Instant Impressions: 'Child Within The Man' by Sebastian Bach

When it comes to 80s hard rock, one of the most iconic voices from that entire era comes from Sebastian Bach — the former Skid Row frontman took the lead on such classic songs like “18 & Life,” “I Remember You,” “Monkey Business,” and several others as the enthusiastic and charismatic frontman of the celebrated hard rock act. After his exit from the band in 1996, Bach experienced further success with his solo career, releasing 3 solo albums from 2007-2014 after his first solo effort, 1999’s Bring ‘em Bach Alive!, which consisted of five new songs and several live Skid Row tracks, along with a spending a short time performing with the supergroup Big Noize in 2012. Additionally, Bach had a triumphant Broadway stint in the early 2000s, with his most notable role being the titular character(s) in Jekyll & Hyde, and continues to make appearances in several films and television shows.

Coming a full decade after the release of Bach’s last solo album, 2014’s Give ‘Em Hell, is his newest record, Child Within the Man — making a big splash from the jump with the monstrous lead single “What Do I Got to Lose?”, the album features Devin Bronson on guitar, Todd Kerns on bass, and Jeremy Colson on drums, along with guest appearances from fellow rock legends such as John 5, Orianthi, and Steve Stevens. Two tracks were also co-written with vocalist Myles Kennedy, one of which being the epic “What Do I Got to Lose?” single. To add an even more personal touch to an already personal project, the album’s artwork was designed by Bach’s late father, artist David Bierk.

Speaking with The Metal Voice at the 2024 Metal Hall of Fame event this past January about the musical direction of Child Within the Man, Bach said the album is “just all one big song,” explaining that he had the same mindset going into this record that he has with each of his previous releases, which is to make an album that he loves. Now that the time has come to listen through the full album, feel free to listen along and follow my real-time track-by-track reactions below:

1. Everybody Bleeds (4:26)

• I always thought “What Do I Got to Lose?” was going to be the opening song of the album, but I’m not upset at all that this is the song that sets the tone for the rest of the record
• Out of the singles that were released before the album, this has my favorite chorus, both musically and lyrically
• Also have to add that this is a great live track

2. Freedom (3:08)

• Highly recommend checking out the music video if you want a good laugh — really fun concept, and having Eddie Trunk in the intro was hilarious too
• Bach’s voice has always been strong, but I think every fan gets some sort of apprehension whenever their favorites get older — fortunately for us, Bach’s voice hasn’t really gone anywhere, as evidenced by the verses in this song alone
• Straight-up epic to have John 5 on this track — he’s a one-of-a-kind guitarist, and his playing is always recognizable

3. (Hold On) To The Dream (5:01)

• There’s something about the acoustics in the intro that just hits different — Bach’s vocals are obviously the highlight, but the guitars just stick out to my ears in the best way possible
• Super well-executed buildup from the intro to the verse, same goes for the transition from the verse to the chorus
• Added bonus seeing former Skid Row drummer Rob Affuso in the music video — it’s nice seeing that some members of the band are still on good terms

4. What Do I Got To Lose? (4:48)

• It’s easy for lead singles to get stale whenever an album drops because of how much time is spent with it before the rest of the new material, but that hasn’t been the case with this song — honestly, it gets better with each listen
• While there’s an obvious old-school feel to this song, it’s just so refreshing that there’s still music like this being made from legends of the genre at such a high level

5. Hard Darkness (4:22)

• The musical juxtaposition between the heavy and driving verses and the wide-open choruses is really interesting, but they both compliment each other well
• I also have a hard time focusing on the solo because I’m too fixated on the rhythm section’s musical shift at that same time, but that’s just a testament to the musicianship and proficiency of each member

6. Future of Youth (3:44)

• Bach’s of course known for his broad vocal range, particularly in the upper register, but I feel like his mid- to low-range singing can be unappreciated at times — that being said, I’m glad the opening verse features that vocal style from him
• I also really like how it feels like the solo section is split into two parts — shoutout to Orianthi as well, another fantastic guitarist who brought some great work into this track

7. Vendetta (4:00)

• I’m not the type of fan to constantly beg bands to stay heavy and complain when there’s “not enough riffs,” but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate heavy intros like this one
• Another case of the chorus being a bit more open and flowy than the verses, but it just works so well
• It’s always hard to make these kinds of decisions, but this might be one of my favorite songs on the album from a lyrical standpoint so far

8. F. U. (4:39)

• Hard not to love the high energy of this one
• Possible hot take incoming: I don’t think Bach needs to scream his voice out and always sing in the higher register to make a good song, and I think this is a good example of how he’s able to stay in the mid-range and still make a banger
• Clocking in at almost five minutes, it feels like it’s about half that runtime because of how upbeat it is — stellar guitar work from Steve Stevens as well

9. Crucify Me (4:23)

• Love the buildup from a musical perspective, but also from Bach’s vocals and how his voice opens up more the closer the song gets to the chorus
• This is also one of those choruses that’s deceptively catchy and will end up stuck in your head when you least expect it

10. About To Break (4:10)

• Again, hard to make these decisions, but from a musical perspective, this is definitely a standout for me — love the guitars in the verses and how Bach’s vocal layers blend together in the chorus
• The first couple verses go by pretty fast, but the solo section helps let the song breathe a bit more and it’s arguably the strongest part of the whole song

11. To Live Again (4:49)

• I don’t know if the concept of people whining about albums ending with a ballad has always been a common component of musical discourse, but I’ve noticed it a lot this year and I can’t disagree more — I don’t have a problem with artists making that choice, and honestly prefer it sometimes. In the context of this album, I think it works pretty well
• Also a great song that showcases Bach’s voice — after all these years, his vibrato is still incredibly strong, and his range and overall vocal control is still there. The fact that his voice is still in this type of condition is a testament to his technique, and it’s great to hear such an iconic voice on new material like this

Having listened to Sebastian Bach’s material for most of my lifetime, both with Skid Row and his solo work, I’m comfortable in saying that this is one of his strongest releases to date — it’s without a doubt his best solo record, and strongly contends with the fan favorite Skid Row albums. Aside from the songwriting, what really stuck out to me was the production and how great this album sounds, which is to the credit of producer/mixer Elvis Baskette and mastering tech Robert Ludwig, along with engineers Joshua Saldate and Jeff Mol. The record sounds huge, allowing the high-impact moments of the album to hit even harder.

Having been an entire ten years between releases, the wait for Child Within the Man has been worth it because of how great this album sounds and flows. In terms of sequencing, it’s easy to understand what Bach meant when saying the album is “one big song” after listening through it, because each song transitions into the next really well without actually having built-in transitions at the starts and stops of each song, like with albums such as Green Day’s American Idiot (2004). Because of this, I wish there was a way where he’d be able to play this album in its entirety on the road (along with the other solo and Skid Row hits, of course).

After this long of a wait for a new studio album from Sebastian Bach, it’s hard not to hope that there’s more in the tank, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being Bach’s last record. For as solid as it is, it would be a good sendoff, but again, I’ll continue to keep my fingers crossed that he’ll continue to create more great music for many years to come.

At this moment, my top 3 standout tracks from Child Within the Man are:

• Everybody Bleeds
• Vendetta
• About to Break

If you listened along and also enjoyed the album, you can buy/stream Child Within the Man here.

To keep up with Sebastian Bach, click here.

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