Thickskin

Thickskin
Thickskin
Studio album by Skid Row
Released	August 5, 2003
Recorded	2002–2003
Studio	Sanctuary Studios and Shorefire Studios, New Jersey,; The Sanctuary and Reflections, Charlotte, North Carolina
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	46:46
Label	Skid Row Records (U.S.); SPV/Steamhammer (Europe); Victor (Japan)
Producer	Skid Row, Steven Haigler
Skid Row chronology
Singles from Thickskin
	"Ghost"; Released: 2003; "New Generation"; Released: 2003; "I Remember You Two"; Released: 2003; "Thick is the Skin"; Released: 2003;

Thickskin is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Skid Row, released on August 5, 2003. The come back album is the first to feature new vocalist Johnny Solinger who replaced original singer Sebastian Bach and the only album to feature former Saigon Kick drummer Phil Varone. The album featured a change to a more modern sound.

Release and promotion

The album charted at number 46 on the Top Independent albums chart.^[2]

"Ghost" was released as a single with a music video filmed in Miami, Florida. Music videos were also made for the second single "New Generation", the promo single "Thick is the Skin" and "One Light", all of which were featured on the DVD Under the Skin (The Making of Thickskin). "I Remember You Two" is a remake of the single "I Remember You" in a punk rock-influenced fashion. The song "Born a Beggar" was written with Sean McCabe when Skid Row was briefly going under the moniker Ozone Monday.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Melodic.net	^[4]
Rock Hard	8.5/10^[5]

Daniel Böhm in his review for the German Rock Hard magazine was very happy of Skid Row's return and wrote that "Thickskin is modern, dripping US Rock'n'Roll with good taste and 100% street credibility", where are exalted "the most uncompromising corners of the last two Skids albums", which old fans may find hard to digest.^[5] AllMusic Alex Henderson found Thickskin "surprisingly good" and appreciated the fact that Skid Row revamped their music, combining the "melodic yet hard-driving effort" of their previous albums with a "sort of post-grunge sound one would expect from the Foo Fighters, Silverchair, Creed, or Default". He also predicted that "diehard Bach loyalists" would "inevitably insist that an alterna-rock version of Skid Row isn't really Skid Row."^[3] Melodic.net reviewer is one of them, who would "rather play Slave to the Grind again before hearing this one more time." He found that only a couple of tracks retain the flavour of the old band and wrote that, even though the songs are in general decent and the music sounds modern, Thickskin is not a "classic".^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"New Generation"	Rachel Bolan, Dave Sabo	3:18
2.	"Ghost"	Bolan, Sabo, Damon Johnson	3:54
3.	"Swallow Me (The Real You)"	Bolan, Sabo	3:38
4.	"Born a Beggar"	Bolan, Sabo, Scotti Hill, Sean McCabe	4:28
5.	"Thick Is the Skin"	Bolan, Sabo	3:48
6.	"See You Around"	Bolan, Sabo, Johnson	4:19
7.	"Mouth of Voodoo"	Bolan, Sabo, Johnny Solinger	4:26
8.	"One Light"	Bolan, Sabo	4:07
9.	"I Remember You Two"	Bolan, Sabo	3:20
10.	"Lamb"	Bolan, Sabo	3:41
11.	"Down from Underground"	Bolan, Sabo, Johnson	4:35
12.	"Hittin' a Wall"	Bolan, Sabo, Hill	3:06

Under the Skin (The Making of Thickskin) DVD

"Under the Skin" was released August 12, 2003, and features a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Thickskin. Set in a documentary style, the DVD also includes a photo gallery, interviews, music videos and live performances.