EP's and Live albums |
|
|
| Compilations |
|
|
| Videos |
|
|
| Singles |
|
|
| Related articles |
|
|