Skid Row "Subhuman Race"

Subhuman Race (stylized sUBHUMAN rACE) is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Skid Row, released on March 28, 1995, by Atlantic Records. This is the last Skid Row album with singer Sebastian Bach and drummer Rob Affuso, and the last one to be released on Atlantic. Despite receiving positive reviews, Subhuman Race was not as successful as the band's first two albums. Certain tracks from the album were remixed for the band's compilation 40 Seasons: The Best of Skid Row, given more tender, slightly cleaner mixes to fit better with the other tracks.

Released during the decline of hard rock and heavy metal, Subhuman Race marked a significant change in the band's sound, with Bob Rock replacing Michael Wagener as its producer, and resembling a mixture of heavy metal with grunge, alternative, punk rock, thrash metal and groove metal influences. It has also been noted as more of a dark album than previous works.

To promote Subhuman Race, Skid Row supported Van Halen in North America on their Balance tour. Following the album and tour, they released a live EP titled Subhuman Beings on Tour, featuring live performances from the Subhuman Race tour. The band has not played any songs from Subhuman Race since the album's tour in 1995–1996, though Bach has occasionally played them on his solo tours, including "Beat Yourself Blind", "Frozen", and the singles "My Enemy", "Into Another" and "Breakin' Down". "Beat Yourself Blind" was the only song from this album to be performed live since Bach's departure, until ZP Theart performed "Medicine Jar" in 2018, while "Remains to Be Seen" has never been played live once.

The album debuted at #35 on the Billboard 200, staying for nine weeks, being a significant drop off from Slave to the Grind's #1 debut. By July 1999, Subhuman Race has sold 165,424 copies, falling significantly behind their previous records.

The band members also do not reflect positively on their work on Subhuman Race. In an interview in November 2006, bassist Rachel Bolan expressed his negative feelings about the album: "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." In a June 2018 interview on the "Rock Talk with Mitch Lafon" podcast, vocalist Sebastian Bach indicated that, despite featuring "some good tunes", the "very dated production sound" of Subhuman Race has made it an unlistenable album: "In the same way, probably, Lars Ulrich might think St. Anger is dated to that time, I think Subhuman Race might be our St. Anger."

Track listing

1. "My Enemy" Scotti Hill, Rob Affuso, Rachel Bolan, 3:38
2. "Firesign" Sebastian Bach, Bolan, Hill, Dave Sabo 4:54
3. "Bonehead" Bolan, Sabo 2:16
4. "Beat Yourself Blind" Bach, Hill, Bolan, Sabo 5:02
5. "Eileen" Bach, Affuso, Bolan, Sabo 5:36
6. "Remains to be Seen" Hill, Bolan, Sabo 3:34
7. "Subhuman Race" Hill, Bolan, Sabo 2:40
8. "Frozen" Bolan, Sabo 4:43
9. "Into Another" Bolan, Sabo 4:02
10. "Face Against My Soul" Bach, Bolan, Sabo, Affuso, 4:20
11. "Medicine Jar" Hill, Bolan, Sabo 3:36
12. "Breakin' Down" Sabo 4:30
13. "Iron Will" Hill, Affuso, Bolan, Sabo [†]7:43

 † The song "Iron Will" ends at 4:45 followed by 2:15 of silence before a hidden track plays.

Recording information:

Recorded at Greenhouse Studios in Vancouver and Seacoast Sound in Victoria, British Columbia; and also at Thin Man Cantina in New Jersey, USA.

Mixed at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Mastered at Sterling Sound in New York City.