SEBASTIAN BACH – Forever Wild

Rockstar supreme, Sabastian Bach, always was like a kid in the candy store. Despite a rough start as a singer for Madam X, his attack into the charts as Skid Row’s front man was an overnight success story that could only have happened back in the late eighties. We all had fun watching Skid Row’s first home video, “Oh Say, Can you Scream?”, where Seb and the others were a happy bunch of successful and young musicians that just hit jackpot and led a life that other aspiring musicians would have liked to assimilate.

Fair enough, Skid Row’s first albums were energetic, catchy rock ’n’ roll at its best, though not so strong that they kept the band together through the depressive age of music a decade later.

The question if Sebastian has something to give the music industry in 2004 is indeed relevant, though not so relevant with this DVD release. I didn’t grasp onto his The Last Hard Men release, which veteran readers of Metal Express might remember – it didn’t even get me half erect – although Bring ’em Bach Alive had its moments. All in all, Seb hasn’t really cut a studio album solo “for real” yet, instead just living on his past glory. There’s a fine line between living “up to” and “living on” past glory …

When you also consider the fact that Rachel Bolan and Dave “Snake” Sabo were the most important writers for Skid Row back in the day – well, let me just hurry up and say that I have eternal respect for Sebastian as a front man, singer, and entertainer (even though he’s Dee Snider’s little brother, I can deal with that), but he needs to release a decent solo record to put doubts to rest.

This DVD, finally getting to the point, is a sliced up gig with Seb’s band, a bunch of goofy looking dudes, split up by more entertaining stuff, such as Sebastian and friends/idols doing this and that. Yup, Seb is a kid in the candy store when he hangs out with Vince Neil and Ted Nugent, and his lively act shows that he is a fan, not a snobbish musician. Seb is indeed an honest guy, and he lets his personality shine through in these clips… that is what makes them entertaining. I said I always respected his person and showmanship. As for the concert … well, you have to be obsessed to hell and Bach to find that part of the DVD cool.

Racing cars and duding with Vince Neil, hanging and hunting with Ted Nugent, seeing Bach and his reptile friends get along — all of that is worth seeing indeed. However, I doubt it is worth the price of a DVD.

In closing, let me just say that I am very optimistic about Bach’s future plans. He just met up with a great guitar player and song writer at this year’s Bang Your Head!!! festival, a show where Sebastian proved that he still has what it takes to be a star, so I eagerly anticipate whatever comes next from the Bach camp… or how about a Skid Row reunion, eh?