SKID ROW To Release Long-Awaited Studio CD And Documentary DVD

SKID ROW's long-awaited new CD, "Thickskin", will be released independently in the United States on Skid Row Records this summer in either July or August. Exact details are still being finalized. A European release is expected around the same time through SPV/Steamhammer Records.

"We're very excited about this, especially since it's the first SKID ROW record for [singer] Johnny [Solinger] and [drummer] Phil [Varone]," said bassist Rachel Bolan in an official press release. "It took a long time to record due to the fact that we had to do it in short bursts because we were touring a lot the past several years. We were on the road with KISS and then we did the Rock Never Stops tour last summer.

"We were writing while we were on the road, and then when there was a tour break we'd write some more and then record. It required a lot of hard work. It was kind of like learning to drive in the middle of a demolition derby!"

The complete track listing for "Thickskin" is as follows:

01. New Generation
02. Ghost
03. Swallow Me (The Real You)
04. Born a Beggar
05. Thick is the Skin
06. See You Around
07. Mouth of Voodoo
08. One Light
09. I Remember You Two
10. Lamb
11. Down from Underground
12. Hittin' a Wall

"Thickskin" is said to be "a vicious, aggressive album with a contemporary vibe, yet it maintains the killer melodic hooks that made earlier albums like 'Skid Row' and 'Slave to the Grind' and their songs 'Youth Gone Wild', 'I Remember You', '18 and Life' and 'Monkey Business' all monster hits."

"We didn't consciously strive for a modern sound, nor did we intentionally try to copy what we've done in the past," Bolan explained. "'Thickskin' turned out naturally. We still listen to everything just like we always have — whatever's new out there and the old albums by our favorite bands that influenced us in the first place."

Two years in the life of SKID ROW are chronicled in the DVD "Under the Skin - The Making of Thickskin". It's scheduled for release in May and it will give fans a tantalizing taste of "Thickskin".

"A friend of ours named Fabio Jafet had the idea about making a documentary," said Bolan. "He covered everything from when Johnny joined the band, to the KISS tour to the making of 'Thickskin'. He shot 40 hours of tape over two years and condensed it for a one-hour DVD. He was around quite a bit, but after awhile you forgot he was there.

"On this DVD you get interviews and some previews of the 'Thickskin' CD as well as footage of us in the studio. In a way, it ends up kind of like a music video. There is a lot of great bonus footage too. It shows us out of our musical environment."