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Rating: This "Thickskin" as many will know was the first album without Sebastian Bach on vocals, as he decided to leave the band due to various clashes with the other band members after the release of "Subhuman Race". The void left by Bach was enormous, "frontmen" like him are really hard to find. The band began the search for a new singer and the choice fell on Johnny Solinger. There was also a change behind the drums, with Rob Affuso being replaced by Phil Varone. "Thickskin" saw the light in 2003, a good eight years after the last album of unreleased tracks. Despite the lineup changes, the album is a good one. Nothing new, but it can still be listened to years later without too many expectations.
"Ghost" is definitely the album's highlight, to be cranked up on the stereo. It gets stuck in your head impressively and it's impossible not to try singing along. Solinger’s performance is excellent, he's not Bach, but he also makes a good impression behind the microphone. "Born A Beggar" deserves the same appreciation as "Ghost", with an excellent riff accompanying the track. "Thick is the Skin", an "extended" version of the album title, takes us back to the times of "Slave to the Grind", a great performance by the whole band. "Lamb" is another standout track of the album. It would also sound great on a "Slave to the Grind" or "Subhuman Race". A great performance by Solinger and amazing solos from the duo Dave "Snake" Sabo and Scott Hill, always impeccable. There are also two beautiful ballads, "One Light" and "See You Around". Solinger navigates them well, but in this type of song, the absence of someone like Bach is truly felt. Unfortunately, and I emphasize UNFORTUNATELY, the band decides to "reinterpret" a classic like "I Remember You". The result is embarrassing, the song is completely transformed, shifting from a slow to an almost punk version, unlistenable. The only track to absolutely skip, to avoid ruining a masterpiece of the genre.
In conclusion, an interesting album, played without the slightest flaw. Probably Sebastian Bach would have given a different soul to the record, without taking anything away from Johnny Solinger,
Tracklist and Lyrics
06 See You Around (04:18)
I never promised you the sunshine
you never handed me the moon
we're pulling threads out of our faded silver lining
we've grown out of our cocoon
The last train is leaving
there's nothing more than I can say
I didn't mean to bring you down
I guess I'll see you around
I left the best of my intentions
Took it one day at a time
its not like all is lost or that the world is ending
We've just fallen from the vine.
The last train is leaving
there's nothing more than I can say
I didn't mean to bring you down
I guess I'll see you around
Whatever direction we go
rest assured the one thing we know
just really didn't go our way
its not like all is lost or that the world is ending
We've just fallen from the vine.
The last train is leaving
there's nothing more than I can say
I didn't mean to bring you down
The last train is leaving
there's nothing more than I can say
I didn't mean to bring you down
I guess I'll see you around
07 Mouth of Voodoo (04:26)
You're testing my patience
I've got nothing but time
You'll never break down the wasll in my mind
Your fetishes are nothing more than a game
When I truly test your threshold of pain
Let me be in you ceremony
Burn me in your ritual
I can rise with you below me
We'll walk in time as we fall into the mouth of
voodoo
Then we can shine, shine, shine
And I'm sure the sun won't mind
Then we can shine, shine, shine
Your love is so blinding
My lust is a curse
It's painful to wonder but waiting is worse
You're sticking your pins now
It's taking its toll
Crush and obsession leave scars on your soul
10 Lamb (03:40)
I have been here for so long I've carried all the wait
'til something pulls me underneath the tide.
Climb to where the air is thin so I can breath again.
still it makes me wonder deep inside.
Nothin's free, no-one bleeds, We're all machines.
Shadows of your sins are following you.
When it sucks you in it's swallowing you,
King of the mountain thats what I am.
Everybodys someone elses sacrificial lamb.
Space between the world and me, defying gravity
'til something pulls me closer to the ground.
Drink the chemicals we spill. our eye is on the kill
while hell is freezing over, over.
Nothin's free, no-one bleeds, We're all machines
Shadows of your sins are following you.
When it sucks you in its swallowing you,
King of the mountain thats what I am.
Everybodys someone elses sacrificial lamb.
Shadows of your sins are following you.
When it sucks you in its swallowing you,
King of the mountain thats what I am.
Everybodys someone elses sacrificial.
Shadows of your sins are following you.
When it sucks you in its swallowing you,
King of the mountain thats what I am.
Everybodys someone elses sacrificial lamb.
lamb
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