https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr5sJXZ2tdIOn March 26th, Skid Row played their first show with new vocalist, former H.E.A.T singer Erik Grönwall at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. They were supporting the Scorpions for the band’s Sin City Nights residency. Skid Row confirmed Gronwall as the new vocalist on March 24th.
Skid Row released a new single, “The Gangs All Here,” on the heels of this announcement.” This is Skid Row’s first bit of new music since 2014’s United World Rebellion Part II: Rise of the Damnation Army and the first to feature Erik Grönwall as the new lead vocalist. Unfortunately, Skid Row’s batting average for vocalists isn’t all that great. Erik Grönwall is Skid Row’s sixth vocalist, which puts them as having more vocalists “combust” than Spinal Tap had drummers. Let’s do a quick run-through of the Skid Row vocalists.
The band formed in Toms River, New Jersey, with Matt Fallon on vocals. The band ditched Fallon in favor of Sebastian Bach, who fronted the band until the band parted ways in 1998. When Skid Row reformed in 1999, they recruited Texas-based vocalist Johnny Solinger, who would front Skid Row until 2015. Solinger was replaced by T.N.T. vocalist Tony Harnell who was in the band for about 27.5 minutes. Okay, he was in the band for about eight months. Harnell was then replaced by ex-Dragonforce vocalist ZP Theart who fronted Skid Row until March of 2022, and now we have Erik Gronwall as the new vocalist.
Whew. Okay, so that was a lot. I’ll be totally honest. I have always gone to bat for Skid Row. When the fanbase became a fan base divided, I found myself siding with Skid Row. Why? Well, first off, Sebastian Bach has an over-inflated ego, and second, his voice was (and still is) pretty much shot to shit. I think so many fans loved the idea of seeing Sebastian Bach back with Skid Row the same way Motley Crue fans love seeing Vince Neil up there all overweight and sounding like a busted set of bagpipes. While Bach doesn’t sound nearly that bad, he surely wasn’t sounding any better than Johnny Solinger.
Solinger worked his ass for, and while I thought he was fantastic, he spent most of his 16 years in Skid Row having to deal with the backlash of not being Sebastian Bach. So when Harnell replaced Solinger, I wasn’t impressed one bit. I couldn’t stand him in T.N.T. and sure as hell didn’t like him in Skid Row. Then ZP Theart entered the fold, and I thought he was by far the best vocalist Skid Row could have found. Theart did a fantastic job. He brought a lot of fire and a lot of energy back to Skid Row that had been missing for so long.
ZP Theart possesses a bit of something that Solinger didn’t have. Solinger always seemed to lack that chemistry with Skid Row that makes a band special. Theart had that connection, and he created instant chemistry with Skid Row as if he’d been in the band for decades. The live performances were electric and full of energy and fun. His delivery was outstanding, and he sang every one of those songs like he owned them. Let’s be honest, though. Skid Row songs are not the easiest songs to sing. Hell, even Sebastian Bach himself often struggled to sing them back in 1992.
Where the fuck did Theart go, though? It looks like, according to Setlist. F.M. that his last documented gig with Skid Row was February 26th (a month to the date of Gronwall’s debut) in Altoona, PA. I’ve watched footage from the performance, and nothing here indicates that there was trouble in paradise. Theart sounded incredible, the band sounded great, but they looked tired. Rachel Bolan just looks like he’s exhausted and aside from Theart, the only one that truly looks like he’s bringing any fire is drummer Rob Hammersmith. I get it, though. This shit happens. It’s been a tough, stressful year for all of us, and Skid Row has been hitting it hard, and besides, they’re no spring chickens (no offense, fellas.) Maybe I’m overstepping it here and it was a totally amicable parting of ways. It all just seems to have happened so quickly that it does make me wonder though.
Suddenly Theart just spontaneously combusts into thin air. No word, no mention, no acknowledgment that he’s gone or that anything happened. I.T.’s like last month he was the singer for Skid Row, and then last week photos were being posted of Skid Row members with Erik Gronwall as the new vocalist. Is this some kind of Mandella Effect? Was ZP Theart ever really the vocalist of Skid Row, or was it something that we all thought was happening? Are we in a parallel universe? Either way, ZP Theart is gone, and we have Erik Gronwall.
I’ve seen the live footage with the new kid on vocals, and I’ll be honest and say that he is excellent. He’s youthful and has that fire in him, but I thought ZP Theart did that as well, and I thought he was a great addition to Skid Row. Gromwell, he’s young, and it shows. He’s about 24 years younger than the rest of the band, and based on the footage I saw; he does bring some gusto. His voice is strong, but his stage presence is kind of awkward. He comes across as a very good frontman and seems like someone who wow the fans, which he seems to have done already. Unfortunately, due to Skid Row’s track record of late, I don’t feel like I can bank on this guy lasting very long.
Skid Row and Erik Gronwall have completed work on the final installation of the United World Rebellion trilogy titled The Gang’s All Here, which will be released on October 14th. The first single is “The Gang’s All Here.” What do I think about it? Hmm, good question. I gave it a few listens, and sonically it sounds fantastic. The band sounds great. Gronwall is a great singer and sounds awful like Sebastian Bach, even using some of the same phrasings that reminded me much of Bach’s vocals on the first album.
The song “The Gang’s All Here” is just “okay” as it feels like a step backward from some of their newer material on the last two United World Rebellion EPs. 18-year-old Don would’ve loved this song, but 48-year-old Don just finds it to be a bit juvenile sounding. I even rolled my eyes a bit as the mention of Tricky little Vicky” which is a line from “Rattlesnake Shake” from the debut. The song is a step back into nostalgia, and if they are going to do that, I’d rather hear them dip more into that sound that they had on Slave to the Grind. I loved the first Skid Row album but as a long time fan, I want less “Big Guns” and “Sweet Little Sister” and more “Mudkicker” and “Quicksand Jesus.”
I know it’s only one song, but I honestly have to say I’m a bit nervous so far. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised and find The Gang’s All Here to be a great move for Skid Row, and if not, maybe Skid Row can just put their focus on keeping a great vocalist and putting on great shows. I couldn’t help but kind of laugh to myself when I heard Erik Gronwall sing the line “So many others have stood where I stand” from the song “Youth Gone Wild.” Irony? You bet.
Has anyone checked on ZP Theart, though?
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